On A Roadtrip To Prague.

Along with the best mum in the world, a bag of yummy picknick goodies and the cute Opel Karl, we were one our way up north.

A few stops in between and just about five hours later, we arrived at the IBIS Praha Old Town Hotel, right in the centre of the city. I can really suggest a hotel near the Old Town, because from here, you’ll reach almost anything by foot.

Prague’s Treasure Chamber, Day 1:

48 hours doesn’t sound like lot of time for a capital city with as many sights as Prague. But if the timing is right and you’re not a lazy bum, then you’ll be able to explore all the famous landmarks of the city.

Prague’s centre is a cultural treasure chamber! Indispensable is the Old Town Square of the city with the gothic Church of Our Lady before Týn and the oldest still operating Astronomical Clock in the world, which is located on the facade of the old Town Hall.

• A short side note: My great great great grandfather Anton Michalitschke was one of the people repairing the astronomical clock between 1787 bis 1791.

Continue walking East and you’ll reach the 621 metre long and nearly 10 metre wide Charles Bridge, which is also one the most frequented sights of the city. Still, there is no way around (or better across) it. And after all, it is a nice stroll through the bridge tower, across the Vltava river that leads the way up to the largest ancient castle in the world: Prague Castle. Just a small place, where two catholic town councils and a secretary were thrown out of a window in 1618, that then started a war that would last 30 years and seized almost all of Europe. We could have spent hours here, but set our focus to the Golden Lane and Saint Vitus Cathedral, which was enough for the day. Close to 20 kilometres of walking made our feet sorer than sore!

Prague’s Treasure Chamber, Day 2:

Our sightseeing tour started again at the old town spare, from were it only took us a couple of minutes until we reached the Old Jewish Cemetery in the district Josefov. It’s the largest Jewish cemetery in Europe and stands out due to it’s many wildly arranged tombstones.

We quickly realised that our legs still hurt and decided it give our feet some rest and went on a two hour boat cruise. It lead all the way from Cech Bridge to Vysehrad fort. The Dancing House was just one of the sights we got to see during our cruise.

It’s not for nothing that up to 50.000 people visit Prague each day during the high season. Prague is one of the most spectacular cities in Europe that is often underrated and only narrowed down to just a few beautiful sights. So at this point, we’d like to thank Opel and Accor for sponsoring this trip – it was a real pleasure!

The second day passed a lot faster and we now either had the choice to spend a few hours more in Prague, or to drive West to a place called Sedlec Ossuary (aka Skull Church) before returning to Vienna. Who wouldn’t want to see 70.000 skeletons in one of the most macabre buildings you could find? Yup, that’s us alright!

• Sightseeing Tip: The view up from the top of the Old Town Hall is absolutely stunning!
• Lunch Tip: Prague has so many lovely restaurants to chose from, no doubt about that. But Mistral Café & Restaurant is a sweet and homey place with food that is to die for!
• Love Tip: Like in many other cities around the world, lover’s locks can be found near the John Lennon Wall in Prague.

The Old Town Square in Prague is home to some of the most iconic and dramatic buildings of the city.

The most notable sights on the square are the Old Town Hall Tower & Astronomical Clock, Tyn Church and St. Nicholas Church. At the centre (left in this photo) of the Old Town Square is the Jan Hus statue.

Be sure to climb the Old Town Hall Tower in Prague for a stunning view over the square.

To fully appreciate the Astronomical Clock, join the crowd in front of the tower to watch the procession of the Twelve Apostles: on the hour, every hour, a small trap door opens and Christ marches out ahead of his disciples, while the skeleton of death tolls the bell to a defiant statue of a Turk.

The Dancing House (designed by architects Vlado Milunic and Frank Gehry) in Prague is set by the Vltava River. Its design is unique, and especially striking in the city centre because it is a modern building surrounded by historic architecture.

The Old Jewish Cemetery is among the oldest surviving Jewish burial grounds in the world and along with the Old-New Synagogue, it’s the most important site in the Jewish quarter of Prague.

According to the Guinness Book of World Records, Prague Castle is the largest coherent castle complex in the world, with an area of almost 70,000 m². It’s also a UNESCO World Heritage site.

So a while ago, we decided to skip a weekend of couch-surfing at home for a road trip to a small but very well-known town not far from the Austrian border, in the South Bohemian region of the Czech Republic: Český Krumlov. Český Krumlov and Prague, are the two most popular destinations in the Czech Republic and an absolute must visit place for any traveller! Once you’ve been here, it’s not hard to understand why.

