Prague

When we arrived in Prague Thursday afternoon, we were really tired.  I had slept for an hour on the flight from Paris to here, and Katya had not slept at all.  Nevertheless, we found the shuttle bus to the middle of the city, on which Katya, no longer able to keep her eyes open, slept briefly.  In retrospect, it would have been better to hire a taxi to take us directly to our hotel, but we got to see Old Town as we pulled our wheeled luggage over the cobblestone streets to Karlov Most (Charles Bridge).  Our hotel was just on the other side, although we did not realize this and walked right past it and continued on a few blocks before asking for directions and turning around.

Sleep-deprived, shivering Katya on Karlov Most

The Hotel U Tri Pstrosu (the Hotel of Three Ostriches) is in a lovely old building, and our suite is gorgeous.  Perhaps even more importantly, the beds are really comfortable!  Katya took another short nap before we went our for dinner.  Still somewhat dazed, we wondered along the winding pedestrian streets close to our hotel, looking at menus but unable to decide.  Katya was "freezing," which made matters worse for her.  Finally, we settled on an outdoor restaurant across from our hotel and enjoyed warm and filling pasta.  There was a heater by our table and Katya snuggled up in the fleece blankets provided on the chairs.  We shuffled across the cobblestones and climbed the two flights of stairs to our comfortable room, where we were tucked under our duvets by 8 p.m.

On Friday morning, we arose at 6 a.m.  The skies, which had been overcast the day before, were a brilliant blue.  I was ready first, so I ventured out to Karlov Most, which, unlike the evening before, was practically deserted.  The slanting morning rays highlighted the details on the many statues of saints and royalty along the wide path of the bridge.  Swans floated along the smooth surface of the Vltava River.  Katya met me on the far side of the bridge and we walked back together to the hotel, where we enjoyed a large and delicious buffet breakfast.

Karlov Most with Hradcany Castle in the background

Small canal off the Vlaava River from Karlov Most

By 7:30, we were headed through the streets of Mala Strana (Lesser Town), climbing steadily up to Hradcany Castle.  We spent the morning and most of the afternoon there, visiting the Old Royal Palace; The Story of Prague Museum; the Romanesque Basilica of St. George; the Rosenberg Palace, which served as the Institute of Noblewomen; rooms in Golden Lane and the Powder Tower with exhibits documenting military and political history, with suits of armor, swords and other weapons, as well as the history of the Castle Guards; St. Vitus's Cathedral; and the tiny and colorful shops and former homes along Golden Lane, which were inhabited by goldsmiths, seamstresses, herbalists, writers and artists during one historical period and by the guards for the prisons during another.  The torture chambers with various apparatus were in a tower at one end of Golden Lane.

Apse of St. Vitus's Cathedral

St. Wenceslas's Chapel in St. Vitus's Cathedral

From the ramparts surrounding the castle, there are wonderful, iconic views of the red roofed buildings of the city of Prague and the wide river.  They were a great place to rest our feet from the cobblestones and our eyes from sensory overload.

Male Strana from the Castle

After a late lunch at a small cafe within the castle complex, we set out to explore the Royal Gardens.  Roaming rather aimlessly, we ended up in Letna Park, one of the large open spaces within the city.  Wanting to get to our hotel to rest our feet, we seemed to be getting further away.  We could see Karlov Most from many viewpoints but the distance to it kept expanding.  Finally, following the signs to the Centrum, we descended the hill and reached the river, where we crossed Cechuv Most into Josefov, the old Jewish Quarter.  The streets and buildings seem the same as others in the Old Town rather than having any distinctively Jewish characteristics.  Behind the facades, however, there is much history, including that of the Holocaust.  We did look in on the Old Jewish Cemetery, with its slanting stones rising up from the long green grass.

Before crossing Karlov Most, we stopped in at the Church of St. Peter of Porcini, a Baroque building with stunning altars and architectural details.

main alter at the church of St. Peter of Porcini

At our hotel, Katya collapsed on the bed for another nap, and I planned the rest of our day.  After an hour of resting our feet, we once again crossed Karlov Most.  By this time of day, the bridge had become quite lively, with street vendors peddling jewelry and art, Hare Krishnas dancing and chanting to lure converts, and buskers entertaining the throngs of tourists.  The lively popular rock music played by three violinists, a cello player and a percussionist attracted our attention.  The quality of their musical performance was excellent, and they had a very engaging rapport with the audience.

Street musicians on Karlov Most

We wandered, unencumbered by luggage, through Old Town again, stopping to purchase a trdelnik, a Czech pastry made by taking a rope of sweet, eggy dough and wrapping it around a metal barrel about three inches in diameter.  This roll is placed over hot coals to bake it.  When it is crisp and lightly browned on the outside, it is removed from the cylinder and rolled in cinammon sugar and slivered almonds.

Trdelnik being prepared

Katya enjoying a trdelnik

Our destination was the main train station, which we reached by leaving the tourist packed main wide streets to wander along quiet, narrower lanes.  There we made reservations for the overnight train to Budapest, departing around midnight on Saturday.  Having accomplished our mission, we walked over to Wenceslas Square, which is really a very wide boulevard running for about four blocks, with department stores, name brand stores and restaurants on either side.  At the end, we turned left toward the river and walked along it to Karlov Most.  We had dinner in our hotel's restaurant and went to bed early again.

Statue of Saint Wenceslas

My intention was to get up early again to see the city before it was thronged by crowds.  However, when I peeked out through the drapes at 6:30, I saw that the sky was not the brilliant blue of the previous morning.  I needed nothing more than this to entice me back to the warmth of my comfortable bed.  Katya and I slept until 9 a.m. today, had breakfast downstairs and are now ready to pack up to leave this hotel and enjoy our last day in Prague.  As I end this, the New Orleans style jazz band that greeted us as we first entered our hotel has fired up again with its fast-paced music coming through our open window.  Life is so good!