27 May 1942 saw the assassination of Reinhard Heydrich in Prague. He was one of the most powerful German officers and principal architect of the Holocaust. The 2 Czech resistance operatives involved (among others) were Jozef Gabcik and Jan Kubis, who hid in the church of Sts Cyril and Methodius. The Germans discovered them and after a long battle they killed themselves.  
PRAGUE

    September 2022

 

 

 

 

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...and our hotel was the Royal Court, basic but adequate and within walking distance of I P Pavlova metro station
Outside the church with flowers under the opening where they flooded the crypt and from inside. Visiting the crypt is a must.
Steps down into the crypt the Germans used
Quite a busy city, with a nice castle and cathedral over the river - very reminiscent of Budapest
Jan Kubis
Jozef Gabcik sculpture in the crypt of the church which is FREE to visit !
OPERATION ANTHROPOID
Wenceslas Square - main shopping area and guess what -
The Dancing House on the river bank and a fascinating revolving head of Franz Kafka, the Czech Bohemian writer

C & A and Primark are immediate targets !

Astronomical clock on the side of the Town Hall - not as impressive as it's hyped up to be

 

 

 

We started our 3 day Prague trip (finally - no thanks to Easyjet) we stayed the first night at Premier Inn J9 for Luton Airport.

This is a pic from Google (I don't care anymore - plenty of people have nicked my pics !)

The area has changed a lot since, but the assassination happened roughly where the bus is, and a memorial is on the right of the picture.

The Commandant's offices are on the right as you enter the castle - it's now a YMCA
Hired a car for the duration - driving to the h
Finally arrived at the Lagovida Hotel on the Stormthaler See - lovely place especially with the snow around. Arrowed was our room overlooking the See

otel was quite a challenge!

Decided to park in the carpark facing Lidl - it was Saturday so noone about. When you approach Colditz town, the castle is an incredible sight.
Go through to the next courtyard and the English and Polish quarters are on the right
The chapel door and underneath you can see the French tunnel  
GRAN CANARIA

           March 2023

A replica glider - The Colditz Cock ! is where they built one (never used) - if you're interested about this go to Colditz Glider
Bit warmer this one ! A nice week in the sun. Stayed at the Hotel Paradise Lago in Taurito,
Caught the bus to both Puerto Rico and Puerto Mogan again
A nice complex with a water park in front - this time of year it wasn't busy at all so we spent some time in the water park.

 

The Faro (lighthouse) at Maspalomas and another Christopher Columbus statue - he stopped here in 1502 for supplies on his 4th and final voyage

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I came up with a plan to visit Colditz so off we went. Flew from Stansted to Leipzig.

 

 

 

 

 

Stayed at the Farmhouse Inn at Thaxted the night before (was meant to be Premier Inn at the airport but I booked wrong date - used t later for Krakow !

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                    

KRAKOW

                                                                                                           SEPTEMBER 2023   

Next stop, Krakow, Poland for 3 nights. Due to my previous booking error we stayed at the Premier Inn, Stansted before flying to Jean Paul II Airport, Krakow. Hired a car (Fiat 500 again) so that we could get to Auschwitz under our own steam.
 

 

                                                                                                       

Did lots of walking including the Jewish Quater, along the River Vistula, the castle (below) and the market place, which is massive and held many bars and restaurants. The horse drawn carriages were lovely.
A rather odd sculpture, The Head in the market place by Eros Bendato  
Not one to miss a Beatles connection, Hard Rock Cafe in the square, hosts Lennon's scarf he wore in NYC
We visited other sites around Krakow (Schindlers Factory, Auschwitz etc.) which is shown in a separate page as it was quite exhaustive,  

                                               visit Auschwitz

 

Stayed at the Avery Hotel, about a 10 minute walk to the market place. Hotel is OK - typical European, clean and warm.