Prague : Prague Castle

The largest medieval castle complex in Europe consists of cathedrals, towers, museums, gardens, palaces, and a basilica. The history of the castle stretches back to the 9th century and has been developing uninterruptedly throughout the last eleven centuries! Originally the residence of Princes and Kings of Bohemia, since 1918 the seat of the President of the Republic. Here are photos of the important buildings within the complex.

We make our way up to the Prague Castle District walking the Old Castle Steps, and come to the East Gate where we spot two guards. As we all know, these guards do not interact with people and hardly move!

I'm sure these guards were curious to know what I was doing there at the entrance,

laughing as I was re-taking shots of me jumping in the air, haha!

St. Vitus Cathedral

Contains tombs of many Bohemian kings and Holy Roman Emperors, and is the biggest and most important church in the country.

A view of the cathedral from across the Vltava River

The intricate stained glass inside the cathedral was breath-taking!

Tomb of John Nepomuk : Mentioned in my earlier blog post, this is the saint who was drown in the Vltava River.

There are 2 enormous angel statues on either ends of the tomb.

Using a cross-star camera filter added some kind of spiritual effect to the photo!

St. Wenceslas Chapel : located within the cathedral, relics of saints are kept. The lower part of the walls are decorated with semi-precious stones and paintings about the Passion of Christ. The upper part of the walls have paintings about the life of St. Wenceslas. In the center of the wall is a Gothic statue of St. Wenceslas. The Chapel is not accessible by the public, but can be viewed from the doorway.

The view of the backside of the cathedral. You can instantly tell the Gothic style of the cathedral.

Loreta Church : also within the Prague Castle District, is a historical building created to promote the legend of Santa Casa, a copy of the house believed to be the Virgin Mary's. Within the building is a Treasury that houses the "Prague Sun," a 6000+ diamond monstrance (vessel)!!!!! Photography was prohibited inside, sorry!

Being a Formula 1 fan, I couldn't help but get excited to see the massive Renault Team truck! They were getting ready for the Renault F1 Roadshow in Prague for June 4th. This was a personal highlight of mine today!!

Next Stop....BUDAPEST!!!

Prague : Charles Bridge

A famous historical bridge founded in 1357 by King Charles IV. It crosses the Vltava River and is an important connection between the Old Town and Prague Castle. It is protected by three bridge towers and is decorated by a continuous alley of 30 Baroque sculptures and sculpture groups, mostly from the 18th century.

The thick morning clouds with the drizzly rain gave a very dark, old atmosphere to the area.

On March 20, 1393 John of Nepomuk, a national saint of the Czech Republic, was thrown into the river. Legend tells that he was killed by request of the king, because he refused to tell the king about the queen's confession. People touch the relief for good luck.

Locals say that it's a Prague ritual to touch the cross and the stars with your left hand and make a wish. This location is supposedly where he was thrown off the bridge.

A view of the bridge, the Prague Castle in the distance, the Vltava River and a Smetana statue.

The Charles Bridge is so popular, many artists have recorded music videos here (Linkin Park, Kanye West, INXS, AFI, etc). Also, movies and video games have used this historical site as a scene in their production.

Comi-Con 2010, San Diego

Yet, again, I attended Comi-Con (the world's second largest comic book convention) in San Diego, and it never surprises me to see all the people there dressed as their favorite character. Check these people out!

What?! Sarah Palin at Comi-Con...

The Stormtroopers always look cool!

I can't imagine looking through every single bin to find THE comic!

TRON. I want one of these.

After having lunch in the Gaslamp District, we came across Hasselhoff's crew!

Here are three Knight Rider cars each with a Hasselhoff impersonator.

Then the real David Hasselhoff promoting his new TV series.

Check out Hasselhoff atop a double-deck bus singing/dancing! That was a very surreal moment!

Can't wait to see people at next year's Comi-Con. I think I like going there just to people-watch!

Prague : Cesky Krumlov

Cesky Krumlov is located approximately 180 km (110 miles) south of Prague and is best known for the fine architecture and the Cesky Krumlov Castle. It sits by the Vltara River, the same river that runs through Prague. "Cesky" simply means Czech, and "Krumlov" is derived from the German "Krumme Aue" which could be translated to "crooked meadow" due to the naturally tight curvature of the river.

We decided to take a guided tour to the city as it's approximately a 2 hour drive one way. We had the best guide ever! His usual work is an Engineer, but on his off days he loves to share his knowledge and passion of Prague by being a temporary tour guide =) He took great care of us and always told us that "You are my people, and I am your people!" He had a black umbrella that he never let out of our sight, so we could see where he was!

So, I'm guessing this art store sells paint? lol

Cesky Krumlov Castle and Chateau

The second largest castle in the country after Prague Castle.

Most of the Castle is covered in facade paintings.

Calling it a day in Cesky Krumlov, and we head back to Prague!

Prague : Marionette World...Pinocchio!!

With a sturdy rod extending up through the body and into the head, the Czech rod marionettes are quite similar to Sicilian marionettes, but are said to be a lot more complex as they have extra strings for the arms and legs. There are also Czech marionettes that don't have a central rod, which are the most difficult to manipulate (above photo). They are hand carved, usually using lime wood.

National Marionette Theater in Prague

Many marionette stores, such as this one, are scattered throughout the city.

This guy sure makes it look easy to manipulate a marionette! And he's only using one hand!!

Check out this video of Pinocchio dancing to music!

Tustin Lanes Bowling, Game on!!!

I can't remember the last time Danny and I went bowling (real bowling, not Wii bowling!), but we decided to enjoy a few games with our friends Ed, Adam and his girlfriend, Vivian! See our fun!

Danny getting ready!

The guys super pumped to bring their game onto the lane!

Me bringing my Wii skills into the game! (Which didn't help much, haha)

Danny going for the Strike!

Vivian going for the Spare!

Adam throwing a curve ball.

Ed, straight down the lane!

OK, the girls are not so happy the guys keep winning!

Video: Here is a collection of some great moments!

Game #1 : Danny wins!

Game #2 : Adam wins!

Game #3 : Ed wins!

In the end, we all had a fun time and the scores didn't matter much =)

Great fun everyone!