Saturday - Prague, Czech Republic

We allowed ourselves to sleep in until 7:00, ate breakfast with our parents and then drove with them to Prague.  I slept so well at night, but still felt pretty tired and slept a bit on our drive through gorgeous German and then Czech country side.  The rapps are blooming so there are field of bright yellow coloring the land.  We arrived in Prague around 11.  We parked in the church parking lot and walked to see the sights from there. 

Prague Castle

The gardens and the castle were nice, but there was an especially impressive cathedral in the middle of the castle.  It was less like a castle and more like a bunch of buildings connected around the cathedral.  We saw statue like guards and the changing of the guards.  There was a beautiful water statue and courtyard to see.

St. Vitus                                                                 

The Cathedral was St. Vitus Cathedral.  I have never been in a European Cathedral and I was so impressed at the height of the ceiling and the vast room that  had paintings, stained glass, pews, and other things to see.  Whereever the eye could see there was something interesting and entertaining.  This cathedral only had windows in the ceiling and was darker inside.  There were beautiful stained glassed windows,but plain stone.

We left the castle and headed down cobblestone streets with mobs of people.  There were shops and interesting things to see the entire way down the hill.  The ambiance of people and shops was so incredible.  I have seen things like it in movies, but nothing in America comes close to describing the scene.  It is difficult to put in words, but incredible to experience.

St. Nicolaus Cathedral

At the bottom of the hill we went into St. Nicolaus Cathedral.  It was completely different than the first one.  This one was still tall and spacious, but it was light, with many paintings and lots of ornate gold.  Every where I looked there were statues, angels, saints killing devils, etc. There was no stained-glassed windows, but gold, carved stone, statues, ornate décor everywhere.  There were painted murals on the entire ceiling and alcoves and domes.  The galleries depicting Christs crucifixion were dark, but I guess that is the way the event should be portrayed.   It was so cold inside, in stark contrast to the 90 degree weather outside.  (too hot for comfort when we packed for 70 degree weather)

We then crossed the Charles Bridge.  This is a fun place where vendors sell jewelry, paintings, drawings and musicians (accordion, harmonica, drums, guitar).  We had a list of all the statues that lined the bridge so it was interested to read about the many saints honored with statues along the bridge.  The sight of the boats and kayaks on the beautiful river was so peaceful.

We stopped at an outdoor restaurant and had some traditional Czech food.  I tried roast duck and Dave got goulash.  I decided that Czech food is slightly bland, since Dave’s ‘spicy’ goulash was the most seasoned dish there (and not one bit spicy!)  The food was great and the atmosphere of people walking all around a beautiful market in the middle of shops and tall buildings was a perfect way to spend the afternoon. 

We rushed to the astronomical clock to watch the display as it turned 4:00.  The apostles on the clock clap and something (we were too far away) rotates around.  There were so many people there, including a car of a couple getting married with secret service following behind.  This Old Town square was so amazing.  Every building was colorful, ornately decorated, beautiful roof.  Each time we took a photo I felt like it didn’t really show what we were looking at.  The majesty of the whole area was incredible!  I was very impressed with the spacious pedestrian square and the beauty of it all. 

 

 

 

We finished up with a walk through more small cobblestone streets to Wenceslas square (where the revolution took place).  We were exhausted and luckily figured out how to catch a street car back to the church.  We couldn’t figure out how to pay though – there were no German or English signs about the street cars at all.  It is funny to have money that is not American.  It feels more like play money and I feel more willing to spend it.

I felt asleep again on the 2 ½ hour ride back to Frieburg.  Prague was an absolutely incredible city!  We are worried that we saw the best sights today and there will be nothing better to see!  I hope we continue to see more amazing things.  Mostly, I can’t believe that I am standing in places I’ve seen in movies or postcards and it is even more amazing in real life.  The photos don’t do it justice. 

I am exhausted again, so happy to have a beautiful place to rest.


Links to the rest of the trip:  Getting there  Saturday    Sunday    Monday    Tuesday   Wednesday   Thursday     Home