prague, part two.
We only had one full day in Prague so we had to squeeze as much sightseeing as we could on this day. So, sorry about the onslaught of photos in this post! I’ve already cut a bunch out too. After an all-you-can-eat breakfast at our hostel, we hopped on the tram and took the metro to the city centre of Prague. We breezed through a few shops in the centre and then, took off on the tram to see some of the city’s amazingly beautiful sights.
Our first stop was the Metronome that overlooks the Vltava river. There’s a spectacular view of the city at the Metronome but you’ve got to march up a bunch of flights of stairs (so tiring for an unfit person like me). There’s also a ton of graffiti on the cement and stone, so visually, it was quite interesting to see that in this area.
Next, we went to visit the Prague Castle, which is the biggest ancient castle in the world according to the Guinness Book of Records. We walked through the courtyard and saw the change of guards. As we are cheapos, we didn’t bother getting tickets to go inside some of the places in the castle like the tower or the cathedral. It’s a beautiful castle and I love all the statues and sculptures found all around the castle.
Inside a well
Tidbit of information: my buddy, Simon, said that this was used in the new Mission Impossible film but it’s used as the Kremlin.
Amazing view of the city from the St. Wenceslas vineyard
Market in St. Wenceslas vineyard
Sweet bread
After walking down the old castle steps, we made our next stop at the Lennon Wall. I actually thought it was going to be a lot larger but it’s still pretty sweet. The wall is covered in colourful graffiti, some of which is inspired by John Lennon and the Beatles. I regret not bringing a sharpie so I could have written something on the wall…
Space invader!
Next up was the famed Charles Bridge! I’m going to sound like a broken record, but the bridge is so beautiful, as are the views from the bridge. The bridge itself is quite wide and so as you walk, you can stop and have a look at all the kiosks and vendor booths running along the pathway of the bridge. Thirty statues decorate the bridge and some have some really beautiful gold detailing. Definitely don’t miss this!
The sun began to set as we made our way back to the Old Town Square. The night market was in full swing when we got back and both Michelle and Houssine got some food to eat. It was actually really cold and the temperature hovered around 0 degrees. We had to keep walking around the market and the surrounding areas just to keep warm while we waited to meet up with Karizza and Carlo. Karizza and Carlo are a couple of pals of mine from SFU and they’re on exchange in Vienna.
The Astronomical Clock
We finally met up with Karizza and Carlo around dinnertime and we ate at a self-serve place called Czech Kitchen. The food was mediocre, at best, but still cheap. I had the goulash with rice and it wasn’t really enough for me, so Houssine let me finish his. After dinner, we went on a hunt for a cake place that Karizza had spotted earlier in the day. We walked and walked but didn’t find the place and so, we popped into a café/restaurant/bar place called Café-Café. Go figure. I had a delicious hot chocolate with whipped cream while others shared a few slices of different cakes. Great way to end a long day of sightseeing, in my opinion!
Final post on Prague will be up by the end of the day. Hope you’re not sick of hearing about my travels!