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.All Trips / Czech Republic / Europe
Praha = Prague = Fantastic!!!
Prague (pronounced and spelled Praha on local maps) was a city I’d wanted to visit for almost 2 decades, ever since the Iron Curtain collapsed at the hands of the Velvet Revolution. But as is often the case, life happens and my plans kept being postponed. Still the idea of visiting Prague was firmly set and as we finally were approaching the Hlvani Nadrazi train station, completing our four hour rail journey from Vienna, I felt a tingle run up my leg (with due apologies to Chris Matthews) on seeing some of the Prague landmarks I recognized, like the spires of St. Vitus and our Lady of Tyn Cathedrals. I was really looking forward to our upcoming week in the capitol of Bohemia and the Czech Republic. …
.All Trips / Europe / Slovakia
Bratislava: An overlooked travel destination
Bratislava, capitol of land-locked Slovakia, was not what I expected. It’s an old city whose history goes back to well before the time of Christ, including envelopment into the Hungarian and Hapsburg empires and more recently the Soviet empire. It was my first visit to a former eastern-block country and I thought I’d see a small struggling city still trying to shake off the burdens of Communist repression. While there is some evidence of that this city of nearly 500,000 is being reborn. There are many construction and remodeling projects and an invigorating entrepreneurial energy is in the air. The streets are filled with tourists taking in the sights of the old city and Austrians shopping for bargains (which are …
Tagged Bratislava, Castle, Cathedral, Slovakia
.All Trips / Austria / Europe
Vienna — Life in the Past Lane
The Eagles are one of my favorite bands, with a terrific and diverse music catalog including many top hits such as “Hotel California” and “Life in the Fast Lane”. The latter title played on my iPod ear buds while we cruising on the Danube and it dawned on me that it (metaphorically) might have described Vienna several hundred years ago. In the 17th and 18th centuries Vienna was one of the most innovative and influential cities in the world. Sadly, those days are gone. While still an interesting place to visit, Vienna’s finest days seem behind her. To visit her now is to see the remnants of that history and view “Life in the Past Lane”; …
Tagged Castle, Cathedral, Hapsburg, UNESCO World Heritage Site, Vienna
