Prague to Berlin and Beyond Part 1Prague, Litormerice, Bad Schandau
We arrived in Prague a day earlier than most, because the Delta flight from Atlanta only runs every other day. This was good, cause we had a chance to get over any jet lag and did a “Prague at Night” tour with Karol, with whom Jeff had booked on a previous trip. We also had a “meet and greet” at the airport with his agency.
My flight from Newark was a “back and forth” shuttle from Atlanta, and was late leaving Newark, because it was late from Atlanta due to thunderstorms in Atlanta.
Did have a few bad moments as we were circling to land in Atlanta, as thunderstorms had closed the airport; Savannah was to be our diversion, and NO WAY could I have driven to Atlanta in time for the Prague flight. BUT the airport reopened, so no problem.
The Prague flight was late leaving because of the earlier shut down, and, as usual, on East-bound flights, I slept not at all :roll: And could, of course, NOT get comfortable.
Prague at Night was a “drive around” tour and was very interesting, but a bit confusing, as to just which side of the Moldau we were on WHEN, cause we kept crossing bridges. It included a trip up to the castle, which was interesting to see at night and “crowd-free". The Moldau flows into the Elbe, north of Prague. But, did not get to hear Smetana’s music played until we visited Prague Castle on another day, by street musicians.
Prague is a wonderful city, and I loved every moment of it. Definitely a walking city, as the Old Town and the Castle could be walked to from our hotel. OH YES, we did a LOT of walking And we had seen most everything, BEFORE the included Viking Prague City tour, which was NOT so great. We were simply bussed up to the castle and then down in the Old Town. And we had walked to the Castle and had seen much more of the Old Town, on our own. Just the walk to our hotel along the Moldau and watching the river traffic was great.
Really liked the Prague Hilton. Great bar for the evenings with a really good singer/piano player. First night, we ate at MacDonalds, cause the concierge’s suggestion was too crowded. But we went there (Plzensky Restaurant) both the second and third nights. Local crowd and quite inexpensive….close to the hotel and great food and "people watching".
Prague Pictures
Sunday afternoon, we were off to get ON THE BOAT. As Clara Schumann was docked in Decin, not Mecklin, we were bussed back SOUTH on Monday morning for our tour of Litomerice, which included a winery, wine tasting, and walking tour of the town. I bought one bottle of red wine. I was not terribly impressed with the wine, but the town was lovely
Litomerice pictures
Litomerice Videos
Finally, on Tuesday morning, we were ready to sail. As previously mentioned, flood gates had to be opened in Usti, upstream of us, so that there would be enough water for us to get through the “narrow bit” which was just a little downstream of our dock. There was a several hour “opportunity window” and we left about 10am or so, and got through with no problem, and off we went to Bad Schandau and our excursion to the Bastei. The area is called Saxon Switzerland, but I think it looks nothing like Switzerland…….but it is breathtakingly beautiful. Oh yes, people climb the pinnacles (there are varying degrees of difficulty) and there are boxes on top, to enter your name and date. We saw no climbers, but I think the boxes show up in some pictures?
Leaving Decin video
Cruising to Bad Schandau and Bastei Pictures
Cruising to Bad Schandau video
Bastei video
We were supposed to stay in Bad Schandau til early evening, but we left as soon as the busses got back from the excursion. And then the next bit of drama, because it was on this stretch that we hit the bottom. Not only did we crack the hull, but we also did something nasty to one of the generators. I wasn’t filming when we hit, but started again, shortly after, and you could really smell diesel fuel from the generator, as commented. (This whole bit is close to the end of the video) It was quite dark in the smokers’ corner on deck that evening.
Leaving Bad Schandau video
Learned huge amount about history, and kings, etc. Have you ever heard of Augustus the Strong :D ......very big in Saxony, in the early 1700's.
Also, absolutely fascinated by our guides' accounts of life in East Germany. Don't forget, we were in EAST Germany for most of the cruise, and they lived this not so long ago. The wall only came down in 1990, after all. No, they don't report being hungry, but just desparate to "get out" and travel.
One story was that they were digging up cobblestones from the street in one East German town, and selling them to the west to raise cash. The story goes that people said, "Oh, if I only I were a cobblestone, then I could go to the West"
The money that Germany has poured into the former Eastern Sector is incredible......building and renovation everywhere :!: :!:
There was a palpable difference between the Czech Republic and Germany. Not nearly so much happening in the Czech Republic, and, while Prague was jumping, the countryside looked quite poor in places. They have quite a way to go, before they get full membership in the Europeon Union