Well today my only real goal was to see the Prague Castle and a bit of the surrounding area. I grabbed myself an audio tour as with many other places here there are no signs or anything so without a guide, guidebook or audio guide, you will know nothing of what you are looking at. I did catch a few minutes of the Changing of the Guard Ceremony but is takes place in a very small area and there were a lot of people so really could not see much.
One of the statues outside Prague Castle
So I headed to St. Vitus Cathedral. With the guard ceremony going on I figured it would be a good time to head there.
A few shots of the outside of St. Vitus Cathedral.
It really is an amazing place….as I have said about most of the cathedrals I have been in. It is the current seat of the Arch Bishop of Prague and is considered the Spiritual centre of the Czech lands. 5 saints are buried here including St. John of Nepomuk. The walls of the Cathedral also protect the Czech Crown Jewels including the Crown of St. Wenceslas, which was made for Charles IV. You can’t see them but just knowing they are there somewhere is exciting. On an architectural note, this cathedral is a very, very fine example of gothic design. The St. Vitus Cathedral is actually the 3rd church to be built on this site. Previous churches have been destroyed and replaced.
A couple of the stainglass windows in St. Vitus.
Some of the colours that end up on the wall from those stain glass windows.
I then went to visit the Old Royal Palace which apparently did not leave much of an impression because I did not write anything down about it as I toured it…or my fingers were cold and I didn’t want to take my mitts off. The castle was the seat of the Bohemian King and Princes until the 16th Century. The Gothic vaulted ceiling of Vladislav Hall is the site where all Presidents of the Republic have been sworn in.
This is Vladislav Hall inside the Old Royal Palace.
This is the Czech Regional Parliament inside the Old Royal Palace. It is just for show now.
After that it was off to the St. George Basilica and St. George Convent. The Basilica is quite unremarkable but the Convent has now been turned into an art museum. The convent was Bohemia’s first convent established in 973 AD but now is a branch of the National Gallery and houses a lot of Renaissance and baroque art by artists such as Josef Navratil, Josef Manes (who has a few things in Prague named after him including a bridge) and Josef Vaclav Myslbek. It was worth a look for sure.
Some of the details on the outside of St. Vitus.
From there I made my way over to Golden Lane which is said to be the most visited street in Prague. The orginal name was probably Goldsmith Lane as it was originally home to goldsmiths who did not want to join Prague’s goldsmith guild due to the strict rules.
Looking down Golden Lane
The lane is now full of little houses that were built by castle marksmen, at their own expense I might add, although they did get permission from Emperor Rudolph the 2nd. The marksmen later rented or sold the houses to other castle inhabitants. The houses are now all little stores and actually none of them except one is original. Most were rebuilt after World War II except #20 which dates back to the 16th century. #22 was lived in by writer Franz Kafka for about a year in 1916 to 1917. # 13 is probably the smallest house in all of Prague. If you are taller than me (which most people are) you will have trouble walking in these little stores but that didn't stop me from visiting and shopping.
One of the cute little houses.
What would a toy store be without a little Pinocchio?
From there I had to stop by the little exhibit at the Daliborka Tower. It is said to be the most famous prison in the Czech Republic and takes its name from the first prisoner it housed. It was originally 7 stories high but it is now only 5 now as the other 2 were destroyed in a fire after the tower was struck by lightning.
This was outside Daliborka Tower. I wasn't sure so I took a picture.
At first I thought this guy was guarding the tree but there is actually a box full of money that he is making sure no one steals.
They were very nice to give him this to stand on. I am sure his back thanks them for it.
And there is a bunch more to the castle and you could spend 2 days here and not see everything the place has to offer. But there was more I wanted to see so had to check out early. Next I wanted to lay my eyes on the Lennon Wall. It took a little bit of time to find it but I eventually did. My wanderings took me through Mala Strana which means Lesser Town or Little Quarter. It is a really neat area of Prague with lots of little narrow, cobblestone streets and colourful buildings. The area was temporally home to Mozart and Casanova. I found it really neat.
Anyway, back to the Lennon Wall. After his death in 1980, the wall was painted with his image and it was repainted every time it was white washed by the secret police. It was because of his opposition to communism that the Czech people embraced him. Now the wall just looks like every other graffiti covered wall and if you were not looking for it, you might by pass it (except there is not a lot of other graffiti in the area and there are some very John Lennon inspired images on it). I of course had to write something on it. I contributed my new favourite quote from M.k Asante Jr. (http://www.mkasante.com) "If you make on observation, you have an obligation". I think Mr. Lennon would agree with that.
I then headed towards the Old Jewish Cemetery and the area of Prague where you will find all the Jewish history. It was quite late by then so did not go into see anything. I will have to see if I find the time in the next few days although I have very little time and lots of things I want to see.
This the Statue of St. John of Nepomuk that you will find on Charles Bridge. You can see some one rubbing it.
I am finding it much easier to get around Prague…..even at night which is a nice change. I don't always enjoy being out at night as I am always a little worried I won't find my way back. I managed to find my way past all the high end stores….Cartier, Gucci, etc. I am really trying hard not to buy boots…but there are so many cute boots. I want to do some shopping when I get to Paris though so I am going to hold off until then.
I found myself a nice little restaurant not far from Brent’s. You will all be happy to know that I have been taking part in one of the Czech Republic’s biggest rituals….drinking beer. It goes with any meal.
Old Town Prague.
Tomorrow more things planned in just a great city. Hopefully I will get a lot done but if not just being here is an experience in itself.
Julie
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