-Ha, -Gue, -G, -A

After Germany, I took a train to Plzen, Czech Republic.  Locals there were delighted when I told them I was spending four days in the city; typically, people stop in Plzen for one or two days to see the Pilsner Urquell brewery and then ship off to Prague.  I thought I'd be a savvy and worldly traveler and do things differently--you know, really get a feel for Plzen and what makes it tick.  I'll be honest, though, I didn't.  That's why I'm going to skip ahead to Prague and save some pictures of Plzen for the Czech beer section, which will be up in a few days (or so...).  Sincere apologies to Plzeners (the people, not the beer).

First off, the title of today's post is brought to you by the Prague Tourist Board.  They've got an advertisement for the city that shows some ways to spell "Prague."  I thought it was a clever ad, so I stole it.  Prague is an interesting city insofar as everyone that's been there say it's one of the best cities in Europe, but when you ask why, they say something along the lines of, 'When you get there, you'll see.'  I guess that makes sense because the city lacks the Heavy Hitters of the Tourist World, such as Big Ben, the Brandenburg Gate, or the Eiffel Tower.  But the city is just as nice as people (try to) say.  And with its hills and rivers, I've never seen a place that looks so much like Pittsburgh.  Hell, Prague's even got an incline (called a "funicular").  The incline--the damned thing wasn't running when I was there--makes its way up to the top of Petrin Hill, the home of one of Prague's best parks and the best vantage of the city.  And I kind of lied:  there's an Eiffel Tower Junior there, too.

I have no idea what type of bird this is or why it's in Prague (click the thumbnail for a bigger version)

The Bird

The Bird

Prague Castle from Petrin Hill

[insert clever excuse for not writing anymore here].  Here are some more pictures of Prague:





Powder Tower, built 1475



Old Town Square (OTS)



Jan Hus statue, OTS

Tyn Cathedral, OTS

St. Nicholas Cathedral, OTS

Old Town City Hall, OTS

OTCH detail

OTCH (one of the highest points in Prague), OTS

OTCH & Astronomical Clock, OTS

OTCHAC, OTS (fun with acronyms)

Memorial to the Victims of Communism (MVC)

MVC

MVC

Franz Kafka statue

National Theatre

National Theatre

Zizkov TV Tower

Wenceslas Square

National Museum

St. Wenceslas statue, Wenceslas Square

Charles Bridge

Charles Bridge

Charles Bridge

Charles Bridge

Charles Bridge at night

Charles Bridge at night

Charles Bridge at night

Next time, I'll show you what happens when you go to a hockey game in Prague...