St. Vitus Cathedral and Prague Castle, Prague, Czechia

September 1, 2026Czechia, TravelPrague, Prague Castle, St. Vitas Cathedralkarenfranza

Aug 29 – Another beautiful morning. The weather so far has been lovely, with highs in the 70s – perfect for walking.

Today we will journey to Prague Castle to see the actual window where the Defenestration of Prague took place in 1618, leading to the 30 Years War.

In case you don’t recall the details, the Catholics and the Protestants were sparring over which religion should rule the people. When the argument got heated, the Protestants threw two Catholic regents and a secretary out the window, presuming they would fall to their deaths. (Defenestration means getting thrown out the window.)

All three survived the fall, with the Catholics saying the regents had been caught up by angels, and the Protestants maintaining that their fall had been softened by their landing in the dung heap. Divine intervention? You decide!

The rooftops of the old town with the spires of St. Nicholas Church in the distance

Our first stop this morning is St. Vitus Cathedral, started in 1344, which is part of the many buildings that comprise Prague Castle

Here’s our old friend St. John Nepomuk, post-drowning, being attended by an angel

It’s early morning, but we didn’t beat the crowds today

I thought this was a painting, but it’s 3D! Mary and Elizabeth in the Mary Chapel

The St. Wenceslaus Chapel, which contains relics of the saint

Stained glass in the Chapel of Saint Ludmila – aren’t the colors gorgeous?

I wonder if those ear curlicues spin on a windy day?

What castle is complete without a torture chamber?

Now the moment we’ve been waiting for – the Window of Defenestration!

Jim tried to see how far down the drop was, but he couldn’t get a clear shot of the ground

Outside the castle is Golden Lane, a row of little dwellings where the folks who worked at the castle lived

Our walk home included a stop at the Czech Senate – a lovely place to stroll

…and a walk over the bridge. Do you think those guys are dressed as bananas or pencils?

We sampled Czech food today – I had the beef goulash with bread dumplings (which turned out to just be bread) and Jim had a pork cutlet covered in cheese.

The Lennon Wall and the Charles Bridge, Prague, Czechia

August 30, 2026Czechia, TravelCharles Bridge, King Wenceslaus, Lennon Wall, Prague, St John of Nepomuk, statueskarenfranza

Aug 28 – After a good night’s sleep, some espresso and an egg breakfast, we are ready to face the day’s adventures.

When Jim told me that Prague had a Lennon Wall, I had visions of Russian Marx and Lenin, but no! After his assassination in 1980, someone painted a mural of John Lennon on a downtown wall. People added song lyrics, poems, signatures and graffiti until the image of John was completely covered over. Every time the government painted over the images, the next day a new mural would begin.

Over the years there were images of short-haired John, long-haired John, bearded John, Yoko and John, and John with kaleidoscope eyes. Today, John was not to be seen, as his face was totally covered with graffiti.

That might be some Beatle mop-top hair under all that graffiti…

…and that might be Lucy in the Sky and Strawberry Fields. Who can say?

🎶Two of us standing solo in the sun… (see what I did there?)

Time to cross the very famous Charles Bridge, started by King Charles IV in 1357. It spans the Vitava River, connecting Prague Castle to the Old Town. Here are the steps to climb up the bridge.

We were there very early in the morning, trying to beat the crowds

The bridge boasts dozens of statues, mostly added in the 1600s

…including St John Nepomuk, who was martyred by (not so good) King Wenceslaus, who had him thrown into the river after refusing to reveal secrets that the queen told him during confession.

At the base of the state are two bas reliefs that every passerby touches for luck: the dog sitting loyally by his knight (good dog!) and…

…the depiction of St. John being thrown off this very bridge. The patina has worn off the reliefs from being touched by so many hands.

We also obligingly touched the dead Saint on a gate at the center of the bridge.

More statues – we learned that all the statues on the bridge are replicas, with the originals stored for safety in museums

We thought this guy was praying, but before the day was out we’d seen several of these beggars, humbly holding out their begging cup and not looking at passersby

As we approached the end of the bridge, we could see the tourist crowds heading our way. Glad we got an early start!

…and considered a snack until we saw it was called Spit Cake

Prague, Czechia

August 29, 2026Czechia, TravelAstrological Clock, Old Clock Tower, Prague, Prahakarenfranza

Aug 27 – Easy travels today, from Norfolk to Philly, then a straight shot into Prague. No delays, no drama. The hardest part was trying to convince myself after landing that it was 8am, when my brain knew very well that it was only 2am and I hadn’t had hardly enough sleep. The entry system into Czechia was easy peasy – kiosk for passport, fingerprints and photo, and practically no line for an entry stamp. Good job, Czechia!

