Our holiday with Leger followed the normal sequence of events - pick-up in Canterbury, meet up with our very good friends Nick and Olwen in Dover prior to boarding our tour coach driven by John and Tony, the ferry crossing and the long drive to our overnight stop in Brussels. As is also customary our holiday started with the first gin and tonic as the coach left Calais. The following day involved travelling to our first holiday hotel in Prague; we've always treated the journey there as part of the holiday and usually involves a bit of reading, watching the odd video, watching the world go by and generally getting to know our fellow passengers. It's a chance to relax and get into holiday mode. Our coach drivers, who are very good friends of ours, are very knowledgable and keep us informed about the places we are driving through and of course ensure that our drinks are topped up at frequent intervals!!
For our first day in the capital of Czechoslovakia we were dropped off at one of the bridges across the river Vitava which flows through the centre of Prague and started our guided tour through the city centre; however, we're not quick walkers and were quite happy to drop out and find our own way around and it gave us the opportunity to have a ride in a horse and carriage around the city.
We enjoyed a pleasant river cruise at lunchtime, with meal and drinks and an accordian player to persuade Jane to have a dance on the upper deck. For the rest of the day we looked around Prague and saw some interesting sights such as the Astonomical Clock, the Charles IV (Karel) statue and the King Charles Bridge and its statues.
For those who have read my commentaries you will know that I like to read up on the places and things we have seen and this trip was no exception. The astronomical clock (orloj) was first installed in 1410, making it the third-oldest astronomical clock in the world and the oldest one still operating. The clock mechanism itself is composed of three main components: the astronomical dial, representing the position of the Sun and Moon in the sky and displaying various astronomical details; "The Walk of the Apostles", a clockwork hourly show of figures of the Apostles and other moving sculptures—notably a figure of Death (represented by a skeleton) and a Turk shaking his head to represent lust. There are two dials, the astronomical dial and a calendar dial with medallions representing the months.
The statue of King Charles (Karel) IV is in the Knights of the Cross Square. He became king of Bohemia in 1347 and in 1355 he was crowned King of Italy and Holy Roman Emperor (by the pope) after crossing the alps without an army a role he only held for a very short time before returning across the alps. Bohemia had remained untouched by the plague, prevalent at the time and Prague became his capital; he rebuilt the city on the model of Paris, and in 1348, he founded the Charles University in Prague, which was named after him and was the first university in Central Europe. Soon Prague emerged as the intellectual and cultural center of Central Europe. He was a very significant person of his time. He initiated construction of the bridge over the Vitara river in 1357 but it took over 50 years to complete by which time he had died (1378); this most stunning bridge spans 16 arches and is lined with 30 Baroque statues of religious figures.
On the second day in Prague we paid a visit to the castle up on the hill and the St Vitus Cathedral; we saw the changing of the guard and looked around the St Vitus basilica. During the Velvet Revolution (non-violent resistance) in 1989, following many years of communist rule, Alexander Dubček, the leader of Czechoslovakia during the Prague Spring, appeared on a balcony overlooking Wenceslas Square to hear throngs of protesters below shouting "Dubček to the Castle!" as they urged him to take his seat as president of the country at Prague Castle. Prague is a city of great history and is one of those places we visit briefly and vow to go back for longer stay one day.
Prague
Budapest
Vienna
