Our visit to Prague...amazing!

Well, we are back from our visit to Prague and we are still in awe of our entire experience. As Paul put it tonight, it is a place that you MUST visit at least once during your lifetime.

On Friday April and I got food ready for the train and packed everything we would need in our backpacks. We headed for the train at around 4:30 and then settled in for a six hour train ride.

Our first impression of Prague was not a good one...not good at all! Germany is such a clean, organized country and the Czech is completely different! There was graffiti all over the buildings...I have never seen so much graffiti in my life! It wasn't very clean and the buildings were very run-down. The Czech has been through a lot of change...it was once a communisit-run country, there was a separation from the Soviet...all leading to a country that hasn't had consistent leadership.

We booked our hotel just outside the main city. It was in an area that was a little rough and it wasn't the best first impression of Prague. The next day, however, was a different story.

We took the tram into the heart of Prague early Saturday morning and we couldn't believe what we were seeing. It is very difficult to put it in words, in fact! The buildings were breakthtaking...every corner we rounded made us gasp...everything was very beautiful and very grand.

The square has a clock tower that both April and Paul climbed...once again, I took photos from the bottom and tried not to burn in the hot sun. :) (Side note...the weather in Prague was very, very, very hot). We then made our way through the streets and went into most of the little shops and bought things at the market. We made our way to the Charles bridge. The bridge is an amazing sight in and of itself and was absolutely packed with people. Paul and I bought a painting of Prague on the bridge and we touched many of the statues that have been famous for brining good luck for centuries.

We then made our way to the upper part of Prague. The climb to the castle was not easy - especially in the heat - but worth the effort! The castle and the many churches inside the walls are unbelievably beautiful.

There were many tours offered throughout the city - walking, carriage rides, and even rides in antique cars. We actually took a tour around the city in an antique car on Sunday morning. We had to leave for the train by noon, so we wanted a relaxing way to see more of the city. What an amazing way to end the trip!

We boarded the train and the next few hours were not pleasant at all! There is no air-conditioning on the trains...and only partial windows that open. The train was absolutely packed...many people were standing and sitting in the aisles. It was HOT in the train...a type of smothering heat I cannot even explain. Many of us were standing at the windows and putting our heads out a little trying to catch our breath. It was a loooooooon ride. Did I mention that it was really HOT??!! By the time we got back to Germany, the weather was quite cool again...what a difference in weather!

Prague was one of the best experiences of our lives!

I will post more tomorrow, including the pics.