Prague: Day 2

Despite the cold, our first full day proved to be really satisfying. We woke up pretty early, ate a fulfilling Czech breakfast and we were out the door by 9:30, ready to do some exploring.

We first walked up to Petrin Hill, which is a little touristy village very close to our hotel. We rode up a funicular tram to the top of the village where there was a small replica of the Eiffel Tower. Two hundred something steps later we were overlooking all of Prague, and had the most beautiful views of the city.

Also I made Alex pay for tickets for a mirror labyrinth. It was exactly what you would expect – a small building with a small mirror maze, probably more for little kids, one historical painting to justify the building, and another room with silly mirrors. I though it was great…Alex was a little less enthusiastic, but it was still a fun time.

Afterward we walked around some nice village-like streets, walking in and out of little shops. We also visited a small art gallery, we are thinking about getting a piece of art as our souvenir but Alex has a specific idea, like a painting of Prague during the winter as we are here during that time. We have a couple days, hopefully we will come across something really nice.

To warm up, we stopped for a bit in a little café an enjoyed a great cup of cream of mushroom soup and really rich hot chocolate. We finished in time to witness the changing of the guard at Prague Castle, said to be Prague’s most popular tourist site. The guards are much like the British guards, unmovable and fun to take pictures next to!

We paid for the long tour in the castle, which included passes to the Old Royal Palace, the Story of Prague Castle, the Basilica of St. George, the National Gallery and the Golden Lane. And everyone had access to the Cathedral. The Cathedral was really something else. It was like pictures you find in history books of really beautiful churches. This one was in the Gothic style and it took five hundred years to complete it.

The Cathedral was huge, over 160 meters long, and housed some of the most beautiful displays of stained glass and artwork I have seen. This is not saying much becuase I haven't seen many ancient cathedrals, but it was definitely worth seeing. It was pretty crowded, but all of the artwork and mini chapels surrounding the nave justified the crowds. We invested in the audio tour of the Castle and the Cathedral alone took up soundbits 1-25. Most of it was history of the cathedral, and the saints, members of royalty and patrons buried there, or memorialized in mini chapels.

The artwork in the National Gallery is alone worth the visit. A lot of religious-themed paintings are housed there, but there were a lot of Bohemian historical paintings as well. In the Story of Prague Castle they displayed skeletons of people buried in the castle community, as well as the artifacts and dress they were buried with. The displays, among many other things, illustrated some very interesting parts of their historical culture.

We will post pictures as well, but here is a link with some history and pictures of Prague Castle: http://www.prague.net/prague-castle

By the time we left it was getting dark already. Alex wanted to buy our tickets to Vienna ahead of time, just in case, so we utilized the public transport (which is almost as extensive as New York’s) and rode the metro down to the train station.

Then we finally headed out to get lunch/dinner. We were both in the mood for Italian, and after a brisk stroll trying to find the nearest tram we luckily found a restaurant called Pizzeria Coloseum, and sat down to eat. Alex ordered Lasagna and I had the best plate of Spinach Ravioli with Cheese…one of the best Italian meals I have eaten. The price was really good as well. Unfortunately, we ate pretty late so we didn’t get brats today, but I am definitely looking forward to one tomorrow!

So our long day ended with a brief tram ride back to the hotel, us immediately jumping under the covers to warm up, and almost directly after lying down we feel asleep for a refreshing two hour nap.

Our itinerary tomorrow includes attending mass (not sure of the church yet), hitting up the Jewish Quarter, Christmas concert in Wenceslas Square and who knows what else!