Having lost our travelling companions today, they had to get home to go to work (:-(
Yesterday we did the Red Bus tour so today we decided to hop back on and head up to the copy of the Eiffel Tower they have. it was a cold morning and Peter decided to take Helga with him, and here she is..
One interesting thing though, Peter had lost his new hat, doh....... when we got on the bus the next day, it was the same vehicle and as Penny got on and about to sit down she pointed down and there was the hat.....
The Hat
Having been reunited with the hat we set off on the Red Bus. We got off at the largest sports arena in the world and it was very cold. The Strahov Stadium is the largest in the world, seating 220,000 in concrete stands. Construction was begun in 1926 with various upgrades over the years. It is no longer in general use being only available for the Sparta Prague FC to practise on the 6 fullsize and 2 futsbul pitches inside the stadium. It looks very run down and sad. In 1990, after the Velvet Revolution The Rolling Stones played a free concert here, even then they couldn't fill it and only 100,000 attended.
On the way to Petrin Hill and the Petrin Lookout Tower we passed this student accomodation block, very Stalin like.. wouldn't want to stay in this.
The Petrin Lookout Tower
It is always compared to the Eiffel Tower and although much smaller the Czechs claim that if you add the height of the hill it is slightly taller. There is however a great view over the city....
Again we didn't climb the stairs but paid extra for the lift, which was an experience in itself. It is a coffin like steel device in the centre of the building, it holds 6 including the operator, mind you thats 6 very squeezy people. However once released from the container we went downstairs to find the toilets and found this museum...
Jara Cimrman is a famous Czech who was renowned for his many talents. He was an inventor, philosopher, sportsman and many other things . He was also an engineer who advised Eiffel on the shape of the legs for his tower. He even had a "girlhood" because his parents didn't tell him he was a boy until he was 6 and until then had been dressed as a girl. In the museum one of his dresses was displayed along with many of his inventions. He never became famous though. Now he has been recognised and indeed was voted the Czechs most famous person. We were intrigued by the exhibition. here is a link if you want to check him out, it's well worth a read, you'll be suprised.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jára_Cimrman
Down the hill we went on the funicular...
Crossed the road at the bottom and found the Savoy Cafe. Founded in 1893 and housed in a beautiful art deco building it's a wonderful place to have coffe and cake, or beer!
The ceiling was boarded over before the Germans invaded in 1938 and was kept covered during the communist era, they didn't want it torn down because of it's decadence. It was finally uncovered and restored after the velvet revolution.
A medium walk up the river followed and we purchased a two hour river cruise and here are some pictures....
The Fred and Ginger building
