McLays in Europe

We travelled by train to Prague accompanied by an American who had been delayed by the train strike. There was a marked difference in the train stations between the two countries with the one in Dresden being brand new and Prague looking like it needed a major upgrade. The country side along the way was beautiful with colourful autumn leaves. In the Czech Republic many people appear to live in government high rise accomodation. We also noted a lot of small plots along the way with small buildings which we found out later to be a source of leisure activity where people grow vegetables and fill in some spare time. We jumped the taxi cue when the driver refused to take the man ahead of us - not sure why but maybe he thought he could make more out of us! On arrival our room which we had booked on the internet day prior excelled our expectations and was situated at the base of Prague Castle in a beautiful old street. Our apartment, although close to Castle was quite a distance from CBD where all tours seemed to start from. As a result we did a lot of walking and got lost every time as the streets of Prague have no regular pattern. We went on a 5 hour walking tour of significant buildings followed by an evening pub tour. Next day we went on a bus tour to Terezin which was a transfer station for Jews to concentration camps. Although no one was gassed there, over 30,000 people died there due to hunger and disease. We also visited the crematorium built to cope with the bodies and a museum which was used to house Jewish children which was very moving. Had a good chat to an English couple on the tour and introduced ourselves to a man when we saw Geelong Harley Davidson on the back of his jumper. He turned out to be from Bacchus Marsh.

Ian's view: Prague was a stand out highlight of the trip so far, this regal city showed so much tourism potential given its incredible historical background. The pub tour was excellent, with a balanced mixture of American, Canadian, English, Czech, Greece, German and of course Australian. We visited 4 pubs, none of which a tourist would find by themselves. The leader of the tour Ivan, interrogated each of our nationalities and over the night revealed drinking secrets from each respective country. Australia was noted for the export of Fosters, which of course no one in Australia drinks and the drinking proweress of our former Prime Minister Bob Hawke. The visit to Terezin is one everyone should do to face the horrific realities of our past. Imagine 600 people in one small room with only 2 toilets!
I fully intend to return to Prague.