Danube River Cruise: Prague

In this first post of a multi-part series, Bethany explores Prague before she joins her Active and Discovery on the Danube Cruise on Avalon in 2018.

The Active and Discovery on the Danube cruise was the second river cruise I did with Avalon. This cruise sailed from Linz, Austria to Budapest, Hungary in the summer of 2018. Join me as I explore many wonderful stops in the Czech Republic, Austria, Slovakia, and Hungary along the way!

Active and Discovery on the Danube Full Itinerary

Below is the full itinerary for the trip. This post includes details about my time pre-cruise in Prague.

• July 26 & 27: Prague, Czech Republic
• July 28: Cesky Krumlov, Czech Republic
• July 29: Linz & Steyr, Austria (embarkation)
• July 30: Engelhartszell & Schlogen Oxbow, Austria
• July 31: Mauthausen & Grein, Austria
• August 1: Wachau Valley, Krems, & Vienna, Austria
• August 2 & 3: Vienna, Austria
• August 4: Komarno, Slovakia & Visegrad, Hungary (disembarkation)
• August 5: Budapest, Hungary

Bound for Prague

And she’s off! I set out for my second Avalon river cruise on Wednesday, July 25, 2018. Although I ran into some weather-related delays in my transfer city of Philadelphia, I managed to make my connecting flight just fine and headed out to Prague.

Settling In

Once I arrived in Prague, I made my way through customs and collected my luggage. I then met the Avalon representative at the airport and joined the shuttle bus with other Avalon passengers to head over to our hotel. For this cruise I also booked the optional pre-cruise extension, which included two days in Prague and one day in Cesky Krumlov before embarking on the ship in Linz. Booking this through the cruise line allowed for quick and easy transfers from airport to hotel, and then onto the ship a few days later. I stayed at the Hilton Prague Old Town, which is a lovely hotel near the heart of the city in the Old Town area. Upon arrival at the hotel, I dropped my bags off and walked around the area for a while.

Prague Castle and St. Vitus Cathedral

The next day, July 27, was spent in Prague. I joined a couple of different excursions throughout the day to get a nice overview of the vibrant city on my one full day here. The first excursion took me to the Prague Castle complex. This is the official office of the President of the Czech Republic. It was originally built in the 9th century and has been the seat of power for kings, emperors, presidents, and other leaders throughout the years. It is a gorgeous and interesting complex to explore!

Because the castle is the official office of the President of the Czech Republic, there are several armed guards posted throughout the complex. While we were visiting this morning, we also got to see the changing of the guard ceremony.

One of the most beautiful buildings in the complex is the St. Vitus Cathedral. This beautiful Gothic cathedral is actually the third of a series of religious buildings at the site. Each of the buildings has been dedicated to St. Vitus. The first church was built in 930. Construction on the current cathedral started in 1344.

We had an opportunity to explore the vast and beautiful interior of the cathedral. The stained-glass windows, in particular, are spectacular.

Josefov and Old Town Square

After exploring Prague Castle and St. Vitus Cathedral, our group continued on a tour in and around the Old Town Square. We first took a walk through Josefov, the Jewish Quarter. This town quarter is formerly the Jewish ghetto of the town. It is surrounded by the Old Town. We did a fair amount of walking this morning, mostly on cobblestones, so I am definitely glad I had a pair of sturdy, comfortable, well-worn-in shoes on (which, in my humble opinion, are the one and only must-pack item for ANY river cruise…everything else is optional, but these are a MUST)!

After walking through Josefov we ended up in the heart of the Old Town Square. This historic, main square in Prague is located between Charles Bridge and Wenceslas Square. The distinctive spiers of the Church of Our Lady before Týn are instantly recognizable and can be seen from a distance. This church has been the main church of this part of the city since the 14th century. Another key building here is the Old Town Hall, which has a medieval astronomical clock mounted on one wall. Unfortunately, the clock was under repairs while I was there, so I didn’t actually get to see it!

