Today was a very big day! It was our last full day in
Prague, so we tried to fit in a lot of sights. Our first stop this morning was
the Prague Castle. This is a very large complex situated on a hill overlooking
Prague.
The first building we entered was St. George’s Basilica. The
main “attraction” here is the tomb of St. Ludmila – who was the grandmother of
St. Wenceslas (yes, the one from the Christmas carol!).
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| St. George's Basilica |
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| Tomb of St. Ludmila |
The next stop within the Castle was the Old Royal Palace. This is mainly composed of Vladislav Hall, where various ceremonies would take place.
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| Vladislav Hall |
There is also a balcony overlooking the city – with a beautiful
view.
It was very crowded in the palace, with many tour groups
going through - here is Isabel, stuck in traffic!
After escaping the crowds, we stopped for a coffee break. Just a regular old Starbucks...
We then returned to the Castle to watch the changing of the
guard ceremony. Once again, it was very crowded so it was difficult to see, but
the music was very nice J
We then raced ahead of the crowds into the St. Vitus
Cathedral. This is a very large cathedral, for which construction began in
1344. It was very fancy, with beautiful stained glass windows!
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| Organ in St. Vitus Cathedral |
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| Kuba’s faviourite, an ornate spiral staircase! |
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“Technical reason” for closing a crypt... Uh oh.
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The last place we visited within the Castle was Golden Lane. This is a street of very small houses, that were the homes of the castle guards and servants, starting in the 16th century until as recently as the 20th century. Currently they hold various exhibits and shops. Our favourite was the exhibit of medieval weapons and armour.
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| Golden Lane |
Upon exiting Golden Lane, we were treated to another
beautiful view over Prague, from behind the castle wall.
The next stop were the Gardens Below the Castle, a terraced
garden looking out over the rooftops Mala Strana, the Lesser Town.
We then walked over to the Wallenstein Gardens, the public
gardens located behind what is now the Czech Senate. The most impressive
feature here is the large grotto, made of limestone. You can see some hidden
figures in the sculpture!
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| Limestone grotto |
We then walked across the Charles Bridge into the Old Town,
to explore it in more depth than the first day!
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View of the Prague Castle (on top of the hill) and the
Charles Bridge, looking across from the Old Town
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Statue of St. Wenceslas, with the National Museum in the
background
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What...?
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We then walked back across the Charles Bridge, in search of dinner.
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