PRAGUE Day 2

Day 2 in Prague started with a nice breakfast buffet in our hostel's lobby. Nothing fancy, but it hit the spot.

I definitely took advantage of the "all-you-can-eat" tagline.

Another vibrantly blue sky greeted us as we headed out to explore the other side of the Vltava River. A great thing about Prague, or at least the parts we visited, is that it is very walk-able. We only got on the tram once all weekend.

Bundled up!

Vltava River

Soon we were at the Charles Bridge, which was commissioned for construction in 1357.  It connects Old Town to Mala Strana, the location of the Prague Castle. The path was bustling with bodies.

The Charles Bridge

The Charles Bridge

Walking across

Baroque-style statues lined the bridge

Group shot!

Our first stop was the Lennon Wall. During the totalitarian era, John Lennon was viewed as a hero by young Central and Eastern European pacifists. When the famed Beatles member was killed in 1980, a painting of him appeared on this wall, accompanied by lyrics and notes. The police washed it off, but they were unable to keep away the rebellious youth for long. Illegal graffiti was continuously added late at night. Now filled with Lennon-inspired words and song lyrics, the wall commemorates both this famed musician and the non-violent rebellions of the Czech youth.

The Lennon Wall at Velkoprevorske Namesti (say that five times fast)

We all live in a yellow submarine

My artsy pic in front of the artsy wall

Next up was the most important cultural monument in the country: the Prague Castle. Founded in 880 and rebuilt by Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV in the mid 1300s, it is the oldest castle in Europe. It was home to the Czech kings and princes, and now is the seat of the Czech Republic's president.

The trek to the castle is a bit arduous; the stairs leading up to the majestic building contain 297 steps! I didn't mind being out of breath when I was greeted with this panoramic of the city:

Beautiful views from Prague Castle

We bought tickets that allowed us to visit four parts of the area: Old Royal Palace, St. George's Basilica, Powder Tower, and Rosenberg Palace.  The building interiors were exquisitely decorated with stained glass windows and gold moldings. We went into one room that included the "crown jewels," but after I read the information plaque next to the display, I revealed to my group that the crown was a plastic replica. They weren't too happy with me after that buzz kill moment. :) At least I didn't blurt out the truth about the tooth fairy too.

Entrance to the Old Royal Palace

St Vitus Cathedral

Decorations in St Vitus Cathedral

The tomb of John of Nepomuk, a national saint of the Czech Republic

Old Royal Palace

Inside the Old Royal Palace

St George's Basilica

Ceiling in St. George's Basilica

As the sun began to set, we headed back across the Charles Bridge. The capital is even more beautiful with the cotton candy blue-pink sky, don't you think?

Our hostel recommended a restaurant to us, but it was so filled with smoke we could barely see. Unfortunately, there are a ton of smokers in Prague and almost no restrictions on smoking in establishments. My hair and clothes were saturated with the smell of cigarettes by the end of the weekend--yuck. One massive laundry trