Prague, Czech Republlic

Thursday 24th October 2019
After our traditional dinner we came home and Lisa was asleep by 7.30pm and I was asleep by 8.30pm. We had an atrocious nights sleep. We had some men in the street who must have gone outside for a cigarette break every hour, from midnight, 1pm, 2pm, etc. It was very disturbing. We thought we would be well rested but alas we were not. We woke for the day about 5am and just had a chat. We headed down for a lovely smorgasbord breakfast at about 7.30 and then headed out for our day of touring at about 9am. We have just arrived home at 5pm, a continuous day of walking, about 20km. Our legs and lower back are a little tired but my heart handled it really well as we were just strolling at a leisurely pace.

We started out towards the Charles Bridge, unfortunately the fog was so heavy we couldn’t even see the castle which is usually a beautiful sight. The bridge is adorned with 30 religious statues on either side of the walkway. We then headed over the bridge and down to the John Lennon Wall, another shame as it was closed for reconstruction 🙁 Then on to St Nicholas Church, then up the stairs to the Prague Castle which was built in the 9th century. We had another day of good timing, as we arrived at the castle the guards were marching down the street to music. The Prague Castle is a spectacular building, with guards and military at the exit. We entered through security screening with the Police. We saw the Romanesque Basilica of St George, the Gothic Basilica of St Vitas completed in 1929. We then headed to Loreta which is a pilgrimage destination in Hradčany, a district of Prague. It consists of a cloister, the church of the Lord’s Birth, the Santa Casa and a clock tower with a famous chime (which we managed to here at midday). Then through the Strahov Monastery, then through the beautiful parklands to the Petrin Tower. We then meandered down through the park to the bottom where we went to the Memorial to the victims of Communism which is a series of statues in Prague commemorating the victims of the communist era between 1948 and 1989. Next stop was to try the famous Prague Hot Dog for lunch. We both had a classic hot dog with mustard, ketchup and onions. It was very yummy and was our only 20 minutes sitting down for the whole day.

Then on to the Dancing House, Wenceslas Square, National Museum, Wenceslas Statue, Upside Down Horse, Franz Kafka Monument, Lolly Shop. We then had a Trdelník which is a kind of spit cake. It is made from rolled dough that is wrapped around a stick, then grilled and topped with sugar and filled with ice cream. Decadence, we know and full of guilt. Then we headed to the markets, Sigmund Freud, back to the Charles Bridge and finally home by 5pm exhausted.

Prague Castle is the largest ancient castle in the world, occupying an area of almost 70,000 square metres), at about 570 metres in length and an average of about 130 metres wide.

: The start of our walk on Charles Bridge. Take note of how few people are around at 9am.

: One of the 30 statues on Charles Bridge

: Unfortunately the John Lennon wall was being redone.

: Heading off the Charles Bridge

: No wonder there is only 4% unemployment as the time involved to resurface the roads would be huge.

: St Nicholas Church

: Steps we walked very slowly up to the Prague Castle.

: Halfway up the steps

: We arrived just in time for guards leaving the Prague Castle to music

: Entrance to the Prague Castle

: Police checking bags at the entrance to Prague Castle

: In the Prague Castle grounds

: Basilica of St Vitus in Prague Castle..

: ..and again

: Basilica of St George in Prague Castle

: Restoration work in Prague Castle would be constant

: Change of Guard outside Prague Castle..

: ..close up of the guards..

: ..as they march off duty

: New guard on duty for the next hour

: Not much to see of the city through the fog from the Prague Castle

: Building near Prague Castle..

: ..and another. Love all the different architecture

: Short break for coffee with the standard menu in every restaurant..

: ..a bit of disappointment the chocolate was missing on the froth of the coffee, but the coffe tasted good so that was ok.

: Cerninsky Palace..

: ..and its garden

: Loreta Sanctuary

: Strahov Monastery..

: ..and its beer house

: Walking through the gardens back down to the town..

: ..just happened upon the Memorial to the Victims of Communism

: Trams run through the city

: Famous Classic Hot Dog

: There are many lolly shops in Prague..

: ..even selling tennis ball lollies.

: Looking across the river to the town..

: ..it was very pretty as the fog finally started to lift at about 3pm.

: The Dancing House building is a very unusual structure

: Statue in the park

: National Museum at the top of Wenceslas Square

: Looking down to Wenceslas Square from the National Museum

: Looking up to the Museum from Wenceslas Square in the New Town

: Captain Wenceslas on the Upside Down Horse

: Franz Kafka revolving monument

: No idea what these were but looked interesting

: Another lolly shop..

: ..with dwarfs in a rock cavern..

: ..with amazing lolly displays

: Time for Lisa to have a Trdlenik, a Czech traditional donut/icecream..

: ..a bit much for both of us today.

: This unique sculpture in Old Town Prague depicts psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud hanging by a hand and pondering whether to hold on or let go. It is an unexpected and eye-catching-if not disturbing-image in an otherwise sublime urban area.