While enjoying Old Town Square I stopped to sample the local favorite, trdelník. This delicious treat is dough that has been rolled, wrapped around a stick, grilled, and topped with a sugar and walnut mix. It can then either be served plain, or filled with ice cream, fruit, chocolate, or any number of other sweet treats. I got mine served with ice cream, as it was a very hot and humid day. There are several small trdelník stands throughout the city, and each one smells heavenly as you walk by!

Old Town Hall Tower

Even though the famed astronomical clock was under repair, the Old Town Hall itself was luckily still open. I wandered around inside for a bit and then paid the small admission fee to go to the very top of the tower. The tower was completed in 1364 and it was the highest in the city during the Middle Ages. Once here at the top of the tower, I was treated to some absolutely phenomenal 360-degree views of the city.

I spent quite some time here at the top of the tower, marveling at the views of the beautiful and dense city below.

Pivovar Tour

After lunch I joined a couple from our larger group, and the three of us set off on the optional Pivovar Tour. Pivovar is the Slavic word for brewer and is used as a generic name for breweries. This tour included visits to two different pivovars.

Pivovar U Fleků

Our first stop was U Fleků. This historic brewery has been brewing continuously for over 500 years, dating back to 1499. We met up with one of the brewers who gave us a tour of the beautiful building, including the beer garden.

Once inside, we continued to explore the beautiful interiors and the interesting decor.

Our tour ended with a visit to see where they actually brew their beer, and we learned about their brewing process and style. No brewery tour would be complete without a tasting, and here we got to sample their dark lager beer. The beer is surprisingly sweet and refreshing!

Pivovar U Medvídků

Our second stop was Pivovar U Medvídků. This small “mini-brewery” is known for making the strongest beer in the world, XBEER-33, using historical technology. Here we got a quick tour (it is a mini-brewery after all!) and then settled in to taste some beer.

Our tasting here included three different beers, including the strongest beer in the world (it’s the one served in the very fancy footed glass below!). We also got to sample a selection of marinated cheeses with bread.

Charles Bridge

Once the pivovar tour wrapped up, we walked back to the hotel. I had some free time that afternoon, so I set out to explore the famed Charles Bridge. The scenery around the bridge, which crosses the Vltava River, is gorgeous.

Construction of the Charles Bridge started in 1357 and was completed in the early 15th century. The bridge is 1,693 feet (516 meters) long and 33 feet (10 meters) wide. It is a stone arch bridge and was originally called Stone Bridge. But it has been referred to as Charles Bridge since 1870. The pedestrian-only bridge is one of the most popular tourist attractions in the city. Indeed, on this gorgeous late-summer afternoon, the bridge was packed with people as far as the eye could see! There are three bridge towers (two on the Lesser Quarter side and one on the Old Town side). The bridge has a total of 30 baroque statues and statuaries, which were originally erected at the turn of the 18th century. However, these are all replaced with replicas today.

Street Art

One common thing I saw throughout the city of Prague in my two days there was the quirky street art. There are many quirky figures (human, animal, and others!) that can be seen dangling high over walkways and alleys. It was fun to look around for them as I walked through the city. Another interesting piece of art is the tribute to the Velvet Revolution, which started on November 17, 1989. This was a non-violent transition of power in what was then Czechoslovakia and included many demonstrations by students and older dissidents. As a result of the Velvet Revolution, 41 years of one-party rule ended and a parliamentary republic was established.

Conclusion

I thoroughly enjoyed my brief time in Prague, the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic. As with other European capital cities, Prague is vibrant and diverse. There are many different things to see and do here, including historic sites such as Prague Castle, Charles Bridge, Old Town Square, and the Jewish Quarter. Although I did not have the opportunity to visit any, there are also more than ten major museums here and several other smaller theaters and galleries.

Links

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Note: I fully funded this trip on my own and received no compensation or any other benefits from any service providers I used along the way. The opinions expressed here are my own and I am not being compensated by any service providers.