Above - the Old Town centre with the 'Tyn' Church in the background.
Above - The astronomical clock.
Above - Inside the Cathedral by the Castle.
Above - Prague's mini Eiffel Tower.
Above - The view from the top of one of the many towers that you can climb in Prague. Here you can see the St Charles Bridge.
Above - The Old Town.
Tuesday morning, 7h45, the alarm clock sounds. I had breakfast after getting dressed – cereal, orange juice, tea, cheese on toast and yoghurt, whilst watching Sky News in English in an attempt to catch up on what’s been happening in the world recently. I left the hostel just after 9h15 and walked in the sun to the tram stop where I caught the tram to the centre. After a little careful map reading I stumbled across yet another Old Town! I went in the Kostel matky boží prěd Týnem (Notre Dame Church) which is actually a gothic cathedral built in 1365. I walked around the Old Square – Staroměstská Náměsti. I sat and had an expensive but delicious hot chocolate opposite the Astronomical Clock and the Town Hall - Staroměstská radnice which dates from the early15th century, and watched as grey clouds rolled in to replace the blue sky. I thought rain was imminent. After the Old Square I headed over the river and towards the castle where I queued to go in to the Cathedral – Chrám sv. Víta, which was beautiful, the insides were so impressive with huge stained glass windows. I walked around and saw so much of the city. I was impressed by it all. Towards 14h, after wandering around since 9h30, I stopped at a restaurant near Loreta (yet another church) and had a three course meal. I had bohemian onion and cheese soup with croutons and a glass of orange juice followed by a mushroom, cheese and tomato omelette and then for desert I had apple strudel, chocolate sauce, cream and what can only be described as crème anglaise and a coffee. The quality of the food was high, it was a good restaurant and relatively cheap. The bill came to 425kč which, just because it’s such a high number is quite horrifying. The thought of paying 425 of anything for anything is scary. Until you remember that it’s the equivalent of about €17 or £12 – not bad, eh?! After lunch I continued walking. I made my way to Petřín where the Czech equivalent of the Eiffel Tower can be found. It was built for the Jubilee Exhibition in 1891 by F Prášil. It’s 60m high and has 299 steps leading to the top. It’s strange, so many cities not only have such an originally named Old Town but so many also have an Eiffel Tower replica – Lyon and now Prague! And all built to receive radio signals! I walked up to the top but didn’t climb it; I saw the cable car but didn’t take it. I chose instead to walk back down like I’d walked up. I made my way to Karlův Most – St Charles Bridge, and crossed the River Vltava. The St Charles Bridge was built to replace the Judith Bridge which was damaged by floods in 1342. It was named after Charles IV and construction was completed in 1402. Between 1683 and 1928 30 sculptures and statues of Saints were set on the bridge, many of them have stories attached. For example there is one statue marking the spot where someone was thrown off the bridge many centuries ago. If you touch the dog on the statue and make a wish, it’s said it will come true. You can see on the statue where so many people have touched the dog – he’s become shiny. The bridge is 515m long and 9,5m wide. It was severly damaged in the 1890 floods but the largest flood in the last 500 years in 2002 did not damage it. Across the bridge I came to the Old Square where I’d been in the morning. On the bridge itself were market stalls and musicians. Prague has so much culture, there’s so much to this city. I was nothing short of impressed. I bought postcards and two fridge magnets from one of the many souvenir shops. It’s true that there are a lot of tourists in Prague but really, there are so many souvenir shops, all selling exactly the same, is it really necessary?! Glass would appear to be the speciality around here. They sell it everywhere. I caught the tram back to the hostel at about 19h. I’d been walking walking walking for the best part of 10 hours. I was, I think it’s fair to say, exhausted. I took and shower and then met two new people in our dormitory. They are from Marseille!! Small world.
