Ahoj! August 2017, Prague, Czech Republic. Up to Petrín Hill Lookout Tower. Scouting Prague. Trip to Karlstejn Castle. I was 9 years and 8 months.
The Great Bohemian Prague
STREETS, CHARLES BRIDGE, RED METRONOME, MUSEUMS
ARRIVED: Landed after 2h 15mins flight by Finnair from Helsinki.
HOTEL: Grand Hotel Bohemia, open since 1927, four nights.
HOTEL lobby with King Karl IV aka Charles IV (1316-1378).
- From room 301 balcony towards Hotel Paris
- Let the city tour begin!
- Hmm, is this really interesting?
- Toy shop, interesting!
- We decided to make a big walk-around
- Museums, tons of museums in Prague
- Scouting Prague is sort of fun
Q: Do you know how to beat the gravity?
A: Yes and I can keep a secret
- Modern days' dynamic duo scouting Prague
INFO
PRAGUE Old Town Square
• Gothic church and Baroque church
• Czech National Gallery in Kinsky Palace (to be studied later)
• Astronomical clock from 1410 on Old Town Hall wall
• Religious reformer Jan Hus Memorial, erected on 1915
- Cafe, breakfast, and more
- Is it a Hat Shop!
INFO
MUSEUM of Historical Chamber Pots and Toilets (didn't visit)
• Napoleon Bonabarte's chamber pot
• Chamber pot from Lincoln Bedroom at the White House
• Chamber pot from Titanic
• 2000 exhibits and Souvenir Shop
- Cafes and bistros
- Restaurants and beer gardens
INFO
Bedrich Smetana (1824-1984)
The founding father of Czech music. Pianist, teacher, revolutionary, composer, traveller. He did operas, orchestral works, chamber music, piano, choral and vocal works. His musical style is linked to independence aspirations. "Tuff cookie!"
• The Moldau - second movement of Ma vlast, six symphonic poems
• The Bartered Bride - opera
INFO
THE BRIDGES of Prague - south view from Letna Park
• First, Manes Bridge aka Manusuv most
• Second, Charles Bridge aka Karluv most
• Third, Legion Bridge aka Most Legii
• Vltava River, in German Moldau River
• Vltava River flows from mountains of Bohemian Forest
INFO
The Charles Bridge
• Construction started under King Charles IV in 1357, took 150 years
• Old names: Prague Bridge - Prazsky most; Stone Bridge - Kamenny most
• Since 1870 called Charles Bridge - Karluv most
• For pedestrians only to cross the Vltava River (Moldau)
• 515 metres long, 9 metres wide, build on 16 arches
• Protected by 3 towers, The Old Town Bridge Tower of gothic style
• Decorated with 30 statues, mostly baroque style
- Charles Bridge aka Karluv most
- Charles Bridge is for pedestrians only
- Charles Bridge is decorated with 30 statues
- Prague is Praha is Prag is Praga, and has this Charles Bridge
- Charles Bridge ends at the Bridge Tower of Lesser Quarter
- Rarity, Lada car in Lesser Quarter aka 'little town'
- Choice depends on whom you are going to, Knapp?
- He disagreed, something had to happen
- Lesser Quarter side of Vltava River aka The River Moldau
August 2017
Prague
Petrín Hill
Lookout Tower
• built in 1891
• 63 meters high
• 299 steps up
• 500.000 visitors
-- per year
- Lookout Tower's staircase: 299 steps
- View towards Charles Bridge from Petrín Hill Lookout Tower
- Time to DAB
- My Prague DAB-DAB-DAB
- There, historic Charles Bridge over Vltava River
- Four nights in Prague, four beer gardens
- We visited Karlstejn Castle, gothic style, 30km out of Prague
- Founded in 1348 by The Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV
- Long walk up ... can you say spaghetti, or maybe fusilli
- We walked the road down there up to here to look down there
- Karlstejn Castle was to protect Bohemian treasures and archive
- Castle tour with Castle Quide took an hour
- Halls of Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV. His King-Size bed 2m
- Representative hall of Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV
- Representative hall of Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV
- This photo, officially named as Elephant Talk (by King Crimsom)
- Time for Drdelnik, Bohemian ice-cream
- Hmmm, Drdelnik means sugar and cinnamon
- Do you like 'old school' architecture?
- Or 'new school' architecture? This is beside Letna Park
- Next stop: The Red Metronome in Letna Park
- Letna Park, Stalin Monument platform and Red Metronome
INFO
THE RED Metronome in Letna Park
• 1955 Stalin Monument of massive granite unveiled
-- Monument took over 5 years to build, total weigh 17.000 tons
-- Stalin statue watched over Vltava River, Jewish Quarter, Prague
• 1962 Nikita Krushchev ordered destruction of the statue, dynamite
• 1989 Velvet Revolution ended 41-year rule by the Communist party
-- Czechoslovakia peacefully split to Slovakia and Czech Republic
-- Difference, said, Slovaks more emotional, Czechs more rational
-- Writer Vaclav Havel became first democratically elected president
• 1991 Red Metronome designed and constructed by Vratislav Novak
-- Metronome is on the same platform as Stalin Monument was
-- Metronome is 23 metres tall reminder of Czech under communism
• 2017 Red Metronome has become a meeting place for young Czecks
- Letna Park's Stalin Monument replaced by The Red Metronome
- Part of Red Metronome platform in Letna Park
- The Red Metronome in Letna Park
- Explorer DanDan at Letna Park's Red Metronome
- DanDan and friends viewing Vltava River and Prague
INFO
The Letna Park
One of the first public urban parks in Prague, on Letna hillside to the waterfront of Vltava River valley. In the past called as Letna Mountain.
