Col GKS Reddy Coins: VISIT PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC 29 SEP TO 01 OCT 2018

CHAPPIDI ABHIRATH REDDY,

C/O COL GKS REDDY,

Secunderabad - 500 087.

Visited Prague, Czech Republic from 29 Sep 2018 to 01 Oct 2018 along with my Younger Daughter and family. Took off from Heathrow Airport at 0830 h on 29 Sep 2018 and landed at Prague Airport at about 1030 h and returned to Heathrow on 01 Oct 2019 (AN).

Inside Prague Airport

Prague Airport

Outside Prague Airport

The Czech Republic

The Czech Republic (/ˈtʃɛk -/ (

listen);Czech: Česká republika [ˈtʃɛskaː ˈrɛpublɪka] (

listen)), also known by its short-form name, Czechia (/ˈtʃɛkiə/ (

listen); Czech: Česko [ˈtʃɛsko] (

listen)), is a landlocked country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west, Austria to the south, Slovakia to the east and Poland to the northeast. The Czech Republic covers an area of 78,866 square kilometres (30,450 sq mi) with a mostly temperate continental climate and oceanic climate. It is a unitary parliamentary republic, with 10.6 million inhabitants; its capital and largest city is Prague, with 1.3 million residents. Other major cities are Brno, Ostrava and Pilsen. The Czech Republic is a member of the European Union (EU), NATO, the OECD, the United Nations, the OSCE, and the Council of Europe.

It is a developed country with an advanced, high income export-oriented social market economy based in services, manufacturing and innovation. The UNDP ranks the country 14th in inequality-adjusted human development. The Czech Republic is a welfare state with a "continental" European social model, a universal health care system, tuition-free university education an is ranked 14th in the Human Capital Index. It ranks as the 6th safest or most peaceful country and is one of the most non-religious countries in the world, while achieving strong performance in democratic governance.

The Prague

Prague (/prɑːɡ/; Czech: Praha [ˈpraɦa] (

listen), German: Prag) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, the 14th largest city in the European Union^[9] and the historical capital of Bohemia. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of 2.6 million.^[4] The city has a temperate climate, with warm summers and chilly winters.

Prague has been a political, cultural and economic centre of central Europe complete with a rich history. Founded during the Romanesque and flourishing by the Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque eras, Prague was the capital of the kingdom of Bohemia and the main residence of several Holy Roman Emperors, most notably of Charles IV (r. 1346–1378).^[10] It was an important city to the Habsburg Monarchy and its Austro-Hungarian Empire. The city played major roles in the Bohemian and Protestant Reformation, the Thirty Years' War and in 20th-century history as the capital of Czechoslovakia, during both World Wars and the post-war Communist era.^[11]

Prague is home to a number of famous cultural attractions, many of which survived the violence and destruction of 20th-century Europe. Main attractions include Prague Castle, Charles Bridge, Old Town Square with the Prague astronomical clock, the Jewish Quarter, Petřín hill and Vyšehrad. Since 1992, the extensive historic centre of Prague has been included in the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites.

Charles Bridge, Prague

Charles Bridge (Czech: Karlův most [ˈkarluːf ˈmost] (

listen)) is a historic bridge that crosses the Vltava river in Prague, Czech Republic. Its construction started in 1357 under the auspices of King Charles IV, and finished in the beginning of the 15th century. The bridge replaced the old Judith Bridge built 1158–1172 that had been badly damaged by a flood in 1342. This new bridge was originally called Stone Bridge (Kamenný most) or Prague Bridge (Pražský most) but has been "Charles Bridge" since 1870. As the only means of crossing the river Vltava (Moldau) until 1841, Charles Bridge was the most important connection between Prague Castle and the city's Old Town and adjacent areas. This "solid-land" connection made Prague important as a trade route between Eastern and Western Europe.

The bridge is 621 metres (2,037 ft) long and nearly 10 metres (33 ft) wide, following the example of the Stone Bridge in Regensburg, it was built as a bow bridge with 16 arches shielded by ice guards. It is protected by three bridge towers, two on the Lesser Quarter side (including the Malá Strana Bridge Tower) and one on the Old Town side, the Old Town Bridge Tower. The bridge is decorated by a continuous alley of 30 statues and statuaries, most of them baroque-style, originally erected around 1700 but now all replaced by replicas.

The Entry to Charles Bridge from the New Town Side

(From Mala Strana Square Side)

Some of the Statues on Charles Bridge

Exit Gate of the Bridge to Old Town (Photo from the Bridge)

A view of the Charles Bridge from a Flank

A closeup of the Exit Gate to Old Town from the Bridge

A view of the Exit Gate of the Bridge to the Old Town

from The Knights Cross Square

A Partial View of Charles Bridge from the New Town

Charles Bridge

The Franz Kafka Museum Prague
The Franz Kafka Museum is a museum located in Prague dedicated to the author Franz Kafka. The museum hosts a number of first edition Kafka books as well as displays original letters, diaries and drawings created by Kafka.

Franz Kafka was a German-speaking Bohemian Jewish novelist and short story writer, widely regarded as one of the major figures of 20th-century literature. His work, which fuses elements of realism and the fantastic, typically features isolated protagonists faced by bizarre or surrealistic predicaments and incomprehensible social-bureaucratic powers, and has been interpreted as exploring themes of alienation, existential anxiety, guilt, and absurdity. His best known works include "Die Verwandlung", Der Process, and Das Schloss. The term Kafkaesque has entered the English language to describe situations like those in his writing.