Prague - The Place

The Kenneys were not on vacation and needed to get some work done, so Bruce & I set out on our own for some sightseeing.  Bob gave us a map and told us about some areas we might want to check out.  What a nice surprise we had.  I think Prague is one of the most beautiful cities in the world!  It is very clean and so colorful.
We had a little bit of trouble figuring things out at first.  Signs everywhere were in English and Czech, but our trusty Michelin Green Guide was in French.  It caused a bit of confusion for us.  But we persevered and found our way to Prague Castle with St. Vitus Cathedral.

Prague Castle

Bruce captured this motorcade leaving the castle.  Not sure who was in there, but we will say it was the President!

St. Vitas Cathedral

Entertainment in the square outside the castle

As we headed down the hill towards Mala Strana, we had some great views.

Strahov Monastery on the hill, where we ate dinner the night before

The American Embassy (always good to know where that is!)

St. Nicholas Cathedral

St. Nicholas Cathedral

St. Nicholas

I know I've already said this, but we were impressed with how colorful Prague is.  We are not used to seeing so many colors.  We think France is beautiful, but this was very different.

The main hub for the tram system and right in front of Starbuck's coffee

Starbuck's Coffee

Even though we are used to the "play money" in France, Czech money really threw us off.  Just seeing  numbers that high makes you afraid to buy anything.  In reality, it was much cheaper to eat in Czech Republic than France.

Colorful buildings in Mala Strana

A view back towards Mala Strana from Charles Bridge

We then crossed over the Charles Bridge into Old Town.  Again, the colors were amazing!

Old Town Square

Astronomical Clock - the 3rd oldest in the world and the only one still working

St. Nicholas Church Old Town

Monument of Jan Hus and the Tyn Church

Old Town Square

 Next, we passed by the Rudolfinum Concert Hall then entered the Jewish Sector.

Golden muse column and statue outside Rudolfinum Concert Hall.  Prague Castle in background.

Jewish Sector

Jewish Town Hall clock

Jewish Museum

Jewish Cemetery

Jewish Town Hall and the Old-New Synagogue

"Good King Wenceslas looked out on the feast of Stephen..."  We sing this song at Christmastime, but I never knew King Wenceslas was the patron saint of the Czech Republic.  Wenceslas Square is a very busy place in Prague.  It's a great place for people watching!

Statue of Wenceslas in front of the National Museum

Wenceslas looking out over Wenceslas Square

Our walk through Prague also included ...

The National Theater

Lots of bridges across the river Vltava

An interesting theme I have seen in all the major cities I have visited in Europe is movie/TV production.  In Paris, I stumbled onto a film being shot with Julia Louis Dreyfuss.  In Lucerne, we saw a German production crew filming a movie for cable TV.  Now in Prague, we got up early to go see the Charles Bridge without a lot of people on it and were asked to move on quickly because an American crew was filming a scene for a show called "Missing".  Just wait until you find out what happened in Ireland!

Production crew filming an American film "Missing"

And finally, we saw the Charles Bridge, the only thing in Prague I knew about.

Here are a few of the statues along the bridge.

John the Baptist

17th century crucifix

St. Christopher carrying baby Jesus

Joseph with a young Jesus

St. John of Matha, St. Felix of Valois, & St. Ivan

The Mala Strana end of the the bridge

Here is an interesting fact I learned about the Charles Bridge.  King Charles was very superstitious so he consulted a numerologist about when the best day to start building the bridge would be.  Following the advice he received, the first stone was placed in 1357, on the 9th of July at 5:31 in the morning.  This follows the pattern of numbers: 135797531.  I'll always remember this date!

The Old Town entrance to the bridge

Silhouette of Prague, the city of 1,000 spires

We ended our tour with a walk through Letna Park where we could look back over the city.  Such a pretty place.