Getting to Český Krumlov isn’t too hard. It’s just a day trip from Prague, Salzburg or Vienna and if you get up early enough, even Munich. Driving to Český Krumlov from Vienna is a bit dull (there’s really not that much around), especially with unclear weather, however, once it comes into sight, you’ll be speechless by the beauty of this little town that is so well preserved, it’s almost unreal.

Český Krumlov Highlights.

We were lucky to find a parking spot right behind the multistorey castle – under normal circumstances, (free) parking nearby is close to impossible. We entered the old town from the back of the castle, walked right through the massive Cloak Bridge, which connects the castle complex with the gardens that crown it on the summits of the cliffs, before we came to one of the little bridges that connect the inner and outer part of town.

Český Krumlov literally looks like something out of a fairytale with the huge castle overlooking the picturesque, magical old town and the Vltava river winding its way around it. The narrow, labyrinth-like lanes (though admittingly, it’s not handicap friendly) make you feel like you’re walking in an old Disney film.

Most visitors set their sight on the mighty castle (as did we). And they’re right to do so: It’s one of the most beautiful and well-preserved castles in Europe, the second largest in the Czech Republic, with magnificent and elaborate exterior facades, forty buildings and palaces, situated within five courts. The castle itself offers many sights, yet the most striking one for us was the colorful round tower, featuring a 162-step climb to the top, from where you have an amazing 360° view.

A Well Deserved UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Český Krumlov doesn’t seem to force anything onto anyone (like for example demanding lots of cash for entering the castle), and there’s no need to rip-off visitors. It’s quite rare that a place of such beauty behaves so modest.

With its simple charm and wonderful medieval feel, Český Krumlov is not only a well deserved UNESCO World Heritage Site, but exactly the kind of quite, small town in Europe that many people dream of experiencing.

Český Krumlov has long been recognised as one of the most charming fairytale towns in all of Europe.

The Vlatava River surrounds the fairytale town of Český Krumlov.

The 360° Český Krumlov view from the Caste Tower is an absolute must for any visitor. The banner at the top shines at a height of 86 m above the Vltava River. The tower has a Gothic core, but it was completed in Renaissance style and is probably the most famous symbol of Český Krumlov, built to guard the medieval river crossing.

Renaissance mural paintings are well preserved all over the Český Krumlov Castle.

Český Krumlov castle is built right into the side of the mountain wall.

The area of the Vth courtyard is accessible from the buildings of the Upper Český Krumlov Castle across the Cloak Bridge.

The three-storied covered arched Cloak bridge of the Český Krumlov Castle stands on massive stone pillars and is a technically daring and impressive construction.

Wall paintings of the IIIrd Courtyard of Český Krumlov Castle.

Off we go.

Last June, some guys asked us if we would transport their luggage by car, while they cycled through Hungary, Slovakia and Czech Republic for a few days.

All We Had To Do Was:

1. Be at the cyclers planned accommodation the night before their arrival.
2. Pick up their luggage in the morning after they started their route for the day.

So this would have given us plenty of time to see the area. Therefore, we immediately took the chance (after all we were being paid for a nice long weekend) and left on a sunny Friday afternoon towards the Hungarian border.

Hungary.

The landscape around Sopron is pretty interesting. The South of Lake Neusiedl is sparsely populated and you get the impression the animals are taking over. You’ll find lots of camp grounds in the villages along the road lots of “Spa Towns” with artesian water. We set up our tent at a quiet corner of an otherwise huge camp ground, mainly packed with German holidaymakers in their RV’s.

One of the best things we love about Hungary is that it’s easy to drive “off road”, and since we were on our way with a Toyota RAV4, we tried to drive as much as possible on little dirt tracks, avoiding any villages and main roads. It’s so much fun once you are used to the bumpiness. Of course, a compass or a GPS should be on board so that you can’t get lost.

Anyway, we drove further North and after picking some strawberries in a “pick it yourself” strawberry field we passed Györ, and continued towards the Slovakian border. There at the border (it wasn’t a real border any more thanks to the European Union) we crossed the bridge across the Danube river.

Landscape South of Lake Neusiedl in Hunary.

Going off road in Hungary.

Going off road in Hungary.

Slovakia.