Google Maps gave us detailed directions on how to get to our apartment – the #59 bus from the airport to the metro station, then the A train for 7 stops to get us within a few blocks of our place. Our usual concern is how to purchase transit tickets, but with this country’s “old folks ride free” policy, we just hopped aboard!

We were concerned that we were arriving way earlier than the stated check-in time, but thought perhaps we could ask to stash our packs for the morning. Fortunately, the receptionist was there early and let us right in. We dropped gratefully onto our comfy bed for a catch up nap.

We roused ourselves to find some lunch and sunshine (the best way to counteract jet lag). After some burgers and our first local beers, we walked into the Old Town to see what we could see.

Lots of crowds and pretty pastel buildings

A colorful mosaic atop a fancy old palace

In the Old Town Square is the Old Town Hall, which boasts an Old Clock Tower containing an astronomical clock that dates back to the year 1410.

The top circle is a form of astrolabe that shows the movements of the sun and moon. The bottom circle is a calendar.

Every hour, the two little doors above the clock open up and the twelve Apostles can be seen (just barely) rotating through the doors. The figures of the Four Despised Things (lust, greed, vanity and death) on either side of the clock do a little shaky dance. Thus endeth our day!

Czechia

August 27, 2026Czechia, Travelkarenfranza

Aug 25– We opted to stay home this summer, taking the grands to the beach, the bowling alley, and the pool, and enjoying the tomatoes that Jim’s garden produced in abundance. Now that the kids are heading back to school, it’s time for us to hit the road.

We plan to spend the month of September in Czechia, also known as the Czech Republic until 2016, previously part of Czechoslovakia from 1918 until 1992, and historically called Bohemia. Ever since we’ve been traveling, others have told us that it’s a must-see place. Now we will see!

What do we know so far?

The capital is Prague, or as the Czechs call it, Praha, the 5th most visited city in Europe. We are starting there, and then visiting Kutna Hora, Olomouc, Cesky Krumlov, Pilsen, and Karlovy Vary.

Although part of the European Union, Czechia maintains its own currency, the Czech Krona (CZK). Right now, $1 = 20CZK. There is a good public transport system, and old folks ride for free! Uber is available in the larger cities, as is a local ride sharing app called Bolt.

We’ve been warned to steer clear of ATMs in the tourist areas that charge outrageous fees.

We understand that Czechians are a serious people, who are suspicious of Americans because we smile too much. We’ll try to keep that in mind. Fun fact: most of the world’s beer is produced and consumed in Czechia. That just made me smile! 😊

Czechia is landlocked by Germany to the west, Poland to the north, Slovakia to the east and Austria to the south. The little beer steins show where we will be staying.

Quarantine Point, Grenada

February 26, 2026Grenada, TravelNice People of Grenada, Quarantine Point, St. George’s, wall artkarenfranza

Feb 20 – We took advantage of the amenities of the Radisson Resort that separated us from the water. We’ve been to many places where interlopers are kept out of the resort by security, and you have to show a room key or wristband to use the beach. Not so here! The beach is public property, so we walked the resort, lounged in the lounge chairs, and swam in one of the many pools. How fun to rub elbows with the upper crust!

We had time for one more adventure, so we walked down the beach in the other direction, to see if we could get to Quarantine Point. It is the site of a former leper colony, and the place where travelers suffering from TB, yellow fever, and other communicable diseases were kept back in the day.

We admired the artwork as we walked along

Sounds like the Four Way Test of the Rotary Club!

And indeed, it turned out that Quarantine Point is now a park maintained by Rotary Club International.

And so ends a wonderful respite to a very cold winter.

Happy to say that our flights home were uneventful, despite Homeland Security closing Global Entry. Thank you to the TSA agents who showed up to do their jobs under trying circumstances. ‘Til next time!

The Carenage, Grenada

February 23, 2026Grenada, TravelCarenage, nutmeg, spices, St. George’s, wall artkarenfranza

Feb 18 – As nice as it is to swim and sit on the beach, there’s something to be said for exploring. We hopped a van to travel a few miles up the coast to the Carenage, the busy downtown area where the cruise ships dock.

Last week we were in St Andrew’s parish, now we are in St George’s.

Very hilly streets – see the cruise ship out in the harbor? There is a different ship every day.

You know we like cathedrals, so we stopped by the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception at the top of the hill…

…but they were celebrating noon mass, so we just peeked in and moved on.

Lots of the same baggies of spices at the tourist market. See the cinnamon sticks?

Plenty of hot sauces, nutmeg jam and rum

Jim’s chicken curry pie was huge, and contained four thighs, complete with bones. Don’t bite down hard!

We spoke with a German couple from the cruise ship. They stop at a new island every day.

Here’s the Grenada sign, partially obstructed by taxi drivers waiting for a fare.

The Sendell Tunnel connects the two sides of town. We thought it was for pedestrians…

…but it’s for car traffic too. A tight squeeze!

