Thursday morning Maggie and I said goodbye to the old folks and boarded the train from Vienna to Prague. The trip lasted about five hours, and we had to change in Breclav, Czech. Despite the language difficulty, we made it on time. Maggie and I both did our best to understand and assimilate our knowledge of various languages, but Czech and Hungarian take a bit more effort than most.
Prague is also a very old capital city, with many fine buildings, many dating back to the fourteenth century. Spires are everywhere. We rode another funicular up the hill on the west side of the Vltava (Moldau in German), and the next day the bus to Prague Castle, the biggest castle complex in the world.
Altogether I must say that I find the architecture in Prague more exotic, more Gothic, more in"spire"ing than in Vienna.
The Czech people take their liberation from socialism very seriously. This monument is accompanied by the text, "The memorial to the victims of communism is dedicated to all victims. Not only those who were jailed or executed but also those whose lives were ruined by totalitarian despotism." As you probably know, the Czechs tried to free themselves from Soviet domination in 1968, the so-called "Prague Spring", an undertaking that did not turn out well for them at that time. Another attempt in 1989 was successful and the Czechs along with most of the rest of the countries behind the "Iron Curtain" are now wallowing in capitalism.
From Budapest we rode the train to Vienna, the old capital of the Hapsburg Empire, and they won't let you forget it. It's a city filled with grandiose buildings, castles, palaces, statues and people.
Around every corner, down every narrow street or alley, is a huge monument, a statue, a plaque or something like that. Schönbrunn Palace has always been my favorite, with the gardens and the Gloriette memorial on the hill. Here's Aeneas carrying off is father and his children from a burning Troy.
In Vienna everything is big. In the Prater, Vienna's premiere amusement park, the Wiener Riesenrad is one of the earliest, and from 1920 until 1985, was the world's tallest Ferris Wheel.
An example of a Vienna style building. All over the city, there are block after block of huge rococo buildings that presumably hold flats or office buildings.
And of course you can get a tour by horse and buggy, or by open motor coach, or by Hop On-Hop Off tour bus. We rode the streetcar and the underground. We didn't get any commentary.
Thursday morning Maggie and I said goodbye to the old folks and boarded the train from Vienna to Prague. The trip lasted about five hours, and we had to change in Breclav, Czech. Despite the language difficulty, we made it on time. Maggie and I both did our best to understand and assimilate our knowledge of various languages, but Czech and Hungarian take a bit more effort than most.
Prague is also a very old capital city, with many fine buildings, many dating back to the fourteenth century. Spires are everywhere. We rode another funicular up the hill on the west side of the Vltava (Moldau in German), and the next day the bus to Prague Castle, the biggest castle complex in the world.
