From the European luxuries to the Balkan fields


Thursday August 15, Prague tour part II
Thanks to Jan, we managed to see almost all the main attractions of the city yesterday. Today, he told us, to let him know what else we want to see. So we opened Triposo (a great free application for smart phones) and made a list of interesting attractions.
First stop is the castle Vysehrad (Grand Castle) which is built on a hill next to the river Vltava. The site includes the Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul and the namesake cemetery in which great historical personalities of Czech are resting.




The castle was originally built in the 10th century. According to the legend, Princess Libuse, ancestor of the dynasty of Premyslids lived there. Vysehrad was the location of the first settlement which later became Prague, though up to now this claim remains unsubstantiated.

Click to enlarge

Later, the dynasty of Premyslids used the castle of Prague as their seat and Vysehrad passed into the background. At the beginning of the Hussite Wars, the castle was occupied by the Hussites. In the 17th century it was renovated as a training center for the Austrian army, when the Habsburgs took under their rule the Czech lands by the end of the Thirty Years War.

We head back to the city and make a quick stop outside the dancing building…

The National Theatre of Prague is next to it, which has become a symbol of national revival period. The financial resources for the construction were gathered through a nationwide public fundraiser. Constructions began in 1868 according to the plans of architect Joseph Zitek. However, in 1881, as construction was near to its end, the theater was destroyed by a fire. The reconstruction was funded again by the people and was completed on 18 November 1883. As Jan said, the best seats of the theater are not for the royals, as expected, but for the people and are available in very low prices that even the poorest can attend the shows. Above the scene there is an inscription writing “Narod Sobe”, which means “the Nation for itself”.

Two photo clicks later we continue towards the Petrin hill, where there is a replica of the Eiffel tower in a smaller scale, since it is only 63.5 meters tall.

It was constructed in 1891 for the international exhibition with designs influenced by the original tower in France, which the tourist board of the Czech Republic had visited in 1889. It was built in just four months!

299 steps separate the entrance from the top, which gives you a magnificent view of the city. There is also an elevator leading up, with extra charge of course. We used the stairs because we are athletes (or tightfisted if you like).

Click to enlarge

Since we have plenty of time, we head to visit the technology and transport museum. Four levels dealing with the history of Czech industry (and not only), but we focus only on the one dedicated to motorcycles.

1905, Slavia Bz 331cc, production of Laurin & Klement. Performance: 2.5hp, 60km/h

At the time of Czechoslovakia there were over 100 different motorcycle factories in the country. The oldest collection of motorcycles comes from the factory Mlada Boleslav Laurin & Klement and it is considered among the best motorcycles of the 20th century with great success in racing.

1905, Slavia CCR 812c, production of Laurin & Klement. Performance: 5hp, 85km/h

The majority of the motorcycles of course, come from the famous factories of Jawa and CZ. Some of the exhibits:

