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In the afternoon we ventured to some of the major sites in Prague. Our English-speaking guide shared all the details of this quaint city. We also learned that she was a psychologist and could analyze us if we desired. Hahaha!

All the locations we visited and photographed took us back in time; the grandeur of the palaces both Sternberk Palace and Kiscky Palace, gave us glimpses into the old-world. The churches were also magnificent to shoot. The stain glass windows in the St. George Basilica were perfectly lit for us to capture the multi-hued images. We had a full day’s worth of shooting and activities and were all ready for a glass of wine back in the hotel.

We started the next day very early in order to capture the sunrise light. We didn’t regret it because from the Hanavasky Pavilion we were able to photograph the bridges over the Vtava River in the perfect morning light. While the light was still good we headed to the Bridge Tower to photograph the Charles Bridge. Walking up the steps of Lesser Town Bridge to the top gave us panoramic views of Prague including Charles Bridge. We stayed in the Old town for lunch and to venture on our own for more photography. Some of us went to the Jewish quarter to photograph the unique cemetery and the Old new Synagogue. Other trekkers ventured to the Petrin tower and more architecture shots of New Town.

We met up in the afternoon under the Chain Bridge to go on our boat tour through the Certavko Canal. While on the boat we enjoyed our drinks as the heavens opened up with a major downpour. We returned to our hotel for dinner and drinks before Tom began our image reviews. Tom’s critiques were both enjoyable and educational. It was great to see the other trekkers work and share views on photography.

We had another early start on our last full day in Prague when we walked to the Charles Bridge. The morning light is the best way to capture the Charles Bridge. Further, it is the only time of day that the bridge is free of people, which allowed us to photograph the combination of gothic construction and baroque statues without obstacles. After we had our fill of capturing all the details, we returned to the hotel for breakfast.

We departed the hotel and went to the castle area of Prague. We visited the Royal Palace and St. Vitus Cathedral for more baroque architecture photos. But, the highlight was the Prague Castle, one of the largest ancient castles in the world.  We were able to photograph the details of the decorative interior and the beautiful, vibrant colors of the stained glass windows. We wrapped it up with models in traditional costumes at Golden Lane. That gave us the opportunity to practice portraiture photography in a majestic setting.

After lunch we headed towards the Kutna Hora, a UNESCO town that has preserved the town’s medieval architecture. There we photographed the famous Bone Chapel or Kostnice-Sedlec, where there are over 40,000 human bones preserved. It was a bit scary to see the remains of so many dead in the cemetery chapel. It was in this ancient Chapel that Tom Bol demonstrated the use of a few SB 800’s with colored gels for the Nikon shooters. Before returning to Prague we photographed the details of the interiors of St. Barbara Cathedral. We returned to the hotel in time for dinner and some took the opportunity to shoot night views of Charles Bridge and Prague Castle. Others used our down time to download and edit the images we had taken in preparation for more reviews from Tom.

The following morning everyone was apprehensive about the long bus trip. But, it actually passed quickly. Early in our drive we had the opportunity to photograph the Telc Castle and the beautiful landscape surrounding the castle.  As we continued heading towards Budapest we stopped along the way to photograph the colorful Dutch houses and practice our landscape photography. After a quick stop for lunch we had a fun session of Q& A with Tom Bol on the bus. It helped make the time fly by as we all learned and laughed while discussing our mutual love for photography. We arrived in Budapest and checked into the Grand Hotel, which was a few minutes away from the Danube River. After dinner we were all happy to have a restful nights sleep.

We woke up that morning to the sound of rain on the windowpanes. We still went on our planned trip to the Parliament building and did our best to stay dry and make the best of the situation. We took advantage of the rain and photographed reflective views in the puddles of the architecture. Our stops at the Basilica and then at the Heroes Square were challenging due to the rain but we still captured the historical architecture structures.

The remainder of our day was spent on a boat cruise that gave us the opportunity to see and shoot the mix of modern and historic Budapest. Once back at the hotel we had another digital review session with Tom. This review was far more interesting since he was addressing the images we had taken during this trip.

Although it was late and we were a bit tired from the long day some of us still headed to the Chain Bridge to photograph the unbelievable reflections of Castle Hill.

The following morning, after breakfast, we hopped on the bus again to journey to Szentndre. This quaint little town was truly picturesque but we were all freezing. We were not having much luck with the weather in Budapest. Although the temperature was 30 degrees, it felt more like zero or below. There we had our group dinner and enjoyed a great show before we headed back to our hotel rooms to pack for our return to the US.

Our last day was mainly a travel day but we all realized that we had established new friendships and we had shared an extraordinary trip while sharing our mutual enthusiasm for photography.