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Around the Czech Republic – Day eleventh: Prague zoo

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Prague ZOO is situated in Troja in Prague, it was opened in 1931 and in 2015 it was the 4th best zoo in the world according to TripAdvisor. We decided to go to Prague zoo last minute because it wasn’t a good weather. We arrived to Prague Podbaba station at about 3PM and then we headed by walking a little while to zoo.

After about 30 minutes we were finally at the zoo and we took a picture of a map so we could orient there. The first interesting animals we liked were kangaroos. They were so beautiful but they didn’t move a lot because they looked old. We walked up to the zoo and we saw a Observation tower called Obora so we climbed up and we saw the whole part of Prague. There were beautiful view but little bit windy so we climbed down and headed to see some other animals.

It was a few minutes walking and we finally saw beautiful elephants eating some food. There were nearby giraffes and small meerkats. Meerkats were so cute and they are our favorite animals so we watched them a little bit longer than other animals. We took pictures of them and then we made a short video of hippos in a water.

Then we were climbing down to see a polar bear because when we climbed up he was hidden and now he was out and nobody was watching him so we had a great view and we made a photo with him. Also penguins are our favorite animals so we were on our way to see them. A few of them were out but in a distance so we didn’t see them perfectly.

Next animals we wanted to see were monkeys but it was a little bit late and their sector was closed unfortunately. We also wanted to see some fish but it was closed too. We changed our plans and headed to see tigers and snakes. There was beautiful tiger and I watched him a little while. Snakes were my favorite animals when I was a child so ofcourse I had to see some of them there and they were beautiful but probably dangerous.

It was already after 7PM and we were one of the last visitors in zoo so we had to leave also because our train home came in a while. From the zoo we went by a bus to Holešovice where we changed bus for subway. After a few minutes we were at Prague Masaryk railway station and our train was there so we found our seats and went home.

I was in Prague zoo second time and it was a great experience with so many beautiful animals. The next day we went to České Budějovice and it was our last day of our 14 days Summer trip, the next post will be about that.

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Around the Czech Republic – Day tenth: Again in Prague

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It was already afternoon and we decided we will go to Prague again! As I in some previous post we weren’t everywhere in Prague so it was time to visit some other places there. At 2PM we were in a train in Ústí nad Labem and after one hour we arrived to the capital Prague.

We went to National Monument in Vitkov, there is a statue of Jan Žižka and a beautiful view on the whole city of Prague. You can see there a beautiful Žižkov Television Tower too.

After a little walk around the Vitkov monument we headed through the city center to Petřín. It is a 327 metres high hill in the city center and there is situated Petřín Lookout Tower which looks like the Eiffel Tower. We walked in the park there and there were beautiful flowers.

It was about 6PM and we were tired because it was so hot, a long way and twice up to the hill so we decided to go catch some train home. It wasn’t a long trip but it was a great time spent in Prague!

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Around the Czech Republic – Day ninth: Olomouc

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It was 7AM and we were on our way to the city of Olomouc, one of the biggest town in Moravia. It is quite a long way as it was to Brno. We had to go from Ústí nad Labem West train station and change trains in Kolín, then directly to Olomouc. The train from Kolín was delayed so our way was a little bit longer than we expected.

After 4 hours we arrived to Olomouc finally and headed from train station to the city center. The train station is not in the city center as it is in Ústí nad Labem so it was a long way. We wanted to visit on our way Saint Wenceslas Cathedral but there was a some event so we were not allowed to go there but we took some pictures of it at least. After a few minutes we were in the city center and it was beautiful. We stopped at Upper Square which is the biggest square in Olomouc and there is astronomical clock which every hour plays and we came on time to see it. There is also beautiful Holy Trinity Column.

After a little show we went around the city center and we saw in a distance a football stadium so we had to see it because we like football. I knew nearly is a ice hockey stadium which I saw when I was in Olomouc as a kid so we walked around the stadium and after a few minutes we were in the downtown again.

In every town I want to visit some view tower so we had a plan for next half an hour. We climbed up to Church of Saint Maurice where is a view point. You can see there the whole city and also in a distance Holy Hill near Olomouc where is basilica and a ZOO.

We were watching a few minutes on the city and I checked departures of trains and found out our train will come soon. We spent in Olomouc 4 beautiful hours and it was time to go home. Unfortunately our train was delayed again so we waited at the train station about half an hour more.

After three hours we change our trains in Prague and then it was only one hour to our home. It was really great trip and we were exhausted. The next two days we went to Prague twice and explored some other places than before for example Prague ZOO!