1904, Jelinek, 397cc. Performance: 2.5hp, 60km/h

1909, Walter B, 1022cc. Performance: 7hp, 70km/h

1924, Itar 710, 706cc. Performance: 14hp, 90km/h

1924, Motor Company 1000, 980cc. Performance: 22hp, 100km/h

1923, Poustka 150, 147cc. Performance: 4.7hp, 60km/h

1930, Satan, 540cc. Performance: 10hp, 90km/h

1930, Cechie-Bohmerland 600, 600cc. Performance: 16hp, 95km/h

1927, Praga BD 500, 499cc. Performance: 15hp, 105km/h

1931, Premier 500 SL 39, 494cc. Performance: 22hp, 125km/h

J1931, awa 500 OHV, 499cc. Performance: 18hp, 100km/h

1938, Jawa 175, 172cc. Performance: 5.5hp, 80km/h

1933, Jawa 350 SW, 350cc

1939, Jawa 350 DOHC, 350cc. Performance: 47hp, 130km/h

1937, CZ 175 Special, 172.5cc. Performance: 6.5hp, 80km/h

1938, CZ 100, 98cc. Performance: 2.5hp, 65km/h

1937, Ogar 250, 247cc. Performance: 10hp, 100km/h

1945, Jawa 500 DT, 499cc. Performance: 50hp

1942, Jawa 250 DIN, 247cc. Performance: 8hp, 90km/h

1949, CZ 125 T, 123cc. Performance: 4.5hp, 80km/h

1958, Jawa 50 – 550 Pionyr, 49.9cc. Performance: 2.2hp, 50km/h

1959, Cezeta 501, 171.1cc. Performance: 8hp, 80km/h

1956, ESO MC 500, 498cc. Performance: 51hp

1967, Jawa 350 – 673, 342cc. Performance: 80hp, 267km/h

1972, CZ 420 – 860, 418c. Performance: 73hp, 260km/h

1973, Jawa 500 – 891, 497cc. Performance: 51hp, 160km/h

Back on the hill below the castle in order to walk at the alleys of the old city and particular the Royal Street. The beautiful road was named after the Czech writer Jan Neruda in the 19th century. The restored buildings have been converted into quaint hotels, restaurants and small shops.


Characteristic of the buildings are the blazons above their entrance instead of numbers. The most famous blazons are the “Three Violins”, a building that belonged to a family of violin manufacturers in 1700, and the “Two Suns”, a building that was the home of Neruda.


Next stop is the Palace of Wallenstein, a Baroque monument of the ambition of General Albrecht von Wallenstein (1581-1634). His successive victories in the war with the Protestants made him indispensable to the emperor Ferdinand II. Having acquired inexperienced securities, Wallenstein began to covet the throne of Bohemia. In 1630 he was stripped of the administration, but resumed his position next year. Then he started negotiating with the enemy. In 1634, he was assassinated by mercenaries, at the behest of the emperor. Wallenstein’s intention was to overshadow even Prague Castle with his Palace (built in 1624-1630). To obtain a suitable venue, he bought 23 houses, three gardens and the municipal brick kiln production. The main hall has two floors. In fresco on the ceiling, Wallenstein himself appears as god Mars on a triumphal chariot. The architect, Andrea Spezia, and almost all the artists who worked on the decoration of the palace, were Italians. Today, the palace is used by the state.

The gardens are impressive, which have remained as they were at the time when Wallenstein dined here in the huge hall Terrace, which overlooks a fountain and a series of bronze statues. The statues are copies of works of Adrian de Vries, originally stolen by the Swedes in 1648.

On a stand with beautiful frescoes you can admire the myth of the Argonauts and the Golden Fleece, and the supreme battalion of Knights of the Holy Roman Empire.

The wall with its stalactites is also impressive, which at first glance looks like it’s made of hundreds skulls. In reality, however, is a wall with artificial stalactites.

A pond with lot of big fish inside, housed a fountain with Hercules to duel with a dragon, work also of Adriaen de Vries.

In the gardens there was freely two peacocks, a colorful male and a rare white, which gave me some amazing poses.


We head back to the old city center, passing outside the impressive renaissance opera Rudolfinum, home of the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra.

Last walk in the old town in order to buy some souvenirs and then we head for Pizza. Our “guide” drives us to a Pizzeria (Lucky Luciano) far away from the center, with delicious pizzas in really low prices.

We thanked Jan for his excellent hospitality and return early to our hotel in order to pack our stuff for tomorrow’s departure. The real journey on motorcycle starts tomorrow 😉

The rest of our group was departing today from Piraeus to Nis, doing exactly the same route as we did a few days ago, with the only difference that they have not encountered any traffic at all. Stavros with take on:


Early in the afternoon we arrive at Nis. Unlike last year, this year we did not waste time in unnecessarily stops, tolls etc, so we manage to get in the rooms around 18:30.
The rooms that we had booked (The Only One Suites) was at the center of the city, just 5 minutes walk from the castle. New, clean, with private parking but without breakfast. Although in the room you had the opportunity to make a tea or a coffee in the morning.
After a quick shower, we head to the city center. We followed the owner’s instructions and we went to Nislijska Mehana for lunch. The food was delicious and the price for four persons was only 32€ (welcome to the Balkans, (Greece is not included)).

