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Zlatá ulička (Golden Lane) – the most romantic and famous part of Prague Castle | Czech Republic

Claire — Fri, 03 Jun 2011 14:02:31 +0000

Golden Lane (or Zlatá ulička in Czech) was created after the construction of the northern ramparts of the Prague Castle, in the 16th century. The area of northern moat was used to build decent homes, which are now the last remains of the small-scale architecture from the Middle Ages and the Renaissance in Prague Castle. The houses were homes to the castle servants, e.g. goldsmiths or the castle marksmen and various artisans.

Houses were occupied until the Second World War, but the area was protected already for several years, and no changes which would change the character of the street or houses were allowed. The writer Franz Kafka lived here in the house no. 22 between 1916-1917. The last owners and the tenants moved out in 1948, and despite of receiving high quality houses, they left with protests.

Golden Lane was reopened to the public on 1 June 2011 after one year of reconstructions. It is probably the most romantic and famous part of Prague Castle. You can access the Golden Lane if you buy a ticket for a Long (350 CZK) or Short (250 CZK) Tour around the Castle.

You can take really interesting Virtual Tour by visiting the following website:
https://virtualni.praha.eu/nocni/zlata-ulicka.html

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Panská skála (Herrnhausfelsen) – best known and most visited geological reserves in the Czech Republic

Claire — Wed, 18 May 2011 22:15:54 +0000

Panská skála (Herrnhausfelsen) a series of polygonal basalt columns rising dramatically from the uplands located near the town of Kamenický Šenov in the north of the Czech Republic.

Panská skála is the best known and most visited geological reserves in the Czech Republic. This natural formation is known also to geologists abroad. The rock is often called the “organ” because the five and six-sided columns of up to 12 meters long look like the structure of organ pipes. Its current appearance got Panská skála by mining, which took place here until 1948. This high quality basalt was exported to the Benelux countries, where they used it to build the dam.

In 1953 Panská skála became National Natural Monument. Under the rock there is a small lake, which was created after the mining and is filled with rainwater. The summit offers a stunning view of the The Lusatian Mountains (in Czech Lužické hory) and of the National Park of Czech Switzerland (České Švýcarsko).

At the foot of the rock there is the Marian Column, which was built in 1739 in memory of two people who froze to death here.

You can find similar formations in Northern Ireland, United Kingdom, named Giant’s Causeway.

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Mini Europe park – the most popular tourist destination in Brussels, Belgium

Claire — Fri, 12 Nov 2010 11:32:23 +0000

The Mini Europe park is located in the capital of European Union – Brussels, Belgium. Thanks to the Mini Europe park you can walk all over European Union within a few hours. There are 350 models and animations of important buildings and technical monuments from 80 cities of the European Union (each of 27 countries has some model there). Models are made in scale 1:25 and in very high quality, some of which cost as much as €350,000 to make.

The Mini Europe park is located just few steps from Atomium and is the most popular tourist destination in Brussels. With 300,000 visitors per year and a turnover of 3 million euro, Mini Europe Park is one of Brussels’ leading attractions.

In the area of the park you can enjoy e.g. the animation of the earthquake during the eruption of Vesuvius.

The basic admission fee in 2010 is €13.10
Openning hours

From 20/03/2010 to 30/06/2010 from 9:30 to 18:00 (cash desk untill 17:00)
From 01/07/2010 to 31/08/2010 from 9:30 to 20:00 (cash desk untill 19:00)
From 01/09/2010 to 30/09/2010 from 9:30 to 18:00 (cash desk untill 17:00)
From 01/10/2010 to 09/01/2011 from 10:00 to 18:00 (cash desk untill 17:00)
24, 31/12 – from 10:00 to 17:00 (cash desk untill 16:00)

During summer months you can visit the Park also during the night.

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