Regensburg ..then on to unbelievable PRAGUE !

It was time to say goodbye to the beautiful new ship .. AmaMagna.  Wow!  What a vessel.   biggest of the AmaWaterways fleet.   It was a real treat to sail the Danube and see so much history!    We loaded onto several buses for our trip to Prague.   Bur first .. a very neat stop in Regensburg, Bavaria, Germany.

While on the road to Regensburg, our guide gave us a couple of interesting facts.   If a German citizen wants to get a driving license, he or she goes through 20-40 hours of theoretical and actual driving instruction, then .. pays over $2000 to obtain a license!  Yikes!    Also, as we were driving on the autobahn, someone mentioned that there seemed to be no trucks/semi's on the road.   It turns out that trucks/semi's are prohibited from driving on Sundays.   At every rest stop there were hundreds of trucks .. just pausing for a day.   Whoa!

Off the bus .. walking towards the 'old town' of Regensburg.   Over 2000 years old, of course.   Important Roman town during the reign of Charlemagne.    St. Peter's Cathedral in the background.   Oh, by the way .. it's freeeeezing!

walking over the old stone bridge (built in 1135-1146 !!)

this bridge opened major trade routes between No.Europe and Venice

here's looking at it from the 'old town' side (from the West)

It played an important role in the Napoleanic War in 1809, in which the Austrians slowed down Napolean's French army on their march to Vienna.

the main gate and watchtower into town

as you can see .. this building is .. ollllld !

city hall building's entrance

on to the grand .. St.Peter's Cathedral, built from 1273 - 1538 ...   wow!

all of the windows are .. stain glass!   they're spectacular !!    enjoy :

A very neat medieval town, similar to .. Durnstein, Passau, and Vilshofen.
Now it's time to drive another several hours to the grandest of them all .. Prague.   We arrived in the dark.   Both buses offloaded people and luggage at the Hilton.   Tour organizer arranged for taxis to take us to about four different hotels.   Our's was the U Prince.   Our taxi couldn't get very close due to it's proximity to the old town square.   We hauled our luggage over cobblestones.
Squeezed through throngs of people descending on the square for the Christmas Tree lighting and the Christmas Market.   Jan found our hotel and an old fashioned very helpful gentleman fawned over us and took us to our room on the fourth floor.   What a neat room!   Look at the view from our window :

can you believe it?

look at the wall-to-wall people!

We paused and headed out to the square.   What a neat scene to be part of!

Can't wait to see it in the daylight.   We have two full days to explore!   After walking around the square we found a neat subterranean restaurant to eat dinner,
with a band playing Czech music ..  U zlate konvice   (restaurant name)

here's my plate :

It seems that each day opens a whole new window into my perception of the world and an appreciation of the history of the area.   After reading about it and watching TV shows about an area .. nothing compares to seeing it in person.   So to you, my friends, who may have put me to sleep with your endless showcase of travel slides, I apologize, for I must not have known or appreciated how excited you were to share your experiences!   Now .. I have a better understanding and appreciation!   Viva! la TRAVEL!    Prague .. get ready!