After I had managed to lose and regain my cell phone (don’t ask how) we returned to the rooms to get a rest. Tomorrow another 635 km to the Croatian capital Zagreb are waiting for us.

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χρηστος
χρηστος
9 years ago

Μπραβο παιδια παντα τετοια ,
Ταξιδευω απο το 1992 με rd 350 στην αρχη fzr1000 ,hayabusa αργοτερα και απο περυσι t max500 yamaha.
Σας διαβαζω γιατι φετος θα ειναι η πρωτη φορα που θα περασω απο βαλκανια.
Λοιπον ας ειμαστε ολοι καλα να απολαμβανουμε αυτο το μοναδικο που σου κανει η μοτοσυκλετα , να σε κανει 18 χρονων με το που ξεκινας το ταξιδι

Γιώργος Παντελίδης
Γιώργος Παντελίδης
9 years ago

Πραγματικά πολύ όμορφο ταξιδιωτικό, φέτος είμασταν και εμείς στο περίπου!!! Το μόνο που έχω να πω σαν διευκόλυνση, αν δεν το έχετε κάνει ήδη, πιστεύω ότι είναι καλύτερα να πηγαίνεις μαυροβούνιο μέσω κοσόβου. Δηλαδη σκόπια, κόσοβο, μαυροβούνιο. Εχω πάει ήδη 2 φορές από αυτην την διαδρομή και με αυτά που βλέπω από αλβανία είναι πολύ καλύτερη από άποψη δρόμων. Δεν υπάρχει κανένας κίνδυνος, απλά βγάζεις μια ασφάλεια 15 ευρώ που ισχύει για 15 μέρες πριν μπεις στο κόσοβο, συνεχίζεις μεχρο ουροσεβατς και απο εκει αριστερα να περασεις τα σύνορα για μαυροβουνιο. Λιγα παραπάνω χλμ αλλα που βγαίνουν πιο εύκολα και πιο γρήγορα.

ΤΖΑΝΙΔΑΚΗΣ ΓΙΩΡΓΟΣ

ΠΟΛΥ ΚΑΛΟ ΚΑΙ ΑΝΑΛΥΤΙΚΟΤΑΤΟ.ΕΙΝΑΙ ΤΕΛΙΚΑ ΞΕΣΗΚΩΜΟΣ ΝΑ ΔΙΑΒΑΖΕΙ ΚΑΝΕΙΣ ΤΑ ΤΑΞΙΔΙΩΤΙΚΑ ΣΑΣ.ΤΟ ΚΑΛΟ ΕΙΝΑΙ ΝΑ ΕΧΕΙ ΠΟΚΙΛΙΑ ΤΟ ΤΑΞΙΔΙ ΚΑΙ ΑΥΤΟ ΕΙΧΕ ΣΥΝΔΙΑΣΜΟ ΟΛΩΝ(ΣΑΛΩΝΙΑ-ΑΛΩΝΙΑ).ΤΕΛΙΚΑ ΔΕΝ ΘΑ ΠΑΩ ΠΟΤΕ ΠΟΡΤΟΓΑΛΙΑ ΑΠ’ΟΤΙ ΦΑΙΝΕΤΕ…ΠΑΛΙ ΣΤΑ ΒΑΛΚΑΝΙΑ ΘΑ ΒΡΕΘΩ….

Κωνσταντίνος
Κωνσταντίνος
10 years ago

Πολλά ευχαριστώ & πολλά μπράβο στην παρέα!!
Να είστε καλά παιδιά!!Πάντα τέτοια!!
Να είστε γεροί να ταξιδεύετε!!
Ευχαριστώ για το χρόνο & την ενέργεια που δαπανήσατε για να το μοιραστείτε!!
Τέτοια ταξιδιωτικά αποτελούν πολύτιμο διάλλειμα & πηγή πληροφοριών για κάθε επίδοξο ταξιδιώτη.

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