ZOO in Prague

I know that you enjoyed just like me the trips we had to Prague. So today I will show you another glimpse of Prague - the ZOO. As already mentioned, I am not a huge fan of ZOOs. But I do understand why people are so eager to see all the wild animals with their own eyes. I assume then that you would like to have this opportunity as well.

Luckily the ZOO in Prague is located on a wide area. You can judge it by the place where the giraffes and the zebras live.

Let's come a bit closer.

Do you see some animals on the hill?

These are Himalayan tahrs. I wonder if they miss a lot their homeland in Nepal. They are also probably quite warm in this climate. Difficult to judge however just by looking at his face.

The big cats have a special building. This one seems to be quite small though. At first, I was bit a scared by this shadow above the main entrance. Luckily I quickly realised that it is just a statue.

The real tiger lives here. His name is Kawi and he comes from Borneo island in Indonesia.

Actually, the ZOO in Prague has a whole district devoted to Indonesian rain forests.

It is really warm there and the humidity level is very high.

The ZOO is also the house to some birds. The pink flamingos live in the wild ...

.... but the penguins require a little fridge. These ones are called Humboldt Penguins and come from South America (Chile and Peru).

One amazing story about Humboldt Penguins is that in 2012, one of those living in Tokyo Sea Life Park escaped from his prison and enjoyed freedom in the Tokyo Bay. He finally got captured by the zoo keepers (after almost 3 months!) but whenever I think of this story I always recall of these guys.

Last but not least, it is time to pass my greetings to the family. This little statue recalls me of my mum. She keeps on telling me I should visit her more often. Maybe I will take a break somewhere around Christmas, I do miss her. But what can I do, so many people expect my visit now. Travelling is a hard job.

Przewalski's horses are amoung those few of us who remain wild. Actually, at a certain period of time they became completely extinct in the wild but then got reintroduced into their original homeland of Mongolia. So in the end ZOOs have some good aspect as well.

Railroad Kingdom

Last time I was in Prague I did not manage to see all the points on my list. Since it was raining this time, it was the perfect occasion to visit the Railroad Kingdom.

 It is full of miniature locomotives that go in all directions.

To be honest they are not that small, just compare them to the size of a horse.

But you can see there whole cities, with houses, buses etc.

The visitors are both adults and children. The young visitors will find many items designed for them, like a whole area made out of LEGO cubes.

But the biggest crowd of children was next to the Sodor Island.

Everybody loves Thomas the Tank and his friends.

But the crowd was pretty dense also next to Chuggington.  

Koko and Wilson are smiling happily to all visitors.

I have spent a real good time in Prague again. Nonetheless, I warmly welcomed the real train station on my way back home.

Vyšehrad and Nove Mesto

My next trip took me to the Castle on the Heights or Vyšehrad.  It is located in the outskirts of Prague so to get there I had to take a tram and then the underground. It allowed me to have a short walk around the so-called New Town of Prague first.

Obviously the New Town is quite old as it was built in the 14th century. It has a couple of interesting spots, like the New Town Hall.

It does not seem that high at first sight but unfortunatelly some people made the bad experience of a fall from the windows. Defenestration is a really nasty thing.

The best known place in the New Town is the Wenceslas Square (Václavské náměstí). It is quite weird - it is called a square but it is rectangular. And in fact it is more a space between two parallell streets. Well, just look for yourself.

The square is named after St. Wenceslas, a former king and now a saint patron of Bohemia. His statue is placed on top of the square.

Behind the statue you will see the National Museum. It is a truely impressive building in the neo-rennaissance style.

Time to go to Vyšehrad at last. The interesting thing is that the underground is actually going in the air, under a tall bridge.

Vyšehrad is a part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site in Prague.

Unfortunately, the castle of Vyšehrad does not exist any longer. The most important building there is the Church of St. Peter and Paul. It is a basilica minor.

The porche is beautifully decorated.

But I was most enchanted by a little round-shaped church of St. Martin. Believe it or not but it dates back to the 11th century!

At least that was what I liked best on the hill itself. Because the true treasure of Vyšehrad is the view on the city and also the high walls protecting the castle in the old days.

It is difficult to show it on a picture. You'd better look at this panoramic view.

All right, time to go down again. This means lots of steps ahead.

Mala Strana

After my short break in Warsaw I am back to Prague. We ended our last trip in the Old Town by the Veltava River. The Veltava river is crossed by many bridges. The oldest and best known is the Charles Bridge. It is made of stone, which is understandable if you know that its construction started in 14th century.

From the side of the Old Town, the Charles Bridge starts with the Old Town Bridge Tower.

When you cross the bridge, you will enter the district of Malá Strana or Lesser Town. Obviously we will enter it by the Lesser Town Bridge Gate.

The Malá Strana district used to be a suburb below the Hradčany castle. One of the best known buildings there is the Saint Nicolas church.

You should make sure that you do not miss to visit the Wallenstein Gardens.

The garden has a beautiful artificial lake ...

... and a wall with artificial stalactites that imitates a cave.

What I liked best though were the peacocks. Have you ever seen a peacock that would be completely white? I did not, at least so far.

The most important building in the garden is the palace that houses now the Senate of the Czech Republic.

Let's now step out of the garden and walk through the narrow streets of Malá Strana.

We still need to have a look at the Kampa Museum, a modern art gallery.

It is an unusual museum since some of the artefacts are exhibited in the open air. Like the giant chair in the middle of the river.

Or some bronze statues. Guess what they are?

.And yes, this is a huge human baby!

The last big attraction of Mala Strana is the Petrin Hill that I have shown you recently.

Old Town of Prague

Today I will show you the Old Town of Prague. As you probably guessed, it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, together with the Hradčany district. We will start our trip at the main gate leading to the Old Town - the Prašná brána (or Powder Gate). I think that merchants from all over Europe who were coming to visit Prague in the Middle Ages must have been really impressed. 

Next to it you will see the Municipal House (Obecní dům). It was built in the Art Nouveau style at the beggining of the 20th century.

The Powder Gate will lead you to the Old Town Square. It is surrounded by nice residential buildings.

In the middle you will see the monument of Jan Hus, burnt as a heretic in 1415.

The Old Town Square of Prague has one funny feature. It has a beautiful Church of Our Lady Before Tyn. But for a reason that I could not understand they have built houses just in front of it so you can only see its towers.

Opposite to the church you will find the Old Town Hall (and yes, there is a New Town Hall, you will see it in a separate note).

The Old Town Hall is known for its astronomical clock called Orloj, one of the oldest in the world.

If you come to the Old Town of Prague, you must take a walk to the old Jewish district of Josefov. You will see there many beautiful synagogues, like the Spanish synagogue ...

... or the Maisel Synagogue.

You will also be able to pay your tribute to Franz Kafka, whose house I have shown you already.

If you leave the Old Town by walking in the direction of the Veltava river, you must see two theaters. First of all the Rudolfinum, house of the Czech Filharmonic.

Next to the Legia Bridge you will see the National Theater. It was very funny for my Polish human family as the Czech name for it is Národní divadlo. "Dziwadło" means in Polish something very strange, in a rather negative sense. The building however is really nice.

 And just my last stop - friends Postcrossers, I did not forget about you!