 |
| view of Prague from the hilltop |
 |
| Prague Castle |
 |
| Charles Bridge tower |
Prague is one of the four most world's visited cities. The others are Paris, London and Rome. The mixed architectural designs of the buildings on both banks of Vlatava River in Prague are as magnificent as those on the said three cities.
 |
| Charles Bridge |
Prague is the capital city of Czech Republic. The Czechs and the Slovaks joint forces to declare independence from the Austria-Hungary empire in October 1918. A sovereign state in Central Europe was born, Czechoslovakia. After WWII, Czechoslovakia became part of the Eastern bloc with a command economy under the Russians rulings. At the end of communism or also known as the Marxist-Leninist government, Czechoslovakia dissolved peacefully to two sovereign states: Czech Republic and Slovakia on 01 January 1993.
I feel blessed I was able to visit these two beautiful countries once reigned by the Austrian Empire, joint forced before the World War I, suffered together under the Russian communist and now separated again, each has something to be proud.
 |
| Praha hlavní nádraží (Prague Main Railway Station) Platforms |
The apartment was not yet ready when we got there at half past 10. We left our luggage and started the adventure in Prague. It had been a long day. First, we needed to buy koruna, currency in Czech Republic. We had exchanged 100 euros and got 25 koruna for every euro. Please be warned, only a few Money changers are honest in Prague. Check in the internet the approximate exchange rates. Do not hesitate to ask how much koruna you will be getting from the dollar or euros you are to exchange. There are changers who advertised a higher rate though, they collect around 35% commission.
Staré Město (OLD TOWN)
MORE WARNING!!!
I was warned that if you sit to eat in the restaurant around the Old Town square, you would be ripped off. There were street food vendors at the Old Town square. We saw ham getting roasted.looked so yummy! The prices were displayed and looked cheap, never realized it's per gram. We missed the sausages from Vienna, we bought two in Prague. We thought the macaroni was good and we bought ham also. We were given a large portion of the macaroni we thought that was the usual serving. We were about to be given so much of the ham, good thing it was later sliced into half. We were charged 700 koruna for all. There was a park next to the square with benches. The sausages tasted stale. The macaroni was truly tasteless. The ham was great. We then realized we had paid so much,. 28 euros for a lousy meal. We thought we were prepared. These Prague cheaters excuses, tourists have lots of money and what was being taken from the tourists is just a small fraction. 😠.
The ham was nice as per my hubby. Just be warned they will at first give you a big portion you may thought its the minimum size of serving. Do not hesitate to let them know the size you can consume.
Trdelnik is a kind of cake originated in Hungary and now famous in Czech Republic and Slovakia. The dough is wrapped around a stick and grilled. We have not tried this cake yet, we will surely do the next visit. We were really disappointed with our lunch, we did not want to be seconded by the dessert.
Staré Město (OLD TOWN)
MORE WARNING!!!
I was warned that if you sit to eat in the restaurant around the Old Town square, you would be ripped off. There were street food vendors at the Old Town square. We saw ham getting roasted.looked so yummy! The prices were displayed and looked cheap, never realized it's per gram. We missed the sausages from Vienna, we bought two in Prague. We thought the macaroni was good and we bought ham also. We were given a large portion of the macaroni we thought that was the usual serving. We were about to be given so much of the ham, good thing it was later sliced into half. We were charged 700 koruna for all. There was a park next to the square with benches. The sausages tasted stale. The macaroni was truly tasteless. The ham was great. We then realized we had paid so much,. 28 euros for a lousy meal. We thought we were prepared. These Prague cheaters excuses, tourists have lots of money and what was being taken from the tourists is just a small fraction. 😠.
 |
| Prague Ham Roasting |
 |
| Trdelnik booth at the Old Town Square in Prague |
Nevertheless, the amazing charm of the Old Town Square compensates the unexpected welcome scam.
 |
| South side of the Old Town Square |
During the reign of the Bohemian King Charles IV (1346~1378) as the Holy Roman Emperor,
At the south side of the square are buildings with Renaissance and Baroque style facade.
 |
| Old Town Hall and the Astronomical Clock (under maintenance), May 2018 |
 |
| Prague National Gallery (Goltz-Kinsky Palace) |
In 1948, Klement Gottwald, the secretary General of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia (1929~1945) and chairman till his death in 1953, used the Kinsky Palace to announce the take over of the government of Czechoslovakia by the Communist Party with the full support of the Russians.
The building was originally built for the Golch family (1755~1765). It was built in pink and white stucco facade and later rebuilt to Rococo palace with two pillared entrance. After the death of Count Jan Arnost Gotz in 1768, Goltz family sold the palace to the noble Kinsky family.
