Cyrillic vs Latin Alphabet
If you're not aware, many of the Slavic countries utilize cyrillic letters – you've probably seen it with Russian/Soviet propaganda and it looks backwards to us. I thought the Czechs would be utilizing cyrillic as well, but it appears that for the most part they are using letters from the Roman alphabet with a few accent marks to spice it up. Thus, reading the signs was not as difficult as we first thought – whew! [5/27/05 note: I did some research later on – the western Slavs (Polish, Czechs, Slovaks, Slovenes, and Croats) – all adopted Latin letters because they had also adopted Roman Catholicism. The eastern Slavs (Russian, Ukraines, etc) adopted Cyrillic and Orthodox Christianity. Interesting to note how religion played a significant factor in the adoption of written script.]
Prague Castle/Pradsky Hrad
We head up the hill to the castle, but pass thru the castle gardens first. What a wonderful way to enter the castle. There were only a few tourists, and with the many levels up the hill it was a quiet and peaceful journey. The castle itself is a little unique...the walls surround a small city that includes a palace, cathedral, and shops. So, unlike the other castles, Prague Castle is actually a tiny ancient city surrounded by a wall and thus one of the largest castles in the world.
- Old Royal Palace
Kind of a dud. Not much to see except for the throne room.
- St Vilus Cathedral
The best stain glass on the entire trip. While Notre Dame has bigger stain glass, this cathedral has the most extensive & impressive of our tour.
- Golden Lane
Set of small shops that sell specialized souvenirs. Not worth the price of admission, and there is a separate admission fee for this area.
Old Town Square, Prague/Praha
The central cathedral dominates the landscape...
Neat area with well-preserved architecture from the medieval era. On one end is the Astronomical Clock which has a small show every hour on the hour. Think of it as the Czech version of the German/Swiss/Austrian Glockenspiel.
Drive thru Bohemian Forest
We finish up Prague and head south towards Germany thru the foggy and misty Bohemian Forest. Once we hit the German Autobahn, I decide to push the car to its limit of 133 mph again...this was my last chance to legally do this so I had to savor the moment – plus Locke was enjoying this too!
-- Al & Locke
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