Prague 10/07/2019

Prague is the capital of the Czech Republic. It is the country's largest city with 1.3 million residents. It is a political, cultural, and economic center of Central Europe. A country with a rich history, it has suffered through a number of changes that have influenced its path. It has been in existence for over 1,000 years. It was occupied by the Germans in WW ll and by the Russians following. As a member of the Eastern Communist Bloc, Prague did not fare well under the communist rule from Moscow. That changed in 1989 when they were able to free themselves from Russian rule and became a free nation. That is behind them now and they have moved forward. Tourists from all over visit Prague each year and these numbers are increasing. I am glad we decided to come here.
Prague enjoyed quite a bit of economic progress in the reign of King Charles IV. He was a progressive King and made a huge impact on this country, In addition to Czechoslavikia, Charles was also King of Bohemia. He was the King of the Holy Roman Empire. He was the king of Italy and the King of Burgundy. His reign lasted from 1346 to 1378. He built a fort in Monte Carlo (Mount Charles), he had a bridge built across the Vitava River. (the Charles Bridge) He built the Universitas Carolinas (Charles University.) Needless to say his impact is felt, even today.
Today we made an attempt to learn first hand about some of the history of Prague. We chose to take a walking tour. Our guide on this tour was a young man by the name of Jeremy Fane. He is from Minnesota and even though he was a Yankee, we understood everything he said. Jeremy is well versed in the history of Prague, and we thoroughly enjoyed our time with him.
We left the hotel and were told to take the no. 9 tram to the downtown area. We were to join the tour in the "Old Town". We did not have tickets to ride the tram, but we had a schedule to keep, so we hopped on board. We saw no one to buy a ticket from or any place to validate the ticket, even if we had one. Several other people got on with no tickets and asked us how to get tickets. We could be no help to them at all. Amanda and Linda were concerned, if we were arrested, what about the treatment we would receive. Would they share the same cell? They were not confident that two Alabama State Troopers could save the day. No one asked for a ticket, we got off at our destination, and continued the mission. We did stop for coffee and a Hungarian pastry (Trdelnik), Very good.
We then joined the tour. 18,500 steps and 3 hours later the tour ended. We learned a great deal about the Czech Republic and Prague.
We had lunch on the river, near the Charles River, and afterwards worked our way back to our hotel. We arrived back around 6:00 pm. Tomorrow we will take another tour. The Castle Tour. Report to follow. Good night.