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John Osaki's Blog
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THIS TRIP IS NOT CURRENTLY SCHEDULED. Over the years, Walking Softly Adventures has developed and operated trips to a variety of destinations including this one, but not all trips are offered every year. Though this trip is not currently being offered as a scheduled departure, we can organize and operate this trip as a private departure. | ||||||||
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Start organizing your private Prague, Budapest & Krakow adventure here. | ||||||||
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Experience the best of three “gem” cities in Europe. Explore castles, walk cobblestone streets, see masterpieces of Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque art, and dine at exquisite restaurants. Feel the pulse of vibrant and beautiful Prague, Budapest, and Krakow, new gems in the European Union. Journey through the verdant fields of Bohemia, along the Danube, and across the Tatra mountains, stopping at the Czech town of Cesky Krumlov and a Slovak castle. Daily walks encourage you to slow down and absorb the centuries of stories woven into the landscape. | ||||||||
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Day 1 | ||||||||
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More Prague
Options If you enjoy early 20th century art, Prague’s National Gallery of Modern Art at the Trade Fair Palace is worth the trip. The museum boasts an amazing collection of Kupka, Rodin, Picasso, Braque, Gauguin, van Gogh, Rousseau, Chagall, Klimt, Schiele, Munch and Kokoschka. The curator spent many decades in Paris in the early 20th century buying art directly from the artists. | ||||||||
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Day 2 Continue on the King’s Road from the Mala Strana up to Prague castle. Walk up hill with views over Prague to the beautiful palaces at the Hradcany Square. Inside the castle walls you'll discover the St. Vitus Cathedral, a dominating feature of the Prague skyline. Explore the castle area including the St. George Convent (a medieval building) and meander through the castle gardens to the Renaissance pavilion of Queen Ann (known as the "Belvedere") and its exquisite, sgrafitto-decorated ballroom. Stroll past the Hradcany Square to the Baroque-style Loreto whose church tower houses twenty-seven bells that play a hymn hailing the Virgin Mary every hour. The square in front of Loreto is surrounded by other Baroque buildings. | ||||||||
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Day 3 Travel to Cesky Krumlov, a southern Czech town named a World Heritage Site. Spend several hours exploring the well-preserved old town caressed in a sinuous bend of the Vltava River. Tour the castle and its marvelously preserved gem of a Baroque theatre.
Day 4 | ||||||||
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Day 5 Explore Buda’s Castle Hill which was named a World Heritage Site in 1987. On foot, visit the 13th century Matthias Church where Emperor Franz Josef’s coronation was held and the Fisherman’s Bastion commemorating the one thousandth anniversary of the arrival of the Magyar tribes. Continue walking to the Buda Palace built by Empress Maria Theresa in the 19th century on site of a 15th century Renaissance palace. Meander the cobblestone lanes and seek out the embroidery market, or tour the Budapest History Museum, a wonderful encapsulation of two thousand years of history. | ||||||||
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Day 6 Depart Budapest and travel east to Eger, a beautiful city filled with Baroque treasures set at the foothills of the Bükk Mountains. Eger is a principal wine-producing region in Hungary known for its "Bull's Blood" wine (Egri Bikaver). Enjoy a walk to the hilltop castle, following a cobblestone lane that penetrates the castle walls and provides access to the castle compound. The ramparts of the fortress offer the best views over Eger. Descend on foot to the main square dominated by the twin-spired Minorite Church (1773), a rose-colored Baroque confection with a splendid interior. Continue to the 19th century Eger Basilica, the second largest church in Hungary, and the Lyceum, an 18th century temple to science that houses an important library and a rare camera obscura. Complete your walk along streets lined with beautiful Baroque buildings and ornamented with some of the finest Baroque wrought iron found anywhere. Continue by vehicle across the Bükk Mountains to Lillafüred where a "castle hotel” nestled in lush forests adjacent to a rushing mountain stream offers accommodations for the night. | ||||||||
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Day 7 Travel north by vehicle across the border into Slovakia where the Carpathian mountains begin to rise in earnest. Stop for a walk at Spissky Hrad ("Spis Castle") one of the largest fortresses in central Europe and a World Heritage Site. On foot, explore the hill-top ruins of the castle, climb to the top of the 13th century tower, and walk the ramparts ring the castle compound. Visit nearby Spisska Kapitula, a seat of the Roman Catholic Church since the mid-13th century. This walled village includes the Romanesque St. Martin’s cathedral, built in the mid-13th century and adorned with Romanesque frescos and Gothic altarpieces that rival any you will see on the trip. Overnight in the walled town of Levoca. | ||||||||
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Day 8 Depart Levoca and head north, admiring the jagged peaks of the Tatra Mountains, the highest portion of the nine hundred mile long Carpathian Range. Cross the border into Poland and arrive in Krakow. Explore Krakow’s historic center on foot by walking the Royal Way from the Florian Gate to Wawel Castle. Krakow's historic center is a World Heritage Site and features the Rynek Glowny, one of the largest medieval squares in Europe. The Florian Gate is all that remains of the seven gates that once penetrated Krakow's defensive walls. The gate is topped by the Furrier's Tower, one of three defensive towers still remaining today; the city's walls once bristled with forty-seven defensive towers. Pass through the Florian Gate and note the Czartowski Museum housing Leonardo daVinci’s Lady with an Ermine. Continue to the Rynek Glowny, the city's central square dominated by 14th century Cloth Hall (Sukiennice) and the 13th century St. Mary’s Church. From the taller of the church’s two towers the melancholy notes of the hejnał sound every hour on the hour, a tribute to a 13th century legend. The Royal Route continues south toward the castle and cathedral on Wawel Hill, historic seat of Polish monarchs and today the very symbol of Polish nationhood. Picturesque Kanonicza Street whose Renaissance mansions are being restored offers a pleasant approach to the base of Wawel Hill. It was on Wawel Hill that the legendary ruler Krak founded the city after dispatching a dragon that was said to live in a cave under the hill. Visit the cathedral and the castle, or continue with a promenade along the banks of the Vistula (Wisła) River offering lovely views back toward Wawel Hill. Dinner and music in Krakow’s Kazimierz neighborhood is an option this evening. Day 9 Pay a visit to the Wieliczka Salt Mine just outside Krakow. The mine was in operation for nine hundred years and in its day was one of the largest such operations in the world. (Before refrigeration, salt was a major commodity that generated great wealth.) A French visitor in the 18th century remarked that Wieliczka mine was no less magnificent than the Egyptian pyramids. The Wieliczka Salt Mine was designated a World Heritage Site in 1978. A tour of the mine will take you along a small segment of the 300 kilometers of galleries adorned with works of art, altars, and statues all carved by miners from the rock salt. Following the visit to Wieliczka a stop at nearby Nowa Huta allows you to better comprehend the effects of nearly five decades of communist rule in Poland. The industrial complex at Nowa Huta was built by the communists to counter the liberal academic tradition of Krakow, home to one of Europe’s oldest universities (founded in 1364). Return to Krakow and continue your walks along its cobbled lanes and through its leafy parks; consider touring its many superb churches and museums or savoring the shops and cafes. | ||||||||
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© Walking Softly
Adventures, Inc., PO Box 86250, Portland, OR 97286 |
