Hiking idyll and the solitude of the mountain farmers
The Golden City of Prague in the Czech Republic
Prague is the capital and most populous city of the Czech Republic. Prague is the historical capital of Bohemia and was a significant royal and imperial residence in the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation, especially among Luxembourgans and Habsburgs. Prague was first mentioned in the 10th century.
The historical center of Prague is recognized by UNESCO as one of the 12 World Heritage Sites of the Czech Republic. The "Golden City" today shows a closed cityscape characterized by Gothic and Baroque.
Under Emperor Charles IV and his son Wenceslaus IV, Prague, as the imperial seat of the Holy Roman Empire, flourished economically, culturally, politically and in many other areas in the second half of the 14th century.
The nickname “Golden City” refers to the sandstone towers, which shimmer in shades of gold when exposed to sunlight. Another explanation for this name is that Emperor Charles IV had the towers of Prague Castle gilded. The city was also a magnet for alchemists during the time of Rudolf II.
The name “City of a Hundred Towers” has also been known for several centuries and comes from the numerous towers that shape the historic cityscape.
In the second half of the 10th century, the merchant Ibrahim ibn Yaqub described Prague as “the city built of stone and lime” or “Stone Prague”.
After some walks together with Jana and Lucinka from Prague, which had led us through the mountains of Macedonia, specifically along the border with Albania, we stayed in contact by email.
After the first surprise due to our invitation to the exhibition “Metamorphoses”, i.e. to the works of the Swiss artist and filmmaker HR Giger, our research began immediately, especially since the location of the exhibition was completely unknown to us: Hluboká nad Vltavou in the Czech Republic.
It was just a coincidence and ultimately due to the increasing feeling of hunger that we encountered a small restaurant and a wine cellar behind it when driving through the village Plže - Petrov.
After our ascent to the Castle of Prague, which is called Hradčany (Hradschin or castle town), we have chosen the path through the parkland towards the observation tower Petřín, which is modeled on the design of the Eiffel Tower and measures more then 60 meters of height.
By public transport we were traveling from the Campsite Triocamp to the city of Prague, first by bus, then we continued by tram until one of the many Moldau bridges in the old town.
From the campsite "Unter dem Jenzig" in Jena (station 44 in the camper-route.de) we had started going the direction to Prague, one of the most famous tourist destinations in Europe, at least in cultural terms, it has received its nickname "Golden City" correct.