PRAGUE

As I said earlier, we arrived safely in Prague! It has been overcast since we arrived, with temperatures around 16-18 degrees. There was some showers overnight, and early this morning while we were on the coach, but the day was beautiful!

Let me start at the beginning! Last night we enjoyed a walking tour of some of the Old Town and New Town (the New Town is only about 600 years old!!!!). Our hotel is very close to the Old Town. There are many beautiful old buildings around and some from the 19th & 20th centuries. 

On our walk last night we were orientated to some of the highlights around the hotel - which by the way is very comfortable! The highlight of our walk last night was seeing the Astronomical Clock! On the hour, figures on the sides of the clock become animated and two windows open up to reveal 12 apostles greeting the city. On the sides of the clock is a skeleton ringing a bell, a Turk shaking his head, a miser with a purse full of money, and Vanity looking in a mirror. The whole performance ends with the crowing of a golden rooster and the ringing of the huge bell at the top of the tower. It is also said that at the first cock-crow in the morning the ghosts and devils flee from Prague.It is possible to tell from the clock dial what day it is and its position in the week, month and year. The Astronomical Clock also tracks Central European, Babylonian and Sidereal time – the last one in the world to do so! It is also possible to see the position of celestial bodies on it. On the calendar with replicas of paintings by Josef Mánes you can see which sign of the zodiac currently reigns. We watched this wonderful spectacle at 7.00pm but don't ask me how to tell the time from the clock!

The Astronomical Clock

 After watching the clock strike 7.00pm we headed back to the hotel where we got ready for bed. Keith went and got Macca's for dinner for us - we were too tired to think about anything else! We were all in bed just after 8.00pm and I think we were all asleep by 8.30pm. Thankfully we had a good night's sleep all waking at about 1.30am but managed to get back to sleep till about 5.30pm. Our body clocks are adapting!

Day 3:

After a huge breakfast in the hotel dining room, we joined about 70 others for the coach drive to the Prague Castle! A castle was built at this site as early as in the 9th century. In the 12th and 13th century the castle was fortified and expanded. Around the castle, a small community started to grow. That neighborhood, now called Lesser Town, obtained city rights in 1257. In the 14th century, under the reign of King Charles IV the whole castle was renovated and expanded. More expansions were built by the House of Habsburg, who also redecorated large parts of the castle in a Baroque and neoclassical style. After the First World War the castle became the seat of the government of Czechoslovakia and today the president of the Czech Republic still resides here. The castle resembles a small city in the city. There are no less than three courtyards and several streets. An ornate entrance gate at the Castle Square leads to the first courtyard, where on the hour you can watch uniformed palace guards parade during the Change of the Guards.The entrance gate is decorated with large sculptures of fighting giants and putti, some of which crown a lion and an eagle. In the center of the Prague Castle is the St Vitus Cathedral, one of the most recognized landmarks in the city. When Charles IV acquired the bones of St. Vitus - a popular fourth-century martyr - and brought them to Prague, the city became a center of the St. Vitus cult. In 1344, when Prague became an archbishopric, Charles IV started with the construction of the St Vitrus Cathedral. The first part was built by the Frenchman Mathieu d'Arras. After his death in 1352, Peter Parler took over for the next 47 years. In 1421, the Hussite wars stopped work on the cathedral, and it wasn't until 1872 that works resumed and finally in 1929 the cathedral was completed.Until the 19th century the Golden Gate (Porta Aurea) was the main gate of St. Vitus. It was used as the doorway by which kings entered on coronation day. Just above the entrance is a large mosaic of the Last Judgment.Inside, the most remarkable part of the church is the tremendously high chancel with a beautiful net vaulting. 

The Golden Gate

The Vaulted ceiling of the cathedral

The Golden Gate - undergoing repair work

The new shift of guards marching to the gate

The guards stand at the gate for a shift of one hour at a time - they are photographed by hundreds each day!

Castle Square

One of the many buildings in Castle Square

After our tour of Prague Castle, we continued with our local guide for a walking tour. We walked down through Lesser Town - in the foothills of Prague Castle, across The Charles Bridge.The Charles Bridge is famous for the many statues of saints that embellish the bridge along its length. For centuries, this bridge was the only link between Lesser Town on the left bank of the Vltava river and Old Town on the opposite side. From the bridge you have amazing views over Prague's many medieval towers, churches and palaces, including Prague Castle. The bronze statue of St. John of Nepomuk was created in 1683 by Matthias Rauchmüller and Jan Brokoff. In 1393 then-archbishop Nepomuk was tortured to death and his body was thrown off the Charles Bridge. Reliefs below the statue depict this event. Touching the relief is supposed to bring luck. Like thousands of others, Ali & I had our photos taken touching the statue!

You can see where people touch the statue!

Ali's turn - you are supposed to make a wish that will come true within 1 year!

We saw a bride and groom having photos taken by the river - we have seen several wedding during the last 24 hours - with just the bride and groom having photos together

Looking down the river towards another bridge

another of the views from the bridge!

Our walking tour finished at Wenceslas Square! It was a great way to see much of the city. From here we went and found some lunch - Subway - then headed to the Municipal House for a private tour. Municipal House is Prague's foremost Art Nouveau building, and one of the finest in the whole of Europe. It is a magnificent complex of rooms, serving a variety of functions, with a glorious concert hall at its heart. Municipal House opened in 1912, having been constructed on the site of the former Royal Court Palace. It then gained fame on the 28th October 1918 when the historic proclamation of the independent state of Czechoslovakia took place here. Municipal House is the main attraction on Republic Square. It stands next to the Powder Gate, one of the original entrances to Prague's Old Town. The outside has intricate stonework, gold trimmings, frescos and stained glass windows. Inside, a marble staircase leads you to the huge Smetana Concert Hall. The Smetana is an architectural masterpiece, a mix of carved white stone and gold, illuminated by hundreds of lights, and with frescos by Karel Spillar adorning the walls. Leading from the concert hall are a number of smaller rooms - many of which are ornately decorated. 

the Smetana Concert Hall

one of the parlours

the ornate ceiling in the parlour above

another ornate ceiling

an Art Nouveau fish bowl - no fish in it though

this picture is for you, Ashleigh - it is on the fish bowl above

another ornate ceiling

a beautiful indoor fountain

another ornate ceiling

another ornate ceiling

and another one

the entrance to the Municipal House

 We finished our visit to Municipal House with afternoon tea of coffee and cake! You should have seen the cakes we got to choose from!

These were all so delicious (and no calories of course!)

 From the Municipal House we headed back to the hotel for some down time! Now we are off to a "Welcome Dinner"

If today has been any indication of what is to come, then we are going to have many highlights during this holiday. Tomorrow we are going to tour Terezin Concentration Camp Memorial. 

Doreen