As we already did in Hungary, we continued driving on little country lanes towards Bratislava, the Capital of Slovakia. This was our chance to finally visit Bratislava … but we simply passed through because we wanted to be in the countryside again. Just North of Bratislava the “Little Carpathian Mountain Range” begins. You’ll drive up a long and winding road – a real motor bikers delight – and at the highest point of the road are some rest houses & some mountain huts. In winter it’s a lovely skiing area with few (but fun) ski slopes. As this was one of the meeting points of our cyclers, we needed to settle down. We found a room in one of the mountain huts in the middle of the forest. It was dirt cheap with a yummy breakfast in the morning.
Further North through Slovakia, along the Austrian border, are beautiful little lakes in the beautiful riparian meadowland. Of course depending that the weather is nice and sunny. We passed a few little villages and noticed a few old men on motorbikes obviously with a few drinks (Slibovitz maybe…) too many. We were really lucky to avoid an accident with one of these guys. Police over there are .. well not as what you would expect them to be. So just be aware when you drive by car in Slovakia.

A lake in Slovakia.

The people of Slovakia are still very religious.

Asparagus harvest in Slovakia.

Czech Republic.

After crossing the border, we immediately made our way to Mikulov. It’s a beautiful old town with a long history and therefore you’ll come across lots of interesting buildings and a very nice Jewish Cemetery. A huge town party was in full swing when we arrived and the main square was packed of dancers and market stalls. This sort of entertainment always has a commercial background. We accidentally drove up to the main square and were stopped by the police immediately. No argument helped, the police had no mercy and collected a 40 € fine … but first we had to find an ATM machine to get some Czech Koronas. Btw: The police in Czech Republic is well known for ripping off foreigners, so again, we aware.

We continued on empty country tracks towards Znojmo, straightforward paved single lane roads along the Austrian border. You’ll pass some observation towers & bunkers from the cold war abandoned in the countryside. After Znojmo, we crossed the border to Austria and continued out way home.

Mikulov city in Czech Republic.

The Jewish cemetery in Mikulov, Czech Republic.

As you can see, within four days, you can easily have the chance of visiting 3 – 5 countries and its people. This is definitely something we really enjoy about Central Europa and a rather small home country like Austria :)

The Old Towns Spare is one of the most visited places in Prague. No wonder. You’ll not only find the scary looking Gothic Tyn Church there but also the world famous Astronomical Clock. The clock was first installed in 1410, making it the third-oldest astronomical clock in the world and the oldest one still working. Before leaving for Prague, my mum told me that my great great grandfather was one of the few people who knew how to repair this clock and therefore was one of the even fewer people who got his hands dirty repairing it…Pretty cool huh?

Old Town Hall Tower in Prague, Czech Republic.

Astronomical Clock in Prague, Czech Republic.

Tyn Church at night in Prague, Czech Republic.

2. Prague Castle.

Of course one of the biggest attractions is the Prague Castle with St. Vitus Church and the Golden Lane. It is the biggest castle in the world at about 570 meters in length and an average of about 130 meters wide. Prague was so tightly bound to what we call Western Europe today, that in the 17^th century it was enough to through two catholic town councils and a secretary out of the Prague Castle to start a war; a war that would last 30 years and seized almost all of Europe…

The view of Prague Castle and St. Vitus Cathedral from Petrin Tower.

Walking around the Prague Castle will leave you all alone in certain parts.

The walls of Prague Castle.

St. Vitus Cathedral is an excellent example of Gothic architecture and is the biggest and most important church in the Czech Republic..

The Cathedral of St. Vitus had a tremendous influence on the development of Late Gothic style characteristic for Central Europe.

The Golden Lane inside the Prague Castle dates from the 15th Century and has a beautiful, olden world quaintness about it. It comprises 11 historic houses, inside which period scenes have been created to show the life of the artisans who once worked, ate, drank and slept in them.

The name “Golden lane” inside Prague Castle is connected with 16th century alchemists, who had to look there, according to legends, for a reaction to produce gold.

3. Petřín.

Petřín is a hill in the center of Prague with an Eiffel Tower like tower on top. From up there, you have a stunning 360° view of the city. Sooo worth seeing!

Petrin tower in Prague, Czech Republic.

The view over Prague from Petrin Tower.

Railway up to Petrin in Prague, Czech Republic.

4. (John) Lennon Wall.

To be honest, we didn’t plan on visiting the John Lennon Wall. We heard about it, yet it didn’t capture our attention. We reached the wall by accidents when walking through the side alley near Charles Bridge – and we were not disappointed. It once was a regular wall, but since the early 1980’s it was continuously filled with John Lennon inspired graffiti. Why? Well, in 1988 Young Czechs would write grievances on the wall and in a report of the time. This led to a clash between hundreds of students and security police on the nearby Charles Bridge. The movement these students followed was described (ironically) as “Lennonism”. What’s so great abut this place is that it constantly undergoes change because people still paint/write on the wall.