On the other side of the tunnel was the harbor…

St. George’s, Grenada

February 22, 2026Grenada, TravelBouganvillea Apartments, doubles, Grand Anse Beach, nutmeg, spices, St. George’skarenfranza

Feb 16 – A 45 minute ride down from the hills in a packed van, followed by a 20 minute ride in a local van, got us to our next abode. The Bouganvillea apartments in bustling St. George’s, are just a block from beautiful Grand Anse Beach.

We have a kitchen here, and are near a grocery store, so we can be more in control of what we eat. I think we both gained 10 pounds eating Ingrid’s cooking! We’ll be here for our last week in Grenada.

The weather is exactly the same here on the coast as it was up in the hills; low of 78 and high of 82 degrees F every day. Ideal!

Grand Anse beach – white sand, warm crystal clear water

The beach is about a mile and a half long

All beaches should have shady trees right near the shore – no umbrellas required!

Our favorite street vendor made us some fresh Trinidadian doubles for lunch – curried chickpeas in a spicy pepper sauce wrapped in two flour tortillas.

Grenada is known as the Spice Isle, so lots of spices are packed in little baggies for tourists – cinnamon, red pepper, turmeric, mace and ginger

The main export is nutmeg, here in its whole form

The swimmers go home as the sun goes down

Mt. Carmel Falls, Grenada

February 19, 2026Grenada, Travelcallaloo, Mt. Carmel Fallskarenfranza

Feb 14 – Today, for something completely different, we walked to the main road and caught a passing van heading toward Mt. Carmel Falls, a must see attraction on this part of the island.

The falls are on private property, so there is a fee to enter

Hmmmm, these falls are somewhat underwhelming…

We continued down the hill to the larger falls…

…and watched some swimmers taking advantage of the natural water slide

Another restaurant that doesn’t look like a restaurant…

…with a local lunch that couldn’t be beat, including soursop juice and callaloo. Callaloo, which is fun to say and to spell, is the green of choice around here. Somewhere between spinach and collards, it is spicy and delicious.

The rest of our week was “lather, rinse, repeat” with more beach, more pool, and more good meals.

Found a wall art mural called The Cocoa to Chocolate Garden

It went on for several panels. We understand cocoa is grown locally, and there is a local tea called cocoa balls.

On Sunday all the shops and restaurants are closed, so Ingrid made us some callaloo soup…

…followed by more food than I could consume; swordfish, rice and roasted yams. The starchy root vegetables served with every meal are called provisions, and are not my favorite.

With many thanks, we bid adieu to Ingrid…

More from Crochu, Grenada

February 17, 2026Grenada, Travelbeach, chicken curry, Crochu, star fruitkarenfranza

Feb 12 – We are in super relaxed mode, as there is really not too much to do here. Ingrid makes our breakfast in the morning (we have no input on the breakfast selection, but everything is very good), we walk down to the beach to swim, have lunch in town, and then swim in the pool in the afternoon.

We bring back take-away for supper, as we just can’t consume the quantity of food that Ingrid provides, and she doesn’t seem to be open to negotiation. We asked if we could perhaps have a smaller supper, and she told us, “no, the supper is fine.” Sigh. Her meals are more expensive than the restaurant in town, and there is no ATM here. I hope our money lasts the week!

Jim got up early to capture the sunrise from our veranda

Breakfast of vegetables, cheese and fry bread with nutmeg jam, enjoyed with our new friend Angela from Canada.

Fresh tropical fruit every morning, most plucked from Ingrid’s garden – star fruit today!

The road to the beach – no signs, no traffic

A farm along the roadside growing cabbages in the shade of pepper plants

We have the lovely white sand beach all to ourselves

The man with the wheelbarrow rakes the seaweed off the beach every morning

We walked by this place, figuring it was an abandoned building. Inside was a little old lady who served us…

Boys waiting for a bus – they must live farther away

Our evening swim – the pool has a deep lap area that Jim really likes.

Around sunset, a big wind blows through, roaring like a locomotive and bringing five minutes of rain. Then it is over and the calm returns. Ah, the tropics!

Crochu, Grenada

February 14, 2026Grenada, TravelBig Sky Lodge, Crochukarenfranza

Feb 10 – Our apartment host picked us up at the airport, and drove us to a supermarket and ATM so we could purchase some supper and pay for our room. We found out that cash is needed here (two of our three hosts asked for pay in Eastern Caribbean dollars, worth approximately one third of a US dollar) although our research beforehand said that credit cards were widely accepted.

After a night near the airport, we prepared for our bus ride up into the hills. Our first task was to find a bus to take us into the city of St. George’s.

We asked a young man walking down the road if buses passed by here. We understand that you just put out your hand to stop a little van going in your direction. Sure enough, the young man flagged down the next van and we all hopped on.