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August 30, 2001 |
I hope you enjoy these photos and find the information useful. I took these photos on my second visit to Ceska Republika. My first visit was in February of 2001, and this second trip was in August of 2001. (I'll return for a visit in March or April of 2002 as well - after having a friend of mine meet me there for three days he's decided he too needs to spend more time getting to know Praha.)
If you are considering a trip to Europe and want to see real history, impressive castles, beautiful countryside, and eat wonderful food while drinking probably the best beer in the world, then visit the Czech Republic, or Ceska Republika.
There is a reason Europeans call this "the old country" - in Bohemia 500 years ago is recent history. Bohemia and specifically Praha served as the seat of the Holy Roman Empire as well as the Hapsburg Empire for many years. Praha is also one of the most popular vacation site for Europeans, and for good reason.
Two nice photo books of Praha are "Prague, an historic town" ISBN 80-85894-28-9 (full color) and "Praga Caput Regni", produced by Summerfield Press, Florence.; It is a black and white coffeetable photo book with photos from the 1800s to date. Unfortunately it does not have an ISBN.
If you want some good tour guide books for Praha and the outlying area, I'd recommend the following combination:
"Prague Eyewitness Travel Guide", ISBN 1-56458-503-4 by Dorling Kindersley Publishing, Inc. http://www.dk.com/ Wonderful guide with a lot of photos and "Prague" published by Lonely Planet, ISBN 1-86450-208-8, http://www.lonelyplanet.com/ which gives you good pointers on the tourist traps to avoid (can we say "restaurants in hotels", "U Fleku", etc?) and interesting finds slightly off the standard tourist-beaten path.
If you want to get a feel for the city and people from a literary standpoint, check out "Prague - A Travelers' Literary Companion", ISBN 1-883513-01-4, which has some wonderful short stories, and to get a feel for the Czech sense of humor Czech out "The Good Soldier Svejk", by Jaroslav Hasek, ISBN 0-14-118428-0.
If you are interested in a more serious study of the history of Praha, Peter Demetz has published "Prague In Black and Gold, The History of A City", ISBN 0-14-026888-X. Another reading you might consider is "Three Novels, Hordubal, Meteor, An Ordinary Life" by Karel Capek, ISBN 0-945774-08-7. Capek is considered one of the best Czech authors of the first half of the 20th Century.
There is a nice bookstore across from Krone on Vaclavske Namesti which has Czech books in English - if you want more reading be sure and stop by.
These are my pictures of Kampa Island, Most Legii, Prague Old Town, Vaclavske Namesti (Wenclas Square,) Karlov Most (Charles Bridge), of the hotel I stayed at (The Palace Hotel), and two images from the airport.
Ceska Rebublika has some of the oldest, largest, and best preserved castles in the world. On my second trip to Praha I made it a point to go on day trips to several different castles:
Cesky Krumlov (see my photos) is a UNESCO Certified World Treasure site - both the village and the castle itself. If you can stay overnight there, there is a hotel which is actually an old Jesuit Monestary which is fantastic *and* inexpensive. I've included info on the village as well as the Official Website. The website includes many 360 degree images, and a history of each building in the village, including who built it, who lived there over the years, etc. A good hardcover photo book of Cesky Krumlov is ISBN 80-901875-7-9/80-85433-78-8.
Karlstejn Castle, (see my photos), founded in 1348 by Charles IV, is one of the most impressive castles in Europe. Here is its Official Website. The guidebook which you can purchase at the castle is ISBN 80-85094-93-2 and published by the State Central Bohemian Monuments Institute in Prague. They also publish a multimedia CD tour of the castle.
Konopiste Chateau (see my pictures) is the only Bohemian castle which was never taken by force. This was the residence of Archduke Ferdinand at the time he and his wife, the Countess Sophia were living when they traveled to Sarajevo and were assasinated (which led to the first World War.) Here is its official webpage. The two guidebooks you can purchase at Konopiste are ISBN 80-85094-70-3 and ISBN 80-85094-45-2
Prazky Hrad (Prague Castle) (see my photos) was begun in 880 a.d. and worked on over the next millennia. Here is the official website.
Probably the best book I've found on Prazky Hrad itself is "Prague Castle Detailed Guide" published by Jiri Polacek (ISBN 80-901544-4-1.) If you are going to visit the Castle, do yourself a favor and get the book before you go, as it will give you detailed history that will enhance your tour.
A word of advice: take the time to learn some basic phrases in Czech. This will take more than just using a phrasebook because Czech is *not* pronounced the way an English-speaker might think. There is a good page online at http://www.locallingo.com/countries/czech_republic/language/ and http://www.languages-on-the-web.com/links/link-czech.htm which is an incredible compilation of information on everything Czech. If you want to buy tapes and a book there are several available on Amazon et al; I used James Naughton's Colloquial Czech, ISBN 0-415-16134-7. Taking the time to show the respect of learning some basic phrases in their language will make a significant difference in how you are received in any country, and this applies to Ceska Republika. Czech is a difficult language, and even being able to pronounce things correctly will bode well for you.
By the way, while I do enjoy a taste of Absinthe (particularly Swiss La Bleue,) I highly recommend you stay away from Czech Absinthe, as it is closer to furniture polish than alcohol. This is about the only Czech product I found I did not like. I did, however, enjoy Slivovice, Becherovka, and of course the incredible beer...
Nashledanou!
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James D. Wilson
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