The Kinsky family rose from simple noble to princely status under the rule of the Habsburg family. They were considered as one of the illustrious family during the Austria-Hungary empire Most of the members of the family served in high diplomatic and military positions for the Habsburg. Kinsky family formed a major part during the disagreement of the Catholics and the Protestants that led to the 30 years' war (1618~1638). Most of the Protestants' aristocrats were banished and their properties were distributed to those who were faithful to the Catholics. The Kinsky family were also branded as the historical traitors against the Czechoslovakia during the Nazi regime.
 |
| Prague Old Town Square |
The Kinsky palace housed the Prague National Gallery since 1049. The coat of arms of the Kinsky family is displayed inside, likewise, the valuables library of the Goltz and the Kinsky family.. The surviving heir of the noble Kinsky, Karl Ulrich (born in 1967) still have pending claims against the Czech state in regard to family estates. The family also owned the Kinsky Palace in Vienna, Burg Heidenreichstein castle in Lower Austria and the Korlova Katuna chateau in Bohemia, Czech. More so, the Kinsky 7th prince, Ferdinand was one of the three contributors of the yearly salary of Beethoven which was arranged till his death in March 1827.
In the middle of the Old Town Square is the memorial of Jan Hus. The statue of Jan Hus, looking towards the Church of our Lady before Tyn, was built by a prominent sculptor, Ladislav Saloun.
The monument was erected in 1915 to commemorate the 500th death anniversary of the reformer, Jan Hus, at the stake.
 |
| 1915 Monument of Jan Hus (1369~1415) by Ladislav Saloun |
He joined priesthood to escape poverty. Apparently, in the earliest years, the officials in church were being looked up, well dressed and secured of good livelihood. As the years went by, studying with observance of the life in church, he had his own interpretation of what is written in the bible. He believed that the leadership of the Holy Roman Emperor, of the Pope(s), Bishops, Priests... were foolish sect. He gained followers and the church were not happy about it. Jan Hus refused for several times he was asked to recant his views. He was reciting the Psalms while he was being engulfed by flames.
At the north side of the square is the 18th century Baroque architectural style, St. Nicholas church.
 |
| St Nicholas Church at Prague Old Town Square |
Looks like we were in the Disneyland. Sleeping Beauty castle in Hong Kong Disneyland? or the Cinderella castle at Tokyo Disneyland. Nope! This is one of the symbolic building in Prague, Our Lady of Church before Tyn. I believe though, the creator of Disneyland was inspired of architectural designs of the buildings in Eastern Europe, especially those in Prague. We'll see later Prague castle from the distance. And check out also our visit in Tallinn with the fairy tale like fortified towers.
Our Lady of Church before Tyn is open for sightseeing. Admission is free but it is suggested to donate at least 25chk or 1 euro. Mass are also celebrated often in the church. Both the exterior and the interior design is a gallery of Gothic, Renaissance and early Baroque architecture built from the 14th to the 17th century. The church towers are 80m high each with 4 spires.
 |
| Beautiful Prague manhole cover |
We went back to the apartment to check in and place our stuff inside the room. I threw our dirty clothes to the washing machine and left it spinning. There was no dryer, we just hanged when we got back at night.
The Prague Castle is an important symbol of Czech Republic. As per Guinness Book of Records, it is the largest complex of a castle in the world occupying an area of 70,000 sqm. The castle is the official seat of the President of the Czech Republic. Further, the castle had been the seat of power of the King of Bohemians, Holy Roman Emperors and the Presidents of Czechoslovakia.
The Gothic architectural style of the Cathedral of St Vitus, its towers and spires, made the Prague Castle resembles those we outgrown from the fairy tale stories. Or the opposite, this could be one of the castles that inspired Disney.
GETTING TO PRAGUE CASTLE ON FOOT
We opted to climb to the castle on foot. From our apartment, Agnes3 Apartment, we walked through the cobblestone road exited to Vlatava River part where the River cruise starts.
 |
| Svatopluk Čech Bridge, Prague |
Čech Bridge connects the district Holešovice and the Old Town (Staré Město). It is 160 meters length, the shortest among the 18 bridges crossing the Vlatava River in Prague. Both ends of the bridge welcomes passers by two Art Nouveau style sculptures on top of the two 17.5-m-high pylons
We crossed the Čech bridge and climbed these flight of stairs.
The walk up was really tiring. We were paid though of the majestic view of Prague in different angles.
We had a quick stop at the Metronome park
 |
| Prague Metronome and the hanged shoes |
The Metronome is functional but not operating. The area is frequently visited by the locals for picnics and skate boarding. Some throw a pair of shoes, shoelaces tied together, over the electrical cable attached to the Metronome and left hanged.
There you go... breathtaking views of Prague, unobstructed.
No wonder the Metronome area was once the home of the 17,000 ton statue of Joseph Stalin. It is a perfect place to overlook the whole city.
