Prague - Day 1

16-06-2011

The public transport is on a strike today, our sturdy legs were put into good use.

Made our way to the Prague Castle in the morning. Having read quite a few unflattering reviews about the place we reached there with mixed feelings. Sometimes low expectations leads to a better experience.

There are guards at the entrance, came back at midday to watch the change of guard with all it's fanfare. There were trumpets being blown, drums rolling, quite a few soldiers marching and obviously a large crowd watching.

First stop inside was the St. Vitus Cathedral, it has taken many centuries to complete it. There are quite a few tombs in here, very nicely explained to us by an elderly gentleman working there.

Then through the Royal Palace, has an air of abandonment as it has been unoccupied for so long. The annoying thing about the castle is that even having bought a ticket for the whole castle, further charges come up along the way. The Ludwig's wing has an interesting history with men being thrown out of the windows for speaking up against the rulers.

A toy museum is also in the grounds of the palace. There is statue of a young boy in the front courtyard . I am not sure of the exact significance but a lot of people rubbed his penis ( due to that it was golden and shiny), for once we did not follow the crowd.

After visiting the other cathedral and palaces, ended up on the Golden Lane. I enjoyed this quite a lot. Sharpshooters lived here, the houses, shops , the passageway within the wall and the towers are open to the public. There is a display of knight's armors, spears, swords and various other weapons. There is also a setup where target shooting is possible using a crossbow, very Robin Hoodish. Jeevan did pretty well.

St. Nicholas' church in the lesser town is beautiful with it's dome and tower. Paid entrance, more a concert hall these days than a place of worship.

Everything here has an entrance fee, including Vrtbovska Zahrada, the terraced gardens of a small palace, very serene. Saw a lovely bridal couple having their pictures taken.

The next thing was free, Church of our Lady Victorious. It has the wax statue of baby Jesus, Bambino di Praga. Met an Indian priest from Mangalore ( 50 km away from our university) there, he was quite chatty.

Walked on the famous Charles Bridge. Loved looking at the various statues lining both sides, each has a history behind it. Rubbed and wished upon St. John of Nepomunk's statue ( he was thrown off this bridge). The towers at both ends of the bridge have men dressed in medieval clothes and blowing trumpets every hour. 12 heads were displayed here a few centuries ago, people beheaded for going against the rulers and their religion.

Thought about going for a concert to the Obecni Dum ( grandiose building) but after watching the people going through, we realized we did not have appropriate clothes.

Walked by the Powder tower and decided to call it a night as tiredness suddenly descended upon us.












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