![\"\"](\"https:\/\/katamarino.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/2019-07-03-10.29.28.jpg\")
Prague bear<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>A square in Prague<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>The Charles Bridge<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>Charles Bridge and Old Town<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>St Vitus Cathedral<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>Guards at Prague Castle<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n\n\n\nQueues to go inside the buildings were enormous, so we contented ourselves with wandering around outside and admiring the architecture, before stopping for drinks at the cafe in the palace gardens. From here we walked to the Petrin Tower, inspired by the Eiffel Tower. The people of Prague will tell you it’s taller than the Eiffel Tower, but this is only true if you include the hill which it’s built on top of. We didn’t have time to ascend it, because we had a 2pm appointment to join the “Real Prague” tour, visiting some of the city’s less tourist-heavy areas on electric bikes.<\/p>\n\n\n
View over Prague from near the Castle<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>The "Archbishop Palace"<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>Toskansky Palace<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>Cernin Palace, home of the Foreign Ministry<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>Prague Castle and St Vitus<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>In Prague Old Town<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n\n\n\nThe tour started off through part of old town, and we were very happy for the electric motor assistance as we climbed the steep hills and cobbled streets. From here we headed to the Great Strahov Stadium, atop a hill west of the city. Built under the First Republic, between the wars in the 1920s, the stadium was designed to host displays of mass synchronized gymnastics and claims a capacity of 250,000 spectators. Leaving the stadium, which has seen better days, we descended steep park trails back towards the river and the Dancing House, before heading out along the river bank to see one of the original, officially sanctioned “graffiti walls” that came to popularity after the fall of communism.<\/p>\n\n\n
A view of the Petrin Tower<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>Soviet-looking flats above Prague<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>Great Strahov Stadium<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>At the fountain, on the electric-bike tour<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>River-front views<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>The Dancing House<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n\n\n\nAfter the tour, we met up with Venno; another new flying friend, met through the Cessna 182 pilot Facebook page. An American, he had been in Prague for over a decade working in the aerospace industry and had been very helpful with tips for planning my flight to the city. We spent an enjoyable couple of hours chatting over drinks, before releasing him to head back to his family, and making our own way back down into Old Town for dinner.<\/p>\n\n\n
Riverside marina<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>The graffiti wall<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>Crawling Babies, by Czech artist David \u010cern\u00fd<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
The next morning we went out for a brunch of ramen and ice cream (not together) before taking an Uber out to Letnany airport. We had paid the very reasonable fees the day we arrived, so all that was left to do was to load up the aircraft and head out to the southeast. Straight after take-off we were handed over to Kbely tower who cleared us through their airspace at 2,500ft, and once we got a little further out we started a gradual climb up to 8,500ft to get on top of the turbulence.<\/p>\n\n\n
Ready to depart from Letnany<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>Climbing out east of Prague<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>The road to nowhere<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>Sunny skies over southern Czech Republic<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n\n\n\nWe were flying VFR, and simply set course direct to our next stop of Wiener-Neustadt East airport, close to Vienna in Austria. The plan was to meet up with Christian, one of the intrepid Bonanza pilots that Mike and I had run into in Kulusuk, Greenland. He lived in Vienna, and was a member of the Diamond Flying Club close by; he’d very kindly arranged for us to park with them for a couple of days, and would show us the sights. We flew a slight dogleg to the west, so that we could remain clear of the Vienna class C airspace and not have to descend into bumpier air. <\/p>\n\n\n
Descending, northwest of Vienna<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>Weiner-Neustadt airport<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>With Christian and his friend, parked up at the Diamond Flying Club<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>Arrival in Wiener-Neustadt<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n\n\n\nWiener Neustadt East airport is situated in slightly complex airspace, with a military base directly to the west, Vienna airspace above and to the north, and a couple of other restricted areas besides. We managed to follow the proper VFR arrival procedure with only gentle reminders from the tower, and touched down on runway 09 to be met by Christian and another member of his flying club who directed us to our parking space by the club hangars, and helped us secure the aircraft.<\/p>\n\n\n
Exploring Vienna<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>Open air concert by the military band, outside the town hall<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>Exploring Vienna<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>Exploring Vienna<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>Exploring Vienna<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>Exploring Vienna<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n\n\n\nChristian drove us into Vienna, about a 30 minute ride. The hotel we’d chosen was wine themed, and we enjoyed some complimentary glasses of welcome wine before heading out for a couple of hours walking tour of Vienna with Christian as our guide. It was great to be shown the city by a local, and we worked up quite an appetite for dinner at a local restaurant which he had selected. We ate outside on a quiet street enjoying the cooling air and local specialties of asparagus and, interestingly, octopus!<\/p>\n\n\n
Exploring Vienna<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>Exploring Vienna<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n\n\nVienna sausage stall<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>Exploring Vienna<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>Dinner with Christian<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n\n\n\n