Monday, July 27 and Tuesday, July 28

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Czech Republic, Prague (Part 1)

Wednesday, July 29, 2026

Monday, July 27- Depart Metro Detroit Airport 6:30 pm to Amsterdam, NL 8:15 am

Tuesday, July 28- Depart Amsterdam, NL 9:05 am; arrive in Prague 10:30 am

Tuesday, July 28- Tour Prague with Jan

We made it! Phew! Sue, Shannon, Pat, Jenny, and Jo had a layover in Amsterdam for 50 minutes. In most cases this would be enough time to get between gates. We did have enough time to go through cusstoms and make it in time for boarding.

Sue, Pat, and Shannon waiting at metro Detroit to head to Europe.

Pat and Jo ready to take off and hoping to sleep on the plane!

We landed in Prague at 10:30am which is 4:30 am Eastern Time Zone (Michigan). Most of us got 2-3 hours of sleep from 6:30 pm EST. Needless to say we were exhausted when we got to Prague. Of course everybody's luggage arrived except Jenny's.

Sue and Jenny checking with the airline regarding where Jenny's luggage is. Apparently it is in Amsterdam where we had our quick layover.

We took a bus to the train to our hostel. On the way we met some wonderful people. One person we met, his Aunt graduated with Pat in New Hampshire! What a small world!

Man from New Hampshire who has lived in Prague for 30 years and was a great help getting us to where we needed to go!

Shannon, Jenny, and Sue on the Metro.

Jenny, Pat, Shannon, and Sue heading up the stairs after the ride on the metro. The directions after that were to turn left and turn left again to get to our hostel.

After checking into the hostel, Jan came and met us to show us around Prague.

Back: Jan, Sue, and Jenny

Front: Pat, Jo, and Shannon

Astronomical Clock in Old Town Prague.

The Old Town Square in Prague. The large monument is dedicated to Jan Hus, a Czech reformer.

Mariam Column (Mariansky sloup) built in 1650 to celebrate the end of the Thirty Year's War. This was destroyed in 1918 and reconstructed in 2020.

Statue of Jan Hus memorial who was the a well renown teacher. (Pictured below on the left.)

The large monument is dedicated to Jan Hus, a Czech reformer.

The Prague Castle was founded in the 9th century and is the largest historic castle complex in the world, occupying an area of 70,000 meters. The Prague Castle was the seat of kings and emperors; today it serves as the offical seat of the President of the Czech Republic.

Standing on the Manes Bridge. Front to back: Pat, Jan, Jo, and Shannon.

The riveboats going down the Vltava River.

Charles Bridge was originally referred to as "stone bridge" until the 19th century was the only link between the right and left banks of the Vltava River. Charles IV ordered the construction in 1357, making it the oldest bridge in Prague.

Royal Gardens at the Prague Castle.

St. Vitus Cathedral with the Prague castle in view.

Guards at the Prague Royal Castle...yes the guns are loaded! We were unable to see the changing of the guards but they must stand completely still.

St. Vitus Cathedral

Jan explaining about St. Vitus Cathedral.

The Petrin Tower in the background. This was built for the Jubilee Exhibition two years after the completion of the Eiffel Tower in Paris. Prague did not have enough money to build a tower as high as the Eiffel Tower so it was built on a hill instead.