From that very same spot you can see the US embassy. The white building with the flag is on the property on the hillside gardens and the embassy is right below it. Pretty neat for an embassy!
We spent a lot of time in the Market Square as that is where the main Christmas Market is held. I will blog on our nightlife later this week where you will see more of the Market Square, but here is a daytime look with the fountain.
Near our hotel and near Wenceslas Square is the old city hall building. It is huge and quite beautiful for how old it is. In fact, the entire city is so beautiful as it remained untouched during the war.
In the castle city part of town we saw some amazing sights...and that is where most of the most popular ones are. The house below is adjacent to Prague Castle and is the city provided home to the area's Archbishop. Its quite impressive and extravagant for a simple holy man, if you ask me.
And then there is the main entrance to the castle. We actually saw the changing of the guard the next day at noon and they marched right past us. If you want to see that you can check out the video on TJ's flickr account. This city is full of statues and spires, and the castle is no exception.
Inside the castle area includes the new palace, the old palace, St. Vitus Cathedral, St. George Basilica, and the Golden Lane to name only a handful of buildings. My favorite was the Basilica of St. George pictured below. I liked it because it is Romanesque and is the oldest and most well preserved churches in Prague (built in the 8th century). Its not as neat on the outside as inside, but it is the orangey-red building below.
I like the inside because it is small and clean for such an old church...and completely quiet. I love it! It is also where the Grandmother of Saint Wenceslas is buried.
The other and more famous church on the grounds is St. Vitus Cathedral. It is impressive, if you like really big, giant cathedrals. Here is a front view...
The back side (which faces the Basilica of St. George)...
And the interior. And it is really as big as it looks.
I am kind of over the really ornate cathedrals, but I did LOVE the stained glass. The colors reminded me of Gaudi and his stained glass in the masterpiece, La Sagrada Familia.
Probably the most ornate pieces are the memorial crypts where significant people are buried. Here are a couple of examples.
It is pretty on the inside, but I prefer the outside and at night. Like this photo TJ caught at dusk.
Behind all of the major sights in the castle, there is the oldest street in Prague...the Golden Lane. Now the houses are tourist stores full of medievil stuff and crystals, though they originally kept the families of the castle marksmen.
The castle area is across the river from the old town (market area), and the foot bridge that connects the two is called the St. Charles Bridge. This is the gate.
It is wildly busy with people, tourists, pets, and entertainers. And there are huge statues every few meters too. Kinda like these guys.
And from the bridge you can clearly see Prague Castle.
And the river views aren't so bad either.
Back in the Market Square there is a very tall Bell Tower that we climbed our last day. Here is part of it...the clock part.
From the top of the tower there are pretty awesome views of Prague...
We stayed near Wenceslas Square, named after one of the most revered people of Prague, St. Wenceslas. At the very end is the National Museum. Its a really pretty building from the outside...we were unable to go in because of the holiday, but it is supposed to be a great celebration of the history of Prague. Maybe next time.
It is pretty on the inside, but I prefer the outside and at night. Like this photo TJ caught at dusk.
Behind all of the major sights in the castle, there is the oldest street in Prague...the Golden Lane. Now the houses are tourist stores full of medievil stuff and crystals, though they originally kept the families of the castle marksmen.
The castle area is across the river from the old town (market area), and the foot bridge that connects the two is called the St. Charles Bridge. This is the gate.
It is wildly busy with people, tourists, pets, and entertainers. And there are huge statues every few meters too. Kinda like these guys.
And from the bridge you can clearly see Prague Castle.
And the river views aren't so bad either.
Back in the Market Square there is a very tall Bell Tower that we climbed our last day. Here is part of it...the clock part.
From the top of the tower there are pretty awesome views of Prague...
We stayed near Wenceslas Square, named after one of the most revered people of Prague, St. Wenceslas. At the very end is the National Museum. Its a really pretty building from the outside...we were unable to go in because of the holiday, but it is supposed to be a great celebration of the history of Prague. Maybe next time.
I think its very easy to see that we had a great holiday in Prague, and enjoyed much of the city. We did enjoy it much further at night as I hope to blog about next!
Auf Wiedersehen
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