5 Days in Prague

A Brief review of July/August

We spent the latter part of July through August in Utah and Arizona.  We visited friends in Queen Creek and Gilbert Arizona,  then back to Orem for the birth of Niko, Nate and Josie’s second child. 

We attended a surprise birthday party near Heber for a friend and the one-year-postponed reception and repeated vows (up Parley’s Canyon) for a niece. This also provided some time to spend with Susie’s brother and nieces and nephews, along with Carine and the rest of our family except Ridge, who was unable to attend.  Then back to St. George to spend a few days at our new rental in St. George fixing and outfitting the unit, and then I went back up to Orem to helped Nate and Josie pack and move from Orem to Phoenix, while Susie went down to Phoenix to spend long hours in their new house painting the kitchen cabinets.  Lots of driving miles!

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Many thanks again to the Harmons who let us camp out in their basement in Lindon and the Grahams hosting our family together in Salt Lake and my parents in St. George where we also camped out a bit.

Prague (Praha), Czech Republic!

With passports and vaccination cards in hand, we flew to the Czech Republic and have now spent 5 days in Prague.  This is an old and beautiful city, which was largely spared damage in the past world wars.  History is embedded in the streets, bridges and architecture.  A stone bridge built by Charles the IV in the 1300’s spans the Vltava River is still in use, now as a pedestrian bridge.  Buildings from the 14th Century through modern times line the streets, representing all forms of architecture from Baroque through modern.  One of the world’s oldest Astronomical Clocks is on the Town Hall tower. Spires of palaces and churches jut into the skyline. 

Our hotel is located in the old quarter in a 14^th century building.   There are original beams and columns running throughout our 4^th floor room, which is in what must have been former attic space. 

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We have done walking tours of the old quarter and the palace to learn some history. Our meals have been excellent. Breathtaking ancient churches, cathedrals and synagogues and palaces are scattered through the city. We visited sites of brutality and bravery from the time of the Nazi Occupation and browsed farmer’s markets and artist’s markets. We have climbed towers to see the city skyline.   If not for other planned destinations on this trip, we could happily spend more time here.

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Because of Covid-19, there are fewer tourists, especially from Asia and the US. We have seen mostly other Europeans thus far. Unfortunately a number of small hotels and restaurants did not survive the 2020 lockdown. We feel really fortunate to be here, and are happy to be contributing to the tourist industry in beautiful places like Prague, whose economy really depends on tourist visits.

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We plan to be in Eastern Europe for two more months so stay tuned!

Next stops:  Cesky Krumlov, Czech Republic; Vienna, Austria; and Bratislava, Slovakia!