Gallivanting Geismom: Prague Prelude

This morning we were up bright and early to have a small breakfast in the ship prior to disembarking. We had chosen the Prague post cruise option, so we boarded a bus with a good number of fellow cruise travelers to make our way to the capital of the Czech Republic.

But first, we stopped in Regensburg to break up the drive a bit.

This is a beautiful city, known as the City of Towers as it once had 60 towers. 20 still remain.

Our guide escorted us along the cobblestone streets towards the old city. It is Saturday and the place was filled with bikers who seem to think they have the right of way. There were no designated biking lanes, making being a pedestrian rather dangerous as it seemed as if they came from every direction! So there was some careful maneuvering as we followed our guide along the way.

She pointed out this former hospital that now stands as a retirement home. Everyone of the residents receives a Bishops's Beer each and every day. There is apparently a long line of people waiting to be admitted.

We crossed the bridge over the river that leads to the Old Town.

There was no missing the Cathedral with its Gothic Spire in the background.

Along the one side of the bridge stands the Brickmandl (Brick Man).

He's been there since the 12th century.

At the end of the bridge is the toll tower. One had to pay toll at the bridge in order to enter the city.

One could easily see the Medieval landscape of this side of the city. It is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site designed to preserve its unique style.

Regensburg was founded in 179 where remnants of the Porta Pretoria still stand.

At one time 6000 Roman soldiers were living in a community here and one can still see the remnants of the large stones used to build the walls. While the Romans inhabited this area, Germanic tribes were living across the river.

In the 5th century, the great migration began and Regensburg became instrumental in the shipping of salt from the mines in the Swiss Alps to Passau. If you recall from yesterday, salt was known as "white gold" due to its value.

The present day visitors center was once the holding chamber for the salt. Note the steeply pitched roof.

Behind this building one can find the oldest sausage sandwich shop in the city having been erected in 1135. We chose to pass on trying the delight but there was a long queu waiting to purchase their specialty.

The sausage shop plaza offers an amazing view of the stone bridge that we had just crossed over.

Regensburg at one time had 60 towers in the city. They are reduced to 20. We had seen one passing the bridge, and here is yet another that was built in the 13th century.

We enjoyed walking through the streets and admiring the ornate buildings.

On a side street in the town is a plaque on the wall commemorating the fact that Emilie Shindler had lived in that place for a year following the end of World War II. He is credited with saving the lives of 1200 Jews during the Nazi occupation.

We stopped for a brief respite, then headed back to the meeting place where our bus would be waiting.

The views going back were equally enchanting.

I failed to mention that this city is known for its beer. There had been 200 churches in this city, each with its own bishop, And each bishop had his own brewery by the 7th century. So variety abounds!

We boarded the bus for the 4 hour trip to Prague, arriving just prior to 4:00 pm. Marty and I had decided to attend mass since there was a church, Our Lady of the Snows, a short distance from the hotel.

It was obviously a very old building and the altar background certainly had a LOT of adornment.

I'm fairly certain that is St. Michael the Archangel overlooking the congregation, and above him, near the tip of the dome, is a crucifix. One could probably sit there for hour attempting to study the symbolism in just that one piece.

After dinner, we headed to a restaurant just around the corner that Veronica had recommended. Marty had attempted to ask for a "booking" on our way to the church and the man at the desk just said no. So, after mass, we headed back and I politely greeted him "Good evening" in Slovak, which is similar to the Czech language. He gave me a funny look. Then I asked him (in Slovak) if he spoke English. He looked at me straight in the face and shouted, "WHAT DO YOU WANT?". I was a bit startled, and asked if we could please have a table to for two. He claimed they had none (although there were a lot of empty tables) and told me to talk to his colleague about sitting outside. So, I politely asked the woman if she had a table outside. She said, No, all of the tables are inside. She said on the ground floor, in the bar, on the second floor. I asked if I was just to seat myself, and she directed me back to Mr. Grumpy. I decided that I'd had enough and we left.

We walked a few hundred feet to another restaurant, and asked if they were serving dinner. The waiter was delightful! We set outside next to this lovely flower garden.