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Around the Czech Republic – Day eighth: Pilsen

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It was again sunny day and we were on our way to the train station in Ústí nad Labem and we headed to Pilsen! We crossed the Prague where we changed trains and after about three and half hours we arrived to The European Capital of Culture 2015 Pilsen.

We were there a year ago so we knew what we would like to see. We went to The Square of the Republic which is one of the biggest square in Europe and there is many historical sights for example The cathedral of St. Bartholomew. On the cathedral there is a view point but we were there previous year so we didn’t go there.

We took some pictures and then we went to Plzeň Plaza, it is a shopping mall where we bought some snack and then we continued exploring the city of Pilsen. We saw something big in distance and it was The Great Synagogue, it is the biggest synagogue in the Czech Republic and the second largest synagogue in Europe.

Then we headed to some park where were fish and ducks so we tried to fed them and it was great how they ate rolls. We made a video and took some pictures of that and then we were on our way to see a Doosan Arena which is the main football stadium in Pilsen. After that we saw in a park there is a roundabout so we had to go there and enjoy some fun.

At about 2PM we decided to go home so we caught a train, found our seats and we rested during the journey. Next day of our summer trip we continued to the other side of the Czech Republic, to the city of Olomouc, but about it later!

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Around the Czech Republic – Day seventh: Brno

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We had one day off travel and our next destination was Brno! It is on the other end of the Czech Republic over 350 kilometres long way by a train. So it was 6AM and we were in the train already. We changed trains in Prague as usually and directly continued to the second biggest town in the Czech Republic and the biggest town of the region Moravia, Brno.

The way quickly ran and i thought about what we should visit there. I was there a year ago so i knew some places and my girlfriend agreed that she would like to see the places. We came to Brno at 10:30AM. We headed some view tower in the city center and there was a beautiful view to the Špilberk Castle Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul and the buildings in the city center. Then we went to the biggest Brno square Freedom Square.

We walked around the city center a few minutes and after that we went to Špilberk Castle. The castle is situated on the hill near to the downtown. From the castle there is a gorgeous view to the whole city! We took some pictures as always and we were little bit hungry so we decided climb down to the Freedom Square and eat something there.

It was about 2PM and one of the trains had a delay so we decided to catch him because it was a direct train to Ústí nad Labem, where we live. We did it and it was again 4 hours long way! We spent that day about 8 hours in the trains and only about 4 hours we were in the city! So exhausting! The next day our trip continued to the city of Pilsen.

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Around the Czech Republic – Day sixth: Last minute trip to Prague

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This trip to Prague was different on the contrary other trips, do you ask why? Because this trip started later in the afternoon due to some errands. I had to go visit university for some formalities. Then I asked where my girlfriend would like to go. We didn’t want to travel far away so we agreed Prague would be a great idea. She wasn’t on many places so I wanted to show her some of my favorites.

We arrived to Prague at 4PM and headed from Prague Masaryk railway station to Letná Park which is a big park near the Prague Castle. In Letná Park there is such a beautiful view on Prague and its bridges. In the distance you can see Žižkov Television Tower, Charles Bridge, Petřín Lookout Tower and the whole city.

We were looking a while and then our goal was Prague Castle, it is the most important czech castle and from 1918 it’s the residence of the President of the Czech Republic. We went for a walk around the castle and took some pictures of our view on Prague.

We didn’t want to spend a long time in Prague that day so we continued down from the castle across Malá Strana through Charles Bridge, Old Town Square and Wenceslas Square to the Prague main railway station. We came to the railway station at about 6PM so it was quite short and fast trip to our beautiful capital of the Czech Republic, the Prague!

To Ústí nad Labem we arrived a little while after 7PM so we had a lot of time to rest. We rested even the next day and then after one day off we were on our way again to Brno! But about that in the next post!

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Around the Czech Republic – Day fifth: Mariánské Lázně

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Next stop of our Summer trip 2015 was a spa city Mariánské Lázně where we met each other for the first time last year. We started at Ústí nad Labem main station again and headed to Cheb for 3 hours where we had to change trains and continued to Mariánské Lázně about 30 minutes by a train.

We came to the beautiful spa city Mariánské Lázně at 11 AM and headed through some park to the city center. We visited in the park Ferdinand Spring which is the oldest spring in the city. I tasted it and it wasn’t bad. Then we already continued visit the most beautiful colonnade we have ever seen and the singing fountain. It is one of the dominants of the city.

At 1 PM the signing fountain had a show so we made a video of that. We also took a lot of pictures of the colonnade and of the city center. We had to try traditional spa wafers and it was very tasty! Time passed quickly so we went to the train station because it is far to the city center. At 3 PM we were at the train station and waited for our train which came in a while.