John Lennon wall in Prague, Czech Republic.

Lover’s locks near the John Lennon wall in Prague, Czech Republic.

5. The Old Jewish Cemetery.

The Old Jewish cemetery in Prague truly fascinated me; It’s one of the most well known cemeteries in Europe because of the way the tombstones are arranged. Even though the entry isn’t cheap, it’s worth every single cent. A huge must see!

Inside the museum of the Old Jewish Cemetery in Prague, Czech Republic.

Jewish Cemetery in Prague, Czech Republic.

The thing you need to know before is that I’m usually not the kind of tourist who runs from one attraction to the next but when I’m visiting a new place, I’d like to see at least some of the famous sights. And well, Prague has many famous (and more important: impressive & beautiful) sights! One of these was the Old Jewish Cemetery. Ever since I saw photos of the wildly arranged (or not so arranged) tombstones, I knew this was a total must-see! And since our hotel was only around the corner, it would also be our first stop on day 1…

The Old Jewish Cemetery (obviously) lies in the Jewish quarter of Prague (which is named Josefov) and is one of the most well known in all of Europe. No wonder: There are about 12.000 tombstones with more than 100.000 people buried there. Doesn’t quite add up, right? Due to the lack of space, the dead were interred in layers and this is why it looks so … crowded.

The Old Jewish Cemetery in Prague, Czech Republic.

The Old Jewish Cemetery in Prague, Czech Republic.

The Old Jewish Cemetery in Prague, Czech Republic.

The Old Jewish Cemetery in Prague, Czech Republic.

The Old Jewish Cemetery in Prague, Czech Republic.

History & Culture Of Prague.

Many visitors who come to Prague run from one attraction to the next, without really knowing the diverse history of this capital. In other cities like Rome, London or Paris, one feels historically at home right away, since the history of each city plays a great role in Western society. Prague is different. I mean honestly, do you know anything about Prague and its historical value for Europe?

I didn’t know that much either. But since my father is a history-freak, I found out that Prague was the capital site of the Habsburger Empire under Rudolf II. Quite something for this “unknown” city if you ask me … Anyway, the city once was so tightly bound to what we call Western Europe today, that in the 17^th century it was enough to through two catholic town councils and a secretary out of Prague’s castle to start a war; a war that would last 30 years and seized almost all of Europe.

Brilliant directors and writers like Antonin Dvorak and Franz Kafka have emerged here and until today it almost seems like, history has been captured behind the castles walls.

Why I Love Prague.

During the four days I’ve spent in Czech Republic’s capital, I have not only refreshed my history skills but I started appreciating all of the wonderful parts and impressions. I’ll be honest: Prague has made the top of my all-time favourite European cities! It has so many places of interest. It’s clean, it’s beautiful, it’s the perfect sport for any travel photographer and it’s full of history yet for some reason it’s still so underestimated … and that’s what makes it even more charming!

To give you a brief impression on why I’m rambling on how beautiful this city is, I’d like to share some photos with you. I’ll give you a more detailed review of each sight in the next couple of days. For now, enjoy some of the impressions from my weekend in Prague:

Charles Bridge is a famous historic bridge that crosses the Vltava river in Prague. The construction started in 1357 under the auspices of King Charles IV, and finished in the beginning of the 15th century.

Church of Our Lady in front of Týn, is a dominant feature of the Old Town of Prague, and has been the main church of this part of the city since the 14th century. The church’s towers are 80 m high and topped by four small spires.

Petrin lookout tower is a 65 m high steel framework tower in Prague, which strongly resembles the Eiffel Tower. Although it is much shorter than the Eiffel Tower, it stands atop a sizeable hill, Petřín, so the top is at a higher altitude than that of the Eiffel Tower.

The numbers of grave stones and numbers of people buried at the Old Jewish Cemetery in Prague are uncertain because there are layers of tombs. However, it has been estimated that there are approximately 12,000 tombstones presently visible, and there may be as many as 100.000 burials in all.

Like in many other cities around the world, lover’s locks can be found near the John Lennon wall in Prague.

Facade of Hotel Josef (our hotel in Prague).

The view of Prague Castle and St. Vitus Cathedral from Petrin Lookout Tower.

The Astronomical Clock in Prague is a medieval astronomical clock. The clock was first installed in 1410, making it the third-oldest astronomical clock in the world and the oldest one still working.

The tower at Charles Bridge in Prague look a bit like a bull.