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ByLeonardStohler LastOctoberwhenmy travelling companion and I had to return to the USA, we missed three nights in Prague. When I was plan- ning this trip, I decided to stay four nights. It turned out that was not nearly enough to see such a great city. I also wish I knew more about Czech history. The trip from Wien to Prague on the train was uneventful except for the couple who had luggage that was too large and weighed too much. I had subscribed to sound ad- vice for the trip: Take a piece of luggage that you can handle to lift on a train. I helped the gentle- man lift he and his wife's large, heavy luggage on the space above the seat- ing. He commented that this was the last train trip he and his wife would take. I could see his point, but if I were just a bit younger, this would prob- ably not be my last trip to Europe. I had heard from several people that Prague was possibly the most beauti- ful city in Europe. It has the seventh highest num- ber of tourists in Europe. It is the destination of many students from Eng- land, the U. K. and from the USA and other places. However, you will find no Russians there. More on that later. You probably don't want to go during the summer months and especially in August be- cause of the influx of tour- ists. Also, the middle part of September was a good time to go due to the com- fortable weather. Prague is the capi- tal city of the Czech Re- public. It was founded around 885. It is the his- torical capital of Bohemia. Its fortunes ranged widely for its 1,100 year history. It had its beginning dur- ing the Romanesque era and flourished during the Gothic and Renaissance time eras. Two Holy Ro- man Emperors ruled from there. It was important to the Hapsburg Empire, The Austro-Hungarian Em- pire and after World War l it became the capital of the Czech Republic. The Czechs thank our presi- dent, Woodrow Wilson, for championing that cause. It played a large part in the Protestant Reformation al- most a hundred years be- fore Martin Luther, the highly destructive Thirty Years' War, both World Wars and the post-war Communist era when it was Czechoslovakia. People go there, not so much for its place in his- tory, but for its reputa- tion as the city of the hun- dred spires, named af- ter the spires seen all over the city. In reality, Prague has several thousand tow- ers and spires. But, as one discovers Prague, there is no "branding" that will describe it. To me, it is a most remarkable and won- derful city. One of the many cul- tural attractions is the fa- mous Charles Bridge that crosses the Vltava River. Construction started in 1357 under the auspices of King Charles IV and opened in 1402. In mod- ern times it is a pedes- trian bridge only and ev- ery tourist must visit it. I walk over the bridge two times marveling in the en- durance of a 613 year old structure observing some of the 30 statues of Chris- tian saints. On a tour I took on the Vltava River our boat crossed under it. Up river there is a low dam that lowers the river a few feet this time of year. The views from the river and from the bridge give the river perspective of this wonderful city. Above the city and river on Petrin Hill stands the area of the medieval Prague Castle, symbol of the Czech state for over a thousand years. It is known to Czechs as Hrad. The soldiers on both sides of entrance guard the castle complex. The cas- tle was founded in and around 880. It is the offi- cial residence of the pres- ident of the Czech Repub- lic. The Czechs claim it is the largest castle in the world, roughly seven foot- ball fields in size. There you find the Lindner Ho- tel in a medieval build- ing, courtyards, palaces, museums, the garden, the Bohemian Crown Jewels, St. Vitus Cathedral and numerous other remark- able buildings and monu- ments. St. George's Basil- ica, Romanesque and old- est of the churches in the complex is from the 10th century) On my walking tour, which does not include admission to the cas- tle and museums, we de- scended on an ancient walkway to a lower level of the hillside. Along the way, I admire and photo- graph some of the gran- deur views of the city and river below. I wish, as I am writing this, that I had gone back to tour the castle. However, I would have had to maneuver the steep hill from a tram that takes passengers only part way up this massive hillside because the Fun- cular to Petrin Hill is out of commission until 18 March, 2016 due to reno- vation. In a van, the tour makes its way across the river to Old Town. This area includes a large "square" with many things for any tourist to appreciate. Walking into this area there is a large statue of John Hus(s) (1369-1415), who influ- enced the protest against the medieval Roman Church almost one hun- dred years before Martin Luther did in Germany. He built on Wyclif's idea that a person should be able to read the Bible in their own language. Bohe- mian students who went to Oxford brought Wyc- lif's ideas back to Prague. Eventually, he was burned at the stake because he was mixed up in the fight for equality with the Catholic powers of the Holy Roman Empire. The Tyn Church (Gothic, completed in 1511) domi- nates one side of this Old Town Square. It was built during Huss's time and has two spires that can be seen all over Prague. A careful look at the spires show that they are not symmetrical. They rep- resent the masculine and feminine sides of the world that is found in Gothic ar- chitecture. It has a ba- roque interior. I rank it at the top of my favorites. Other beautiful build- ings in this square include St. Jilji Church (13th cen- tury), the Old Town Hall (14th century, Gothic), St. Nicholas Church (an 18th century Baroque church). I love being in the midst of these remarkable, old buildings. I stood for the better part of an hour to experi- ence the noted Astronom- ical Clock's hourly proces- sion of Apostles and mov- ing statues. It has been described as a "visualiza- tion of time like no other instrument in the world". Very disappointing was the fact that some of the moving parts were not working. TRAVELOGUE Prague—amagical,popularlyvisitedcity COURTESYPHOTO Prague PRAGUE » PAGE 9 SATURDAY, OCTOBER 31, 2015 REDBLUFFDAILYNEWS.COM |NEWS | 3 A