Sunday, July 29, 2012

Off to Prague!

Prague!!

Over the week of the Fourth of July, we headed to Prague.  We had heard only good things about it, and decided we needed to get there before we move on from Albania.  We were happy we did.  What a beautiful city.


The Charles Bridge. 
This was only about a five minute walk from our apartment, it was great!


Some random shots while we were crossing the Charles Bridge.



This group played as we were walking by.   They were pretty good.  Had a jazz feel to it.  Asher did his shoulder shimmy to it, haha.  It definitely gave Prague a very cool atmosphere!  We loved this city!


Asher and his rocks!



I really liked this sculpture.

Again, I don't know the names of any of these monument/sculptures, but for those of you who watch the Bachelorette, this one might look familiar!


If you rub the maiden on the left, it is for good luck in love, if you rub the dog on the right, it is for loyalty. 


As we were walking across the Charles Bridge, we saw this park, and decided to go check it out and let Asher get a break.


On the other side of the bridge, this is the site you see.  Of all the European cities we've been to, Prague has had the most medieval feel to it - probably because unlike many other European cities, it was spared the destruction of World War II.  It's pretty cool.  I felt like if I turned my head, I would see a knight on his horse, or a maiden in her dress.



The beautiful streets of Prague



The love lock bridges - if you put a lock on the bridge with you and your loves name, you will be in love forever.  We didn't do it, we've already got it, besies, anyone who knows Sean would know that forever is a LONG time :)



On our way to the park, we came across this site.  A hot air balloon that is tethered to the ground that you can pay to go up in.  Asher kept saying, "Moon" wen he saw it :)


A view of the Vltava River

We made it to the park!  What a view!


Guess what friends Asher found?  Pigeons!! 


Look, Asher found a human accomplice in his never-ending pursuit to rid the world of pigeons and all that they stand for.  Unfortunately, The pigeons got the better of them when they flew to the other side of the fence.  So sad :(


Asher, pigeon, Charles Bridge.

Fun in the park


Some beautiful shots as we walked through the streets of Prague.


...Another Bachelorette place :)  This is where Jef and Emily bought their marionettes. :)  Hehe




Nap time during lunch :)


The Prague Castle

The amazing gothic cathedral on the castle grounds...



My handsome boys


Another building on the castle grounds :)


Asher finding some more pigeons with beautiful, historic building in the background :)


Trying to get Asher to pose for some pictures, haha

"Really Mom??"



One of Asher's favorite things to do as we walked through Prague was to push the stroller...Most of the time it ended in frustration and a tantrum on his part :)


Prague soldiers walking through the Castle grounds.


As we walked out of the Castle area, these boys were just relaxing on the wall.  I thought it was a pretty cool shot.  Reminded me of the Beatles, or something.


Views of beautiful Prague!



Charles Bridge from afar



Asher enjoying some gelatto :)  Yummy!


Our attempt at a family picture, haha


And of course, more pigeons...


We saw this park area from above at the Prague Castle, and decided to try and find it.  And we did!


From the castle we could hear these weird sounds.  We thought they were cats, but when we made it to the park, we heard the noise again, and saw people looking up into the trees.  Walking over to see what it was, we saw this!  Peacocks!  Their tails were sooo long!


Some beautiful views from the garden.


Asher pushing the stroller around in front of the Senate building


Some man-made sculptures that looked like skulls from afar.  They were created to imitate Italian grottos - the idea was that it would provide nooks and crannies for birds and other animals to live, thereby adding nature to the garden.



Old Towne Square



Famous Astrological Clock.  Every hour there are little figurines that come out and do a little dance thing.




The Hare Krishna came marching into the square, singing, playing the drums and just having a good time.


Statue in the Square

Another attempt at a family photo :)  Asher just won't look at the camera!


Happy 4th of July! As a way to celebrate the holiday, we ate at TGI Fridays :)  Some ribs, a good burger, and some good fountain soda, mmmm.  Happy Fourth!




Asher got a balloon at the restaurant, and had a lot of fun playing with it when we got back home. :)


Oh no!  He lost his balloon!  And then he got mad :)


After Asher went down for the night, I went back out to pick up some groceries and to walk around a little more.


The square outside of our apartment


The building our apartment is in - beautiful.

  
The next day we went out to Petrin Hill.  On our way, Asher enjoyed watching the trains and buses pass us on the road.



When we got to Petrin Hill, we found a park to let Asher loose in.  We had lunch, talked with an American military family who was visiting from Italy, and enjoyed the morning!



One possibility of the morning was to walk up Petrin Hill and go up their "Eiffel Tower"  and view Prague from above... Once we got there (the day was really hot) we thought, "Ummm, yeah, we aren't going to push Asher in the stroller up that hill"  But it was a lovely view from the bottom!


Lunchtime!


Some other shots throughout the day...


This one's for you Ligia! ;)


Jewish Quarters - Old Synagogue

I wanted to go out at night, unfortunately, the night I chose, it was rainy.  But it did give me some cool shots!

Prague Castle from the Charles Bridge


Charles Bridge















Old Towne Square at night




Loved Prague! Highly recommend going there if you can!  It is definitely up there on our list of favorite places!