Terezin Concentration Camp & Prague after Dark - Czech Republic

July 19

Our tour today was to Terezin, the former Jewish Ghetto & Concentration Camp. Very interesting and thought provoking. 

Terezín was conceived as a fortress town in the late 18th century, when the Hapsburg Emperor ordered the construction of Theresienstadt which was named after his mother, Empress Maria Theresa. It was later established as a town in the newly formed Czechoslovakia. Nazi Germany took it over in 1938 and transformed it into a ghetto and, later, a notorious concentration camp. 

We saw former prisoner cells, residences of the Gestapo and one of the underground corridors. 

arrival at the museum

the museum

park

walking tour of the former ghetto

entering the secret place of worship

guide inside the place of worship

upstairs were some of the rooms

We then drove the short distance to Small Fortress that served as a prison of the Prague Gestapo for the opponents of the Nazi regime in 1940 - 1945.

cemetery

entrance to the fortress

top leaders of the Gestapo

swallows on the barbed fence

Gestapo office

the sleeping quarters

space to store their things

cell of Gavrilo Princip, a Bosnian Serb student who assassinated Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir presumptive to the throne of Austria-Hungary, and his wife Sophie

laundry

showers

this room was never used, it was propaganda to show those in the camp were well taken care of

entrance to the tunnel

where they lined them up to shoot them

memorial at the base of where they were shot

gallows

leaving the camp

After visiting the ghetto and museum, we drove to Litoměřice, one of the Czech Republic’s oldest and most beautiful cities. Our guide kept downplaying the lunch as it was just good enough to keep us from starving on the drive back to Prague, but it was a very tasty roast chicken and roasted potatoes. (there was no choice and we all were served the same thing, and he said if you were vegetarian, they could cook some frozen vegetables for them. (Joking, of course)

Restaurant

Viking rescheduled the Prague at night tour of Lesser Town, so we had a few hours to see where our luggage was since we leave tomorrow morning for the cruise. In anticipation of not getting ourluggage and spending who knows how long in these clothes, we bought some laundry detergent for the things we don’t send out and a can of hairspray. (Karen you are agreeing with that purchase aren't you?)

The Viking agents recommended Červený Jelen for dinner, so we walked to Old Town. We had a sharing platter of pulled smoked beef with BBQ sauce, caramelized chorizo with garlic, homemade beef pastrami, chipotle sauce & grilled bread and a side of garlic mashed potatoes. Seriously good food.

walk to the restaurant

railroad station

signs to the restaurant

real Royal Crown Cola

yum!

bathrooms were "hidden" in the wall mural

mural on the walk back to the hotel

We got our luggage right before our night tour. Yay! No time to change into anything.

We rode to Lesser Town and then had a walking tour. We passed by the famous baroque-style Church of St. Nicholas, as well as other baroque-style buildings. We continued down Lázeňská Street, passing the 14th-century Church of Our Lady before Týn, and the John Lennon Wall, a symbol of nonviolent resistance.

We walked halfway across the Charles Bridge, adorned with more than 30 statues, and stopped to see Prague’s charming Little Venice; a manmade canal built by the Knights Hospitaller.

Back in the vehicle we passed by The Great Strahov Stadium that was built for displays of synchronized gymnastics on a massive scale, with a field three times as long and three times as wide as the standard association football pitch. Deemed the ugliest building in the world, it is no longer in use, and they are hoping to figure out what to do with it.

Strahov Monastery Brewery - St. Norbert beer (monks are gone, but brewery still operates) Everyone could have their choice of beer, wine or soda

views from Letna Hill

walking back to the bus

It was a nice tour and Lesser Town showed us that Prague DID have some charm. (Sorry we missed that tour. The drinks at the monastery and the beautiful views capped off the evening.

Back in the room we found clothes for the ride to the ship the next morning and got the bags ready to put outside of the room in the morning. Thrilled to have our luggage at last!

Prague – Terezin & Prague After Dark https://photos.app.goo.gl/2HWx1aFLY9VnYxCg7

Tomorrow is a travel day by bus to Vienna, Austria where we start the Danube River Cruise. 

Magnets from Prague, Czech Republic