Due to various scheduling issues we only managed one full day (and two nights) in Prague which was not anywhere long enough to see this fascinating city properly. However what we did see on our self designed walking tour we found very interesting. We started our walk at the rather curious Dancing House which looks like a cartoon building...
Continuing on, we walked through some of the streets on the eastern side of the river that bisects the city looking at buildings both old and new. Eventually making our way to the main shopping street where we found a museum dedicated to metal creations. We didn't go inside but did take a few photos with the outside displays.
After visiting Hamley's Toy store in London, Samuel was excited to find a branch in Prague - complete with slide between floors and a basement with a massive (paid) Lego display. Samuel had a tour of the Lego while E&E found a seat to take some time out.
Moving on to some of the more touristy parts of town we stopped at the famous Astronomical clock (alongside a few thousand other spectators). It would have been nice to spend a bit of time understanding the intricate mechanism of the clock but with so many people around we satisfied ourselves with a few quick photos. In this part of town, roughly 50 percent of the shops seemingly were dedicated to selling goods to tourists. Some sold beautiful crystal but the majority peddled the usual rubbish. The other 40 percent of establishments were restaurants or food outlets and 10 percent tourist attractions of some sort. It was perhaps the first time on the trip that I (Eric) really noticed the tourist takeover that's facing some of the most memorable European cities and got an understanding of how jarring it must be for the locals. Enduring the crowds wore us out after just a few minutes.
Dessert was at a very fancy gingerbread store.
The heat was relentless as we climbed up to the Palace. At the top we enjoyed a great view over the city and an even more welcome shower from a water truck that had obviously been dispatched to cool down the citizens and tourists. Thankfully there were a lot less people around - whether it was the heat or the climb up the hill we weren't sure.
By now we were just about done in so it was off to the nearest metro station and back to the hotel for afternoon r&r We needed to take it a bit easy as we were off to compete in the last three days of the Bohemia orienteering event the next day. All up, Prague is a lovely city but it's perhaps just a bit too popular with the tourists to be an optimal location to visit at the height of the summer tourist season.
Continuing on, we walked through some of the streets on the eastern side of the river that bisects the city looking at buildings both old and new. Eventually making our way to the main shopping street where we found a museum dedicated to metal creations. We didn't go inside but did take a few photos with the outside displays.
After visiting Hamley's Toy store in London, Samuel was excited to find a branch in Prague - complete with slide between floors and a basement with a massive (paid) Lego display. Samuel had a tour of the Lego while E&E found a seat to take some time out.
Moving on to some of the more touristy parts of town we stopped at the famous Astronomical clock (alongside a few thousand other spectators). It would have been nice to spend a bit of time understanding the intricate mechanism of the clock but with so many people around we satisfied ourselves with a few quick photos. In this part of town, roughly 50 percent of the shops seemingly were dedicated to selling goods to tourists. Some sold beautiful crystal but the majority peddled the usual rubbish. The other 40 percent of establishments were restaurants or food outlets and 10 percent tourist attractions of some sort. It was perhaps the first time on the trip that I (Eric) really noticed the tourist takeover that's facing some of the most memorable European cities and got an understanding of how jarring it must be for the locals. Enduring the crowds wore us out after just a few minutes.
Eventually we reached the Charles Bridge. Dating from the 14th Century it provides a pedestrian route between the old and new towns. It was jam packed with tourists, vendors, street performers and we inched our way across in the now very ferocious sun. Luckily we found a nice café in a small hidden alley just across the bridge on the edge of the old town where we had a lovely relaxed lunch before again braving the crowds.
Dessert was at a very fancy gingerbread store.
The heat was relentless as we climbed up to the Palace. At the top we enjoyed a great view over the city and an even more welcome shower from a water truck that had obviously been dispatched to cool down the citizens and tourists. Thankfully there were a lot less people around - whether it was the heat or the climb up the hill we weren't sure.
By now we were just about done in so it was off to the nearest metro station and back to the hotel for afternoon r&r We needed to take it a bit easy as we were off to compete in the last three days of the Bohemia orienteering event the next day. All up, Prague is a lovely city but it's perhaps just a bit too popular with the tourists to be an optimal location to visit at the height of the summer tourist season.
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