• For all age groups, for cyclists, for romances
• Playgrounds for children, for relaxation
• Promenade on the edge of the hill
• Views over Vltava River, its bridges, the Prague
• Restaurants and places for picnics
• Beer bikes aka bierfiets: a bicycle for 12+ and a beer bar
-- invented in 1997 in the Netherlands, to drink and drive
• Restaurace Letensky Zamecek beer garden
- Restaurace Letensky Zamecek beer garden had Döner kebab in pita
- Forward in Letna Park's night
- Prague is friendly
- Portrait in 15 minutes, 350Kc around 13EUR
- Jan Hus Memorial, symbol of strength, Old Town Square
- The Jewish Quarter aka Josefov
- Bronze statue of Moses in Josefov near The Old-New Synagogue
- Staronova Synagoga aka The Old-New Synagogue
- The Old Jewish Cemetery aka Stary zidovsky hrbitov
INFO
THE OLD Jewish Cemetery - Stary zidovsky hrbitov
• The largest Jewish cemetery in Europe
• 12.000 tombstones
• 200.000 people buried in 9 layers
• Burial period 1400-1700
- Prague means lot to walk and was quite fun
- U Fleků Beer Garden, the clock above the door
INFO
PIVOVAR U Fleků Beer Garden, founded in 1499
• No waiting, waiters carry full beer trays, you will get one
• One kind of beer, brewed on the premises, 5% alcohol
• Dark lager made of water, hops, yeast, four kinds of barley malt
• Dark lager beer Flekovska trinactka aka The Flek Thirteen
• Served in 0,4l glasses for 59Kc, around 2EUR
• Main entrance of U Fleků has old, decorated clock above its door
• Eight halls, up to 1200 people, one hall called Akademie
• Open air part has long wooden tables, benches, trees
• Short menu, good food, good beer, live music, quick service
- U Fleků: Pork Knuckle; Beef in Cream; Roasted Chicken
- U Fleků musicians played entertaining classics
- U Fleků, a pretty good beer garden
- Team meeting after one of our beer garden nights
August 2017
Prague
Dancing House
1992
At Vltava River
Architects
• Vlado Milunic
• Frank Gehry
INFO
MUSEUM of Communism - life behind Iron Curtain (didn't visit inside)
• Post-WW2 life of Czech people under the Communist rule
• Artefacts, photographs, artworks, documents, military objects
• Reconstructed school classroom
• Goods from underground markets, media issues
• Over 200,000 Czechs were arrested, over 300 shot
August 2017
Prague
Hamleys Toyshop
**Hulk**
August 2017
Prague
Hamleys Toyshop
***Hulkbuster***
Driver: Ironman
- Espresso, latte, Coke, panini at Cafe Cacao Prague
- Yes, OOO-0000D, good but maybe not binary
- Powder Tower from 17th century, gunpowder storage, 65 meters
INFO
BOCCACCIO Ballroom under Grand Hotel Bohemia
For over 80 years ballroom has been part of Grand Hotel Bohemia, hidden under it. Hotel and Boccaccio Ballroom opened in 1927 glittering gold and crystal.
• Afternoons 5 o’clock tea
• Evenings La soirée dansante aka dinner dance
• Nights luxury nightclub for men only
Communists took over the hotel for 30 years. Parties, movie makings, even real gun shootings. During 1993 reconstruction, bullets were removed from the ceiling, original beauty was restored, even the wooden cassette floor. 2002 flood filled ballroom for 3 days up to the ceiling chandelier (made of 4000 pieces). Now Boccaccio Ballroom is for dinner parties, weddings, seminars and conferences.
- Boccaccio Ballroom is under Grand Hotel Bohemia
- BaBa performed complete Metronome-DAB in Boccaccio Ballroom
- Grand Hotel Bohemia was busy but nice
INFO
THE CZECH Republic - some phases
• 1198 Kingdom of Bohemia, imperial councils of Holy Roman Empire
• 1526 Habsburg Monarchy with Austria and Hungary
• 1806 Kingdom of Bohemia became part of the Austrian Empire
• 1918 Republic of Czechoslovakia
• 1945 Occupied by Germany, liberated by Soviet Union and U.S.
• 1946 Communist Party won the elections
• 1968 Prague Spring movement led to Soviet invasion, occupation
• 1989 Velvet Revolution, the communist regime collapsed
• 1990 Czech Socialist Republic renamed to Czech Republic
• 1993 Divide to independent states Czech Republic and Slovak Republic
• 1999 Czech Republic joined to NATO
• 2004 Czech Republic joined to European Union
• Population 10M, capital Prague 1.2M, currency Koruna
Q: What was the single best thing in Prague?
A: Toy stores, they were real, good, many
A: But in Prague, most I saw was just the other tourists
Q: Some trouble with breakfast in your hotel?
A: Sure, unbelievable, Eggs Benedict delivered with a single egg!
Going home. Check-out at Grand Hotel Bohemia
- We decided to leave the Kafka Museum for next visit
Prague, a living Architecture Museum
Period: August 5 - August 9, 2017
Flights: Helsinki - Prague - Helsinki, 1320km, Finnair Airbus A321
Hotel: Grand Hotel Bohemia, rm 301, 4 nights, city center
Hotel: Cooling OK. Bed OK. Shower OK. Breakfast - Upgrade needed!
During August 2017 trip to Prague I met Mr Daniel Zappi. In 2019 he joined Česko Slovensko má talent (Czech Got Talent) competition. I watched his competition performance live online, piano and singing. My SMS-vote went to my friend Daniel Zappi.
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