Thursday 2^nd October, 2014……..Dinner last night in Budapest was disappointing…we ordered the main which we later learned was just the meat….the salad, rice, chips, mushroom sauce that all came on the same plate was an extra…….in effect we had one main dish with about 6 charges…..we ordered a glass of wine each and that was a pretty rough red so glad we only ordered a glass…..then we paid in Euros (for convenience for us) and of course the restaurants all have a poor exchange rate so all in all we felt ripped off!!!!  However we did enjoy sitting at a café drinking their beer and people watching after our walks……and so today we had our train journey from Budapest to Prague…..we left Budapest Station at 10 am and arrived in Prague at 5 pm so a long day…..we had our compartment on the train for half the journey to ourselves but when we stopped in Bratislava, about the halfway point, our compartment was full……always nice to have the luxury of more seat on these long journeys but it wasn’t to be today…..interesting to stop in Bratislava again after our day trip here when we were on the river cruise…..one gets quite a different perspective of a place from the railway tracks……I was too tired to read so just enjoyed the countryside….lots of open fields (no fences here) with the usual corn growing but also lots of sun flowers that had gone black, well past their harvest date one would think…..everything so green but they have had quite a wet summer here….lots of autumn leaves beginning to show……rural  Hungary is certainly very different to Budapest, as our guide in Budapest had mentioned that if you drove 1 hour east or west of Budapest you would see things very differently……the view from the railway tracks often does seem more depressing though and oh the graffiti!!  No indication of when we crossed the border from Hungary to The Czech Republic….but then we began to notice that the houses seemed better maintained with more gardens and everything generally tidier……and so to Prague Central Station….we found our way to the Metro and so to our hotel…..Michael checks on the lap top where things are and draws a map of how we find things and usually we get to our destination without too much difficulty, even though few people speak English as we sometimes have to ask for directions….we found our way to the local supermarket for supplies and of course the wine and you won’t believe it but we bought a Pinot Noir from South Island, NZ….Flaxbourne made by Peter Yealands…we don’t normally like his wines but this was pretty good and cost approximately $13.00 NZ…… the Czech wine didn’t look very inviting and it was about the same price……M & F

Friday 3^rd October, 2014……Prague……Last night we checked out  the tours available to orientate ourselves with Prague…..and on checking the weather last night, today looked to be the warmest of the 3 days we are here in Prague……and so 10 am this morning we went on a tour, bus, walking and a boat cruise……sounded like a good option……we got picked up at Wenceslas Square where we our hotel is, however the bus was a mini bus type thing which was full and catering for English speaking and Italian speaking……needless to say when the English was being spoken the Italians were on the cell phone and talking amongst themselves….Michael told them in Italian to be quiet so that solved that problem but we did the bus tour through the new city and you couldn’t see the height of the buildings as the windows on the bus were so small and the guides microphone was pretty useless anyway!  One and half hours of that and we were at the Prague Castle and walking thank goodness….but oh the people….October is supposed to be the shoulder season getting into the low season but people everywhere….the guide said Prague has a population of 1 and half million people with 5 million tourists a year and rising!! And of course we were at the Castle for the Changing of the Guard….it truly was a sea of people……the view from the Castle was very good though as all Castles are built on hill tops….outside the Castle gates the Schwarzenberg Palace is on the left where the representative from the Vatican lived and opposite the Palace is the building where the head of the Catholic Church lived…they certainly had politics and religion sewn up in those days!!  Schwarzenberg  Palace was among the buildings confiscated during the communism years but in 1989 was handed back to the Schwarzenberg family who renovated the Palace in 2007…..it was in a bad state of disrepair but now truly magnificient…. the origins of this go back to the 16^th Century with the Italians doing the decoration…..truly amazing the way the pattern on the building is sand blasted into the stone….our guide, as other guides have done, again went through how much was lost during the communism years, many art treasures lost forever and some folk have never got their buildings or land back when most was returned to the rightful owner in 1989 with the fall of communism…..We went into the court yard of the Castle and the Cathedral but again we walked in one door and out the other, it was sardines in a tin stuff!!!! Then we walked own to the Lesser Town, Kampa Island and across Charles Bridge which is for pedestrians only…built in the 14^th Century by the Roman Emperor of the time, Charles IV……….musicians, artists, you name it on the bridge, not to mention the people…..then we walked through the old town and across the famous square in the old town….I was here in 1984 and I just did not recognise the place, again too many people!!!!  We viewed the Astronomical clock and the Jewish Quarter…..then it was time for lunch which we had in a restaurant in the old town and then we walked down to the Vitava River and took a boat cruise….so good to be back on the water, but again the boat was packed with people and so many boats on the river……we got left at Dvorak Riverside dock and found our way back to our hotel exploring more streets and beautiful buildings en route……we are both struggling with this ‘bot’ which won’t let go even though we are both taking antibiotics thus we opted for a cracker and wine in our room as we didn’t get back to our hotel until 6 pm feeling pretty jaded…..M & F

Saturday 4^th October, 2014…….Prague……Had breki and then walked the streets but a cool wind out there today so retreated back to our hotel, determined to kick this ‘bot’ as tomorrow we have an all night train journey from Prague to Venice, changing trains at midnight in Munich……we have to get on our feet for Venice…….  

Budapest Station....the sign board is where you have to work out which platform you depart from and it's not in English!!  And yours truly loaded up resting before departure....

The Castle area....these beautiful old cars in Budapest and Prague for city tours.....

As above.....

Schwarzenberg Palace...Budapest....

The Court yard of Schwarzenberg Palace......

The Castle....Prague.....

The crowds at the Changing of the Guard at the Castle......

As above.....

As above.....

The Court yard inside the Castle...Prague....

The Cathedral in the Castle area.....

What did I say....,Sardines in a Tin !!!!!

Starbucks Coffee at the Castle...this used to be a Chapel but they removed the walls and roof and oh what a location now!!!!

The view from the Castle.....Starbucks Coffee on right of photo....

These kind of folk always in the street....

As above.....

Walking down to the old town....Prague....

Entrance to Charles Bridge.....

As above.....

View from Charles Bridge.....

On the bridge......

Entrance the other side of Charles Bridge.....

Astronomical Clock...Old Town Square....and oh the people!!!!

Cruising the Vitava River.....Prague......

Charles Bridge from the Vitava River......

Cruising the Vitava River....

Swans on the Vitava River.....

5 pm and still cruising on the Vitava River.....Prague.....

Concert Hall...Prague......

As above......