Day Twelve - Sunday 19 October 2014 - Melnik and Prague, Czech Republic

At 9:30 am -- after breakfast we bid "adieu" to the Clara Schumann and board the bus for Prague.  Alexandra, our guide, educates us about Prague and the country it resides in:   40% of the Czech Republic's Gross Domestic Product comes from three areas:   Manufacturing cars, trains, and scooters,  Beer production (more beer is consumed here than any other country in the world) and Glass -- from fine crystal made into glassware and jewelry to inexpensive Christmas decorations.    Prague is a city of 1.3 million people with 25% of their income generated by tourism.   The Vltava River runs through the middle of Prague, which escaped major bombing during World War II leaving most of its beautiful architecture in tact.    On arrival, we stop at our hotel for a comfort stop and to drop off  luggage.

Phil on Old Town Square, Prague.

Our city tour begins about 10:45 am -- first to old town where we see the Vyscherad Castle dating to the founding of the city in the 9th century -- it sits high on a hill with good visibility along the Vltava -- inside is St. Peter and Paul Church.   Alexandra takes us to Prague's Old Town Square -- a large plaza with lovely buildings around its perimeter housing restaurants and shops.   

Prague's Astronomical Clock

Vltava River with Charles Bridge in background.

 Also on this square is the Prague Astronomical Clock -- installed on the southern wall of Old Town's City Hall in 1410.  It is the third oldest astronomical clock in the world -- and the only one still working.  The clock has three main components:  the astronomical dial representing the position of the Sun and the Moon, the "Walk of the Apostles" representing the 12 apostles and other figures which parade on the hour, and a calendar dial with medallions representing the months.    As the noon hour approaches -- the crowd gathers to watch as the clock does what it was made to do more than 600 years ago. Here is a link to my video to see the clock in motion:   http://youtu.be/9NvhvCmxunU.

 

We leave old town walking across the Charles Bridge.   This pedestrian bridge, commissioned by Charles IV in 1357 and completed more than 50 years later,  spans sixteen arches and is lined on either side with thirty baroque statues of religious figures.   It is packed with tourists, street artists and vendors selling wares from food to jewelry.  It does give one the best view of the Vltava River as well as both sides of the city.

Once over the bridge -- we stop for lunch on our own.   Dave decided to go back to the hotel so Patte, Phil and I find a nice quiet place called "Jo's" --- we had goulash with boiled bread, a Czech traditional dish, it was okay and filled the void.   Patte and I pop into a few shops on our way back to the meeting place -- and of course we bump into Beth who is way ahead of us on the shopping front.

Creepy!

Patte and Beth at the Baby's Behind!

After lunch -- as we stroll through a park to meet our bus, we pass David Cerny's   sculpture called "Babies" -- these are huge crawling babies without faces -- apparently there are ten of these throughout the city -- some are crawling up a TV tower.   You should google him -- a Czech, he's famous for his controversial public sculptures -- which offend and amuse at the same time.  I must admit I found these sculptures to be somewhat creepy.

Spires of St Vitus Cathedral loom over Prague Castle.

Our next stop is Prague Castle  -- the largest ancient castle in the world.  The size of seven football fields this complex has been built and renovated over the course of thirteen centuries.   The President of the Czech Republic and the Archbishop of Prague both have residences here -- as well as numerous government and church offices.    The Metropolitan Cathedral of Saints Vitus, Wenceslaus and Adalbert but called St. Vitus Cathedral is smack dab in the middle of this complex on a very large plaza.  Founded in 1344 and the third religious building on the site -- it took 600 years to be completed just in time for the St. Wenceslas Jubilee in 1929.   Upon exiting the castle complex, we come to another plaza  and a  great view of the city --- it seems like you really can see forever.

Dinner at Billy Konecek's in Prague!

 Back at the hotel about 5:00 pm -- there is no rest for the weary -- we are on the 6:00 pm shuttle bus back to Prague's Old Town Square for dinner reservations at Billy Konecek's housed in a building on the square which dates to the 12th century.

There are fourteen of us (Jim and Jeanne from California join for dinner).  Phil has done it again -- all of our meals are good -- and the ambiance is medieval as we are down about three stories in the cellar section of the building.

Back on the square -- we are fortunate to catch the last night of the 2014 Prague Light Show.  Similar to Berlin --- a medley of colorful shapes and forms are projected onto buildings throughout the city.    As we wait for the shuttle bus back to the hotel we enjoy this magnificent show.

Our room at the Corinthia Hotel is quite nice -- too bad we're only here for one night.  Tomorrow we are off to Krakow, Poland.

Thanks for Reading.

Pat

One more thing -- during our walking tour in Prague we stopped at the Lennon Wall in Grand Priory Square.   Since the 1980's it has been filled with graffiti inspired by lyrics from Beatles songs.   It was, at best, an irritation to the Communists since young Czech's used the wall to write their grievances in the late 1980's.    The wall is owned by the Knights of Malta who have allowed the writings on the wall to continue.  It is now a place where global ideas are expressed.

Pat by the tree at the Lennon Wall in Prague.