The walk under the heat of the approaching summer and stairs climb were worth for these free panoramic stunning views of Prague. The best to capture the bridges connecting the castle and the historic centre.
We continued the walk following the signs to the castle through the gardens and parks until we reach the gate to the castle.
Prague Castle is open to everyone for free. However, you need to go through security checks to get in like you were at the airport. Expect long queue especially during Summer. Since we came from the gardens, we entered direct to the second courtyard.
 |
| Main Entrance of the Prague Castle |
The First courtyard is the main entrance of the Prague Castle. The gateways are designed with fighting Titans. Parapets are designed with statues and sculptures. A low key changing of guards is held every hour at the first courtyard and at midday, a ceremonial changing of guard takes place with a fanfare.
 |
| Statue of Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk, TGM Prague Castle |
 |
| Archibishop Palace, Prague Castle |
 |
| Second Courtyard at Prague Castle features Kohls fountain |
A gated well is also seen in the second courtyard.
 |
| New Royal Palace at Courtyard III of Prague Castle |
 |
| Prague Castle |
The Cathedral of St Vitus dominates Prague Castle. The Cathedral is in the third Courtyard of the Prague Castle
 |
| St Vitus Cathedral Main Portal, West view facade Prague, Czech Republic |
 |
| St Vitus Cathedral Main Portal, Upper West view facade Prague, Czech Republic |
 |
| St Vitus Cathedral Main Portal, Upper West view facade
Prague, Czech Republic
|
 |
| St Vitus Cathedral Main Portal, Upper West view facade
Prague, Czech Republic
|
 |
| Golden Gate-St Vitus Cathedral, Prague, Czech Republic |
 |
| Old Royal Palace, Prague Castle |
 |
| St George Basilica, Prague Castle |
Besides St George Basilica is the Maria Theresa entrance to the Rosenburg Palace, an institute for noblewoman. The building was named after the Empress from the Habsburg house in Austria who was also the Queen of Bohemia from 1743~1780.
 |
| New Provost Residence |
 |
| Golden Lane, Prague Castle, Czech Republic |
We exited the castle passing through the gardens. Very scenic as we walked down.
More amazing views, closer look of the roofs of the Lesser town's houses.
The view is dominated by the St Nicholas church in the Lesser town, described as the most impressive example of Baroque in Prague.
Malá Strana ( Lesser Quarter)
Most starts the route to the castle from Mala Strana. Latter is an important district in Prague located at the left/west bank of the Vlatava River. Mala Strana means little side of the river in Czech. The district is also known as the Lesser Town/ Lesser Quarter. It is located below the Prague castle, divided into upper and lower area, being St Nicholas Church is in the middle.
The popular attractions frequent visited in Mala Strana are the John Lennon Wall and the Petrin lookout tower.
Our route to the castle started from the Metronome and ended at Mala Strana. See the portal on the photo? that's one of the bridge tower placed on both end of the bridge. Let”s go through...
 |
| view of Charles Bridge in Prague, Czech Republic |
Charles Bridge is the oldest bridge built in Prague to replace the former Judith bridge (built in the 12th century) that had been badly damaged by flood in 1342. King Charles IV commissioned the bridge in 1357.
The most viewed and visited among the statues at the Charles Bridges is that of Saint John Nepomuk. It is considered a plague, depicts the court priest who was thrown off the bridge into the Vlatava River in 1383 by the then King Wenceslas IV. As per legend, the King was asking about the confession John Nepomuk heard from the Queen, The King suspected the Queen had a lover. Another version, John Nepomuk invited the bishop to Prague who was the enemy of the King.
It has been a belief in Prague, touching the statue could bring Good Luck and ensure return to Prague soon.
Off to the famous Dancing House building, we were tired of the very long walk from the time we got to Prague at 10 am. We find a shop to buy bus tickets. Fortunately, there were at the Information building near the Charles Bridge. We took the bus #17 from Karlovy lazne bus stop, 4 minutes from Charles Bridge, to Jiraskovo Namesti (2 stops). The wait for the bus was a bit long. You could opt to walk that could take 17 minutes.
Prague is not just all about Old Town, Castles and other historical sights. A building with an unusual shape was built along the Vlatava River and in the neighborhood of buildings built in the traditional architectural style. Prague Dancing House building is one of the most internationally renowned place, design was inspired by the famous duo dancers, Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers.
 |
| Dancing House Rooftop Viewing Point, Prague, Czech Republc |
The Glass Bar is situated on the 8th floor of the Dancing House building, accessible by lift to 7th floor. Located at the 7th floor is the Ginger and Fred Restaurant. We took the stairs up to the 8th floor to the Glass Bar.
Interesting art works as we climbed. The bar and the rooftop terrace is open everyday from 10am to 12mn.