We went home through the city Cheb again where we had to change trains again. During the day was so hot such as on our previous trips so we rested during all the way home.

It was about 7 PM and we were coming to Ústí nad Labem, our home. When we came home we had to download our pictures and rest all evening. It was exacting traveling but we were so happy we did it and the next day we were on our way again!

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Around the Czech Republic – Day fourth: Liberec

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Our trip continued to the north to the city of Liberec where we were on our first trip together last year! The way to Liberec took about 2 hours by a train so we had a lot of time in the train to plan what to do there.

We arrived to Liberec at 10 AM and we headed by a tram under Ještěd mountain. It is the highest peak of Ještěd-Kozákov Ridge with 1012 metres altitude and at the top there is a beautiful TV tower.

We didn’t want to walk up so we took a cable car and it was a great ride. After about 2 minutes we were at the top of the mountain. We took a lot of pictures and we saw in a distance rain, it was very interesting.

At the top we were about 1 hour so it was time to go to visit the city center. We climbed down and by a tram we got to the downtown. We had no water to drink so we had to buy some soda in the shopping mall Forum Liberec. We took a walk in the downtown and the most interesting thing was Liberec Town Hall such a beautiful building!

It was 4 PM and it was time to catch our train. We were so tired again so we rested during the way to our home Ústí nad Labem. I think it was a great trip again and we experienced a lot of fun.

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Around the Czech Republic – Day third: 50th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival

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It was 4th of July 2015 and we decided visit one of the oldest film festival in the world! We had one day off so we recharged our energy! We started in Ústí nad Labem main station. The train was filling during the way with many tourists and after about 2 hours we arrived to Karlovy Vary.

The train station is not in the city center so we walked there about 20 minutes. We took a walk in the city center and visited lobby of Spa Hotel Thermal where we met former president of the Czech Republic Václav Klaus. Then we went to visit The Mill Colonnade, it is one of the 4 colonnade in Karlovy Vary and the biggest one.

After a little walk around the colonnade we headed catch the cable car because we wanted to see the city from above. We got of the cable car the first station because there is a beautiful view point called Deer Jump Lookout. There was such a beautiful view on the city center so we had to took some pictures.

We saw what we wanted from above so it was time to climb down. It was only about 10 minutes walk down the hill. We had a lot of time so we were walking in the city center again. There was some charity event where the famous czech celebrities rode a stationary bicycle. There were Martina Sáblíková, Jiří Bartoška, Karel Roden, Jiří Macháček and many others. We also saw the part of ViralBrothers, Czech famous YouTubers. In Karlovy Vary was Richard Gere presenting a special screening of Pretty Woman. Unfortunately it was at night and we couldn’t stay there because no train went to Ústí nad Labem so late.

It was about 4 PM and after a sunny day we were tired so it was time to go catch the train. To the train station we came half an hour before the train was departed so we rested a little bit. At 5 PM the train finally came and we went catch our seats. We took our seats in full train and watched our photos from our trip. It was 2 hours long way to Ústí nad Labem and we arrived there at 7 PM. Finally we were home and happy for successful trip to Karlovy Vary.

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Around the Czech Republic – Day second: Hradec Králove and Pardubice

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It was hot sunny morning and we were headed to the first city Hradec Králové. We started at Ústí nad Labem West train station with a train to Lysá nad Labem where we had to change trains. After about 3 hours from our home we were finally in Hradec Králové, we headed to Šimkovy sady which is so beautiful city park and then we visited Velké náměstí (Big Square) and took some pictures there.

We were in Hradec only about 2 hours and then we decided to visit the next city Pardubice. It is only about 25 minutes by a train there so we were there in a moment. I was in Pardubice a year ago so i knew there is a shop at the train station where they have so good strawberry ice cream and we had to buy two of them. We ate this great ice cream and headed to the shopping mall Palác Pardubice where we bought some soda and cider for a refreshment.

In Pardubice there is a beautiful tower called Zelená brána (Green Gate) the main dominant of the city. We had to go up and watch the city from above! There were beautiful view and we saw whole of Pardubice so we had to took some pictures again. Below the tower there is square called Pernštýnské náměstí from where we walked visit castle Pardubice. We went around the castle and we were tired as the day before, so we decided to go to catch the first train to Prague where we had to change trains to the train which go to our home.

After two hours by a train from Pardubice we were finally home. Trip to these two beautiful czech cities was great. It was so hot again but only one day of our 14 days of traveling it wasn’t sunny and we were so happy the weather was great. The next post will be about our trip to the 50th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival!

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