Prague Golden Age

... never really figured out why this jewelry store would have the display...except maybe that its sort of shiny, and so is jewelry? Anyways, while we were out we met a bunch of ERASMUS students because Prague has a large student population. ERASMUS is the European student exchange program. Our first full day we went on a walking tour which took us by many of the major sights. We started in front of an old palace (now a museum) which was ...

... one of the older synagogues. Then right next to it was the ceremonial room. It was where the Burial Society (like a social network for grieving families and also the morticians that prepare the bodies) prepared all the bodies. Luckily, right behing the "morgue" was the old jewish cemetery. I then went off to the Pinkas Synagogue. It was very moving. Inside were written the Czech jews that were killed during WWII. The ...

... of the Warsaw pact invasion from the Soviets. At the top of the square there is the national museum which we decided to visit which had everything from rocks to rhinos in it. By that time we checked in, and caught up on a few hours sleep. We then made ourselves some food in the hostel and freshened ourselves up. We realised to save money we should buy some drinks in and have them in the hostel instead of drinking ...

... the best. We opted for kalbasa sausages and beer. It was excellent and cheap (2 American dollars)...what a great change from Italian food. We then headed to bar/restaurant for apple strudel and many more beers. Besides drinking cheap beer our night was very uneventful, but tomorrow would bring an actual tour of the city and a better feel for the country.

... and family, Prague is absolutely a great second option. We spent four leisurely days, the 24th to the 28th wandering the many cobbled streets and alleys of Prague. Our accommodation location was excellent and allowed us to reach the main sites within a 20 to 30 minute walk. Prague at Christmas is a fairy-light laden feast for the eyes. Towering Christmas trees stand at the bottom of Wenceslas Square and within the Old Town Square, colossal heralding angels ...

... less Americanized cities. Berlin was by far the easiest find your way around in and the most people spoke English and were the most receptive to us, then Krakow was slightly more difficult and in Prague it felt the most foreign. I loved feeling like I was soaking in a new scent of life from the culture around me. It was so different there; I could finally almost feel the distance I had traveled and the space between myself and my familiar home ...

... the Swarovski shop and others making rapid calculations comparing with what could be purchased back home. The conclusion was that after the tax was refunded (12% at the border) there would be very little difference between here and Australia or pretty much anywhere else we might have seen it. Maybe the selection is better here though as you might expect. A bit more rambling landed us with some surprise right at the start of Wenceslas Square which, if you are up on ...

... somewhere else. I really had a great time in Brno. They took us to a bunch of different places I never would have seen on my own. I ate a traditional Czech meal of pork leg......the whole friggin leg I think. I felt sick most of the next day. Hehe. The one day we were supposed to meet Radec for a train trip to southern Moravia and a wine festival. Late of course we tried to catch the next train and catch Radec and his ...

... is nearly as tall as the Eiffel. I bought a ticket and climbed the 399 steps to the top because the tower is not equipped with an elevator. The view from the observation is truly breathtaking! The entire city is fully visible. I only wish that I had my digital camera, but I did buy a disposable, so hopefully the pictures will turn out ok. From the tower, I stopped off at the Mirror Maze - Which is exactly what it sounds like. The maze was ...

... I even have the blisters to prove it. Some in places i did'nt know i could get blisters! I had to go to the druggeire & buy bandaids. The big event of the day was climbing the tower near the Prague castle. It has quite the view. I only wish the weather was better. Its been mostly cloudy with the occasional shower. At the moment its a downpour. Today the city center was more crowded than yesterday. I would guess that tourism is a *huge* industry. Its ...