Tram Tour 观光有轨电车

June 30, 2022

Unlike yesterday afternoon's pouring rain, it was a little drizzling outside this morning. We made bacon/eggs breakfast and coffee at the flat, then went to the Jewish Old City early. But after buying tickets and knowing the tickets were valid for seven days, we decided to see some other outdoor attractions first since the sky opened up and the clouds were gone. We would return to the Jewish Quarter tomorrow.

Prague has a special sightseeing tram, Line 42, that circles the city center, running from Thursday to Sunday, and the ticket is valid for 24 hours, with unlimited hop-on and hop-off. The trams in use are all old antiques. The first one we boarded was more than 90 years old, and the driver stood up to drive and had to honk his horn with his foot. A young girl conductor, dressed in the 1930s, shouted the names of the following stops and punched a hole in the tickets. It was like a travel back in time as we rode past Prague's most iconic sites.

After circling in a half loop around the city, we got off at Petrin Hill Station. Located at the base of Petrin Hill was this disturbing series of statues we passed by, dedicated to the political prisoners from 1948-1989. We took the funicular up to the top of the hill. Petrin Hill is one of the largest urban green areas in the center of Prague, a favorite spot for local families with children and young couples. The Rose Garden, or rosarium, at the top of Petrin Hill, Nebozízek Garden, and the Seminary Garden were particularly magical. We took the elevator to the Petrin Lookout Tower, a popular tourist attraction for its incredible city views. We also went to the mirror maze and had fun, reminding us of "haha" mirrors at the famous entertainment place called "Big World" in Shanghai when we were young.

We had a quick lunch with the Turkish pita bought from the small cafe near the bus station while waiting for the bus and got onto the sightseeing tram again. This time it was a different car, which was more modern with colorful seats. The historic tram took us to the Dlabacov station on the outskirt of the city. There was not much to see in that area, and we had to wait for 30 minutes to get back on the tram. Before we boarded the tram, we found a lovely coffee shop nearby and had our coffee break. After completing a loop, we arrived at the boat terminal and boarded the river sightseeing boat. Before the tour started, coffee or beer and chocolate-coated ice cream were served. Some trivia facts about the Vltava River in Prague were described during the one-hour tour. The river sightseeing tour was informative and scenic. But the day was not done yet. We had another guided tour at six o'clock in the evening.

We returned to the residence for a quick early dinner, our favorite tomato, mushroom, and egg soup. When we arrived at the tourist office where our tour would start, because only just three of us signed up for the tour, it became a private guided tour. After knowing that we had participated in a large group of old city hall guided tour yesterday, the tour guide lady slightly changed the focus to the things we didn't know from the last tour. She first explained to us some of the histories of the old city government hall that we didn't learn yesterday, and then took us to the streets to some famous places in the ancient city. Having a private guide accompany you to see the place was much better than just self-guided walking. She also explained that the old town center was the city on the top of the ancient city, and under the current road surface, there was the ancient Roman city. It took about 70-80 years to add Gothic architecture to Roman architecture slowly. Most of the Gothic buildings, built after the Middle Ages, we saw today were built on the top of the ancient Roman city. There was often an old Roman church buried underneath the beautiful Gothic church. We learned a lot today.

欧洲游第四十一天：没像昨天下午那样倾盆大雨，今天早上起来外面有点濛濛细雨，在住所吃完培根鸡蛋后早早出门，来到犹太人旧城，但买了票后知道参观票七天内有效，加上那时雨过天晴，我们决定先去一些其它室外景点，明天再回到犹太区参观。

布拉格有专门的观光有轨电车围绕市中心转，从周四到周日，车票是24小时有效，可以无限上下，而且电车都是老古董。我们坐的第一辆车像是有九十多年的老车了，司机按喇叭必须用脚踩。坐着车转了半圈后在Petrin小山站下然后坐索道缆车到山顶再坐电梯上了Petrin 塔，在塔顶上将布拉格全城美景尽收眼底。山顶上有个镜子迷宫，匆匆进去走一圈，有点像小时候去大世界看里面的哈哈镜。午餐是在车站附近买了个土尔其烤肉皮塔饼，这种烤肉摊城里到处都是，既便宜又好吃😋，从来吃不厌。吃完又坐上了旅游观光车，这次是不同的车，比较现代化。转了一大圈后来到游船码头，坐上了观光船。一小时游程中，又送咖啡啤酒还给紫雪糕，还讲解一些有关布拉格这条伏尔塔瓦河的琐事。傍晚六点有个导游讲解游，先回住所吃了个很简单的早晚饭，还是老规矩-番茄蘑菇鸡蛋汤，洗洗昨晚上大块肉的油脂😀。没想到预约的导游讲解游，因为只有我们三位报名了，就变成了私人导游游👍。知道我们昨天有参加过大组的老城市政厅讲解游后，导游先是给我们讲解了一些昨天没学到的有关老城市政厅的历史，然后带我们上街去了旧城里一些有典故的地方。有私人导游陪着讲解要比自己随便看好许多，了解不少事。其实老城中心是城上城，在现在路面下面，有着古老罗马城。后来大约花了70-80年的时间慢慢地在罗马建筑上加哥德式的建筑，在现在所看到的中世纪后所建的哥德式大楼大多数都建在罗马古城上，漂亮的教堂下常常有一个罗马旧教堂埋在底下。