However, to get to the rooftop for the view, either you pay 100 koruna to the bar or order any drink which costs from 85 koruna. Apparently, we opted for the latter.
 |
| view from the Rooftop terrace of the Dancing House: Prague Castle and the buildings along the Masarykovo nábřeží |
Beautiful buildings along the diagonal cobblestone streets in Old Town, Prague viewed from the rooftop terrace of the Dancing House building.
The Dancing House' official name is The Nationale Nedrlanden Building. It is also known as "Fred and Ginger". It stands at the site of the previous building destroyed during the bombing of the Prague by Allies after World War II and during the Communist Era (1948~1989). After the Velvet Revolution, a gentle non violent revolution that resulted to the fall of the Communist Era in Czechoslovakia followed by the mutual agreement to the separation of the present Czech Republic and Slovakia in 1993, Vaclav Havel initiated the building of the Dancing House that could symbolise the arrival of democracy to Bohemia after 1989. Vaclav havel was known to be a writer, philospher, Czech dissident, the last president of Czechoslovakia and the first president of the Czech Republic. The building was designed in 1992 and completed in 1996.
Dancing House was designed by the Croatian Czech architect, Vlado Milunic and the Canadian-born American postmodernist architect, Frank Gehry.
It had been a very long day. But we did not call it a day yet. It was still bright, advantage when going around in Summer. Our last stop was at the Wenceslas Square.
Nové Město (New Town)
Wenceslas Square is one of the two main squares in Prague, Old Town Square the other, 5 to 10 minutes away on foot. Wenceslas Square is located at what they call New Town, the square though was in existence since the 14th century. The square was named after Saint Wenceslas, the patron saint of the Czech lands.
Both sides of the square is lined with restaurant and bars, hotels and apartments, shopping centres and banks. More so, movie theatres, nightclubs and discos, apparently, this place is truly the entertainment of Prague, day and night.
At the top of the square is the Prague National Museum which houses almost 14 million collection of items in the areas of arts, music and history.
Wenceslas Square was originally built as the Prague Horse Market in 1348 by Bohemian King Charles IV. It can hold 400,000 people. It is one the few large places in Prague where locals gather to spend the rest of the day.
Installed in front of the National Museum at Wenceslas Square is the important historical monument, statue that depicts Wenceslaus I, Duke of Bohemia.
 |
| Equestrian Statue of Saint Wenceslas at Wenceslas Square, Prague, Czech Republic |
 |
| Wenceslas Square, Prague, Czech Republic |
KFC for dinner??? Were not we suppose to eat local food? We actually tried to find a restaurant on both sides of the Wenceslas Square for dinner. We could tolerate the price but we were doubt if we would like it after the lousy meal we had for lunch at the Old Town Square.
So cheap!!! 216 koruna -dinner for 2. Compare to the lousy meal we had at the Old Town Square which cost us 700 koruna
 |
| sample of 500 Koruna used at Czech Republic |
We called it a night, but this blog is not yet done. We still had till 3pm the following day to explore more of Prague. But not as tiring as this day. We finished the laundry before we retired. We woke up around 8am the following day and had the left over from KFC for breakfast. We folded the dried washed clothes and prepared for check out. The owner of the apartment helped us book a cab to airport for 3pm. We hoped to have a real local food for lunch later. Did we?
 |
| Piss 2004, sculpted by David Cerny, lPrague, Czech Republic |
 |
| Rudolfinum building, Prague, Czech Republic |
As per history, Rudolf was the only son of the Emperor of Austro-Hungarian Empire, Franz Josef I and Elizabeth of Bavaria. He was heir apparent from birth till his death in 1889. He was married to Princess Stephanie of Belgium. The marriage had drifted after the birth of their only child. Prince Rudolf attempted to request the Pope to allow the annulment of the marriage. Franz Josef 1 however did not allow. The prince met Baroness Marie Vetsera in Mayerling and became his mistress. The Baroness was a daughter of a diplomat at the Austrian court. Their relationship was apparently forbidden and created scandal, the lovers decided to commit suicide pact. In consequence of this event affected the line of succession, destabilisation to the First World War I and the end of Monarchy.in 1918. Franz Josef 1 and his succeesor was also the King of Hungary & Bohemia and monarch of the many states of the Empire.
 |
| Statue of Antonín Dvořák |
 |
| Pařížská Street and Široká Street |
 |
| Široká Street #9 |
We were compelled to eat local food before we left this beautiful place. My husband ordered Lamb steak.
I had pasta for lunch. We were in haste, the owner of the apartment had just texted, the booked taxi was already waiting for us.
How was the lunch? not bad...
Off to Madrid, Spain.
Continued from our visit to Bratislava
Check all places visited during our Europe Tour in 2018
No comments:
Post a Comment