Another early morning greeted me with a 6am train ride to Nuremberg and then a 4 hour bus ride to Prague. It was an Expressbus that was direct from Nuremberg to Prague and it was a combination of a plane and a coach bus. They had a stewardess and tv's at every seat (but did not show anything).
The first day in Prague was foggy, rainy, and gloomy for the most part. It wasn't the beautiful Prague that I was expecting. Prague, overall, was very touristy and packed with a lot of people. Most everywhere spoke English so the language barrier wasn't a problem, but most things were written in Czech. I decided that I did not want to take the metro system so I walked around the entire city of Prague and saw all of the wonderful sites that there are to see. Enjoy the photos with commentary.
Walking from the Main Train Station to Old Town--the center of Prague. My hotel was located on one of the main roads that leads into Old Town.
The Municipal House--Beautiful architecture.
The Gothic gate of the town wall that was built to store gunpowder
Wax Museum
Approaching Old Town Hall
The Jan Hus Memorial symbolized the struggle for Czech Freedom of Catholic Rule. Jan Hus gave the Czech Alphabet the accent marks so the letters could fit the sounds.
The Tyn Church
The Astronomical Clock
The two outer rings show the hour: Bohemian time and Modern Time
Zodiac Signs
The whole thing
A well that you could pump
Bridge Tower
Statue of Charles the fourth
The Famous Charles Bridge.
The bridge is decorated with statues of famous Czech's and the Stations of the Cross
Jesus at the cross
Another lock and superstition about touching the heart and bringing you love
John of Nepomuk a saint of the Czech. He was a 14th century priest who the Queen confessed her secrets. The King wanted to know the secrets but he refused to tell so he was tortured and eventually killed by being thrown over the bridge. Legend says that when he was thrown 5 stars appeared in the water, thus the crown of stars.
If you touch the engraving, you get to make one wish to come true
I have no idea what this is suppose to do, but I touched it nonetheless
A typical Prague street
Walking around Little Quarter
Czech is very famous for their crystal and garnet
A foggy view of Petrin Tower--A replica of the Eiffel Tower
Looking into The Cowboy Bar with a cow on a roast
The Castle Square--Sternberg Palace filled with famous paintings
Decoration on the Castle Gate
Castle Gate entrance complete with castle guards
Building where the Czech President works
Deep Well
The amazing St. Vitus Cathedral
Beautiful Facade
Obelisk celebrating the 10th anniversary of the establishment of Czechoslovakia and the soldiers who fought for the independence
The Catholic church from the side
The St. George Basilica and convent
The changing of the guard
They also have the Toy and Barbie Museum
View from the Castle Wall overlooking the entire city of Prague
Enjoy the cloudy, foggy view
Walking through the vineyard
Walking down the steps back to the Little Quarter
Potatoes on a stick, pizza, sausage with cheese, and corn on the cob
Really cool flag memorial
Swans on the river!!
Very pretty view
Cute side park
Walking underneath the bridge
Someone was getting married!
After much searching, I finally found the Lennon Wall! This wall was suddenly started after his death in 1980 and was painted over night after night by the police until the independence in 1989.
The wall
Spiderman!!
All you need is love
More locks
The Old Mill Wheel, last surviving wheel from the flood.
Each wheel has its own protective water spirit--This is Mr. Kabourek
Beautiful some river
John Lennon Pub complete with hippie van
Street Performer
View of the Bridge
The National Theatre was under construction
St. Wenceslas Square
Biggest Irish Pub in Prague! Haha
Memorial to the victims of communism. This shows Jan Palach who wanted his freedom so he set himself on fire on the steps of the National Museum for the cause of Czech Freedom.
The National Museum
Communist-Era Building that used to house the Radio Free Europe during the communist era
Even though you can't tell from this picture, but this was a flash mob that broke out in front of the statue of St. Wenceslas. My first flash mob ever!
I thought this was cool advertisement for their shop.
So my great-great-grandfather went to Charles' University so it was a must stop on my list. However, I found the the University is one simple building that really isn't that impressive. But it was still a cool experience to be there.
The front of the building
Upclose of the crest
Other part of the front
Side and alley way
The Havelska Market complete with many vendors and trinkets and food to buy
Another Irish Pub
Walking down the Narodni Prikope and the Narodni Trida on a quiet Sunday morning
The Nova Scena
Most Legi Bridge
Boat hostel on the river
Prague's "Dancing House" Nicknamed "Fred and Ginger" The more curvy building is the 8-legged woman dancing and the stiff building is the man
Walking along the river
Cool fountain
The New Town Hall building
Czech building
The Spanish Synagogue
Jewish Town Hall
Cool Jewish building
Entering the Jewish Quarter
Rudolfinum--The Philharmonic
More of the Jewish Quarter
The Maisel Synagogue
Approaching the Old Town Square again
I got a yummy Rhubarb custard mid-morning snack
Cool Statue
Around 9am the sun came up and the temperature began to rise to a wonderful 50 degrees
The Powder Tower and the Municipal House
The street signs had a countdown so impatient people like me knew how much longer to wait
Let the sun shine in so that I can have a proper view of the Prague Castle and the river
The Prague Castle in the distance
The Church of St. Nicholas
Prague Castle, Charles Bridge, street art
Then I walked very quickly all the way back to the main train station to catch my 11:30am bus back to Germany. On the way back, I was sitting next to this delightful 70 year old woman from the Czech Republic who lived there until her and her family got kicked out for being German after the war. Her family was homeless and her aunt married an American Soldier and he brought them leftover food that they were going to throw away (against the rules). She said this was the only thing that helped them survive being kicked out of their country. She returned, but the rest of her family still lives in Germany. She also filled me in on the Czech politics going on right now over their newly elected president. I was also the first Cassandra that she has ever met.
Overall, it was a good trip and I will look back on it fondly, but right now my feet hurt from 10+ hours of walking on cobblestones.
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