PRAGUE

The Golden City as it is also known, capital of the Czech Republic and sits either side of the River Vlatva. We took the 1 hr 45 min flight over after work on Friday for two busy days of sightseeing. Surprisingly Heathrow was more efficient than we had expected, however our plane was late, so in hindsight we didn't have to leave work early. We took a punt with accommodation and chose 'the secret hotel' off the lastminute.com website. It worked out well for us as the 4* hotel was 2min from the metro, for about half of the normal discounted price. Bargain.

On Saturday we headed to Hradcany to see the Castle which is far more then just a Castle. It is also the location of a Cathedral, Basilica, and the Royal Palace, as well as other associated buildings. Unfortunately the Palace was closed for the weekend but it is still a full days worth of sightseeing. The Castle was completed in many stages and the style of building reflects that from gothic to renaissance influences often next to each other.

The many different aspects of the Castle.

St Vitus Cathedral was built over 500 years and contains 21 very ornate chapels. The Wenceslas Chapel would be the stand out with the ceilings and walls covered in frescoes. As usual we took on the challenge of climbing to the top of the Cathedral, with the South Tower providing the 300 steps to the viewing platform. Quite a tricky process as there is only a single narrow spiral staircase.

South Tower of cathedral
Wenceslas Chapel

The trusty Insight Guide Book came out on Sunday as we walked all over the Old Town and checked out the rest of Prague. We stumbled across a display from the local military. What started off as a performance from the marching band turned into a display of gun handling, complete with firing off a few rounds. Not sure that all of the tourists (or pigeons) were quite ready for it either.

Again we did really well with the weather during our trip. Albeit a little cold (3-10 degrees) it was fine and provided a good opportunity for some night photos on Saturday night.

Apart from the annoying balloon on the right this would have been a really good photo

Charles Bridge

London - Richmond Park


We've had a lovely Autumn's weekend in London this weekend. A nice walk around Greenwich Park on Saturday, with the only disappointment being that there is a couple of fences keeping the Deer inside their enclosure (making photography a little difficult). So, we decided to head out to Richmond Park where the Deer have the whole park to roam around. It is currently mating season, so it wasn't wise to get to close to the Stag's. However, Steve flirted with danger, and the resulting photos turned out OK.

Objects may appear closer then they really are!

London - Hampton Court Palace

Last weekend we decided to combine sightseeing with doing another good deed. We took up the challenge of the Tesco 10km run for cancer research. The bonus with this race was the location - a palace. This was where Henry VIII lived and had also been the home of King William III and Queen Mary II.

Steve & Claire, in the race uniform, Tesco t-shirts

The race itself wound its way round the gardens of the palace (whilst dodging the resident 200 Deer) as well as the palace golf course and a short stint along the River Thames as well. No hills in sight which was a welcome difference from our last race at Greenwich! Considering the lack of training beforehand we were both very happy with our performances.

The palace

After the race we took the opportunity to have a look through the palace, and a walk through the ornate gardens.

Gardens

The gardeners are kept very busy, pruning the trees into mushroom shapes

Again, the palace had a maze, thus we had to have a race to the centre. On the back of the last maze challenge at Leeds Castle, Claire decided to let me have 10 seconds head start. Claire again claimed victory, although a 3rd umpire may have decided otherwise. Note: For the record, Steve was 1st past the post, but lost on adjusted time.

Claire claiming victory

London - Maggie's Night Hike

What is your ideal Friday night?

(1) A night out with friends setting the dance floor alight
(2) Quiet night at home with a good movie
(3) A date with someone special, or
(4) Walking 17miles around central London for charity

Well we decided to choose option 4, and take up the challenge to raise some money for charity. For the record Maggie's (http://www.maggiecentres.org/) is a place usually attached to hospitals where cancer patients and their families can get help with all aspects of living with cancer. Thanks heaps to all who donated to the cause. It was definitely a unique way to check out London.

So it all starts with at 8pm with a pasta party at Guildhall where we get our fantastic shirts and fluoro green bags. A bit of uplifting music to to wake us up and then all 900 of us head off following the Circle underground train line (but on the surface). We ended up getting home just after 5:30am, a bit tired, but satisfied that a good night was had by all.

Guildhall - 9:30pm

As we walked around there were certain buildings, generally of architectural significance, open especially for us to enter. They were mainly to break up the walking and give the Maggies crew a chance to feed us. We found the Royal Geographical Society, London Eye, Somerset House and the City Hall were worth the visit.

Outside Royal Albert Hall - 12:22am

Nearly at the London Eye - 1:51am
View of St Pauls Cathedral from the London Eye - 2:19am

Fountains at Somerset House (the blur in the fountains, is Claire deciding Steve had done enough photography for one night...) 3:03am
Tower Bridge, from the observation deck at City Hall - 3:59amInside City Hall. (Not a staircase for people that get dizzy easily) 4:04am

7 hours later (5am) we finally crossed the line where the Maggies crew had breaky waiting. As far as we were concerned enough food had been consumed throughout the night to last the whole day and sleep was far more important.

Claire crossing the line

CAMBRIDGE

The flood waters of regional England are receding so we decided to make use of the rare sunny weather and head out of town again. Claire had been here a few years ago and was keen to return, particularly to give some punting ago.

The town is literally named after the first bridge that crossed the River Cam. It is also the location of one of the worlds most prestigous universties. We found out that initially the sons of royalty and nobility were given degrees from Cambridge without having to sit exams - just had to show up at lectures. We were assured the process is much more rigourous these days. Our punting guide also informed us that no student of the university is permitted to have a paying job during term time, as it takes the focus off their studies. As a result it is predominantly a uni for the wealthy.


You may have picked up that we decided against self punting in favour of a guided trip. Given that it is summer, there was chaos on the river. A few of the novice punters had some directional problems, so there were a few collisions. Thankfully we stayed reasonably dry! Our guide did confess to a quick dip earlier in the day.


Apart from punting, the other reason to visit Cambridge is to see Kings College. This college was founded by King Henry VI and completed by King Henry VIII. It was literally used to house the kings that attended the prestigous Eton school. The building and grounds are very impressive and the chapel worth the visit. The major colleges all own land on each side of the river and thus a bridge as well. The land on the other bank is known as 'The Backs' and the colleges all charge an entry fee to enter it.



The college chapel is not quite as grand as the Canterbury Cathedral but just as intricately decorated. This chapel is dedicated to Mary with 25 windows depicting her life. All bar the last window were installed in the 16th century with the last one being placed during the 19th century.

Inside Kings College Chapel. The choir section must take up 1/3 of the building, so no wonder the Christmas Carols from Kings are shown on worldwide TV.

Kings College

Claire with the grounds of Kings College in the background.


One of the tall stories about Cambridge is the Mathematical Bridge. This is the only bridge not made from stone and joins Queens College to The Backs. Legend says that the designers of the bridge used Isaac Newton's laws of physics, as the brige was held together using merely friction, without the need for nuts or bolts. We were assured that it has subsequently been modernised using more modern building techniques.
The Mathematical bridge at Queens college.