Praha

Since it was Jim's 50th birthday, and since he's been wanting to visit Prague, we took a road trip for a long weekend.

The picture on my blog header is the Charles Bridge over the Vltava River in Prague.

Prague, or Praha as it is known in Prague, is the capital of the CzechRepublic and once the capital of the Holy Roman Empire. Formerly known as Bohemia and Czechoslavakia, the Czech Republic is bordered by Poland, Germany, Slovakia, and Austria.

There is evidence of prehistoric settlements as far back as the 3rd century BC so the region has a long and rich history and was a major power during the Middle Ages.

After the fall of the Holy Roman Empire, Bohemia became part of the Austrian Empire. And after World War I and the fall of the Austrian-Hungary Empire, the independent republic of Czechoslavakia was created in 1918.

After World War II, in 1948, Czechoslavakia became a Communist state and remained so for the next 41 years. In 1989 it became a liberal democracy and in 1991, there was a peaceful split of the country into the Czech Republic and Slovakia. In 2004, both countries became members of the European Union.

History lesson is over.

And incidentally, Prague is quite literally the geographic center of Europe.

National Museum

Jubilee Synagogue

St. Vitus Cathedral

Atop St. Nicholas Church; Prague Castle in the distance

View of the city from Prague Castle

Crossing Charles Bridge

Old Town Square

St. Nicholas Church

Old Town; Tyn Church in the distance

Prague Municipal House

Just a city street

Powder Tower

I can only imagine their computer keyboard.

Although the Czech Republic is part of the EU, it has not adopted the Euro. Their currency is the kurona and this 2000 bill is worth € 78. So you can imagine it seems expensive when a beer costs a 100 "dollar" bill! We never really got a handle on the currency conversion.

It was quite warm in Prague on July 10 and I won't say it didn't take its toll on us. Despite the heat, we had a great time. Our hotel was super nice and prices are very reasonable for everything. Prague is a really beautiful city. Perhaps we can go back in what Ross refers to as "light-sweater-weather"! Maybe on my 50th birthday?

And just as Jim was stretching his long arm to snap our picture, a nice bystander asked if she might do it. Of course we said "ano, prosím a děkuji" :)