Prague has now become one of the World's best known cities and it seems that everyone wants to visit. And why not...pastel Baroque building, cobblestone streets, good food and beer halls. Czech beer is supposed to be the best in the world and if you are a beer lover, you would know this. Prague was lucky enough to have escaped much of the bombardment during World War II and that is why its unbelievable Gothic and Baroque architecture is still standing.

Hradcany Hill is the Prague Castle District. A group visit to Prague Castle, a large complex, was the first stop. Only about a 45 minute walk from Hotel Pension City. Prague Castle was founded in the 9th century. Originally the seat of Czech royalty, it is now the residence of the President of the Czech Republic.

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Every trip, every vacation, every day in our lives is a learning experience (trite, but true) and this trip into the Polish/Slovakian Tatras was no exception. It taught some new lessons and questions to pose the next time I thought a hiking/trekking trip sounded "interesting."

- Exactly what is a "C" moderate trip in this particular country?

- Will we use chains bolted into the side of a cliff? Ladders? Crampons? Ice Axes? (We didn't need these two but ask nonetheless.)

- Is there exposure and, if so, how much exposure? For just a short portion or throughout the entire trip. "Exposure" means route sections where a fall could cause serious injury or death. If you are afraid of of heights, avoid these like the plague!

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Air? The group tour planned to fly into Warsaw, Poland and immediately train to Krakow. Instead of meeting up with them there, we flew Chicago to Frankfurt to Krakow via Warsaw arriving two nights before the group. This would give us a little more time to explore Krakow.

Hotels? Some additional reservations were required. The tour was using Hotel Pollera in Krakow. Looked good to us and we booked two extra nights. On the opposite end, we decided to stay one extra day in Prague on our own. Hotel Pension City was a little out of the way in regards to the important sections of Prague but it was very inexpensive and we decided to stay the extra night there instead of changing hotels in a better-located area.

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I've read a tremendous amount of travel literature on Krakow, Poland and Prague, Czech Republic but where and what were the High Tatras? A little investigation and googling should the High Tatras are the highest mountain range in the Slovak Republic in the Carpathian chain. The border of Slovakia and Poland runs along the main mountain ridge.

A chance mailing of a tour called "The High Tatras" piqued my interest. It began in Krakow, Poland, drove to Zakopane, spent 4 nights in Zakopane while day hiking, moved on to hiking from hut-to-hut for 3 days, two nights based in Tatranska Lomnica, Slovakia with more day hikes, and ended in Prague, Czech Republic.

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