Tag: europe

Getting to Prague from Austin involves a 10 hour flight on the new 787 Dreamliner to London Heathrow, then a quick jump across the Channel to Prague.  The 787 is a modern marvel, a great plane to fly on.  It’s true, you feel pretty good getting off, as the pressure and humidity are nicer onboard than say, the McDonald Observatory in West Texas.  Prague is a wonderful old city, just what you’d expect from Old Europe:  stone streets, squares, and lots of walking.  Oh, and a really nice metro (we’ll get to that).  We will start with the Prague Castle (which really isn’t a castle in the technical sense).

Quick note: as usual, you can find a more full set of photos for your viewing (or purchasing) pleasure at http://www.teambartay.com/praha2014

 The Castle complex was a short walk from my hotel, and Adam had this odd tendency to get up early and go take pictures of a morning the first few days.  This let him see a bit of the Castle and other areas very empty and in very good light.  Tourist tip number 1:  if you don’t have kids and want to see the big sights, get up really early.  It will probably just be you.

From the Castle, we’ll go to the next big sight in Prague:  Old Town Square, a great place to see ancient clocks, monuments, and streets full of interesting people.

I really liked Old Town Square – every time it was something different.  From wedding photos, to ripoff street food vendors, to early mornings of empty streets, and artists plying their trade,  Old Town Square had a bit of it all. 

There’s a lot else in Prague:  Wenceslas Square, Charles Bridge, a funicular (more metro!), and more pretty sights than I care to try and count.  Oh, and a metro.  The people and places made for some very good street photography.  Again, many of these pictures were taken of an early morning:  as a cohort of Adam’s indicated, you really couldn’t see the Charles Bridge at 4pm when it is covered in people.  At 6am when it’s just you?  It’s a lovely experience.

Oh, and the metro.  Adam is really into trains and metro systems, so he had a really good time riding around (and of course, taking pictures of the very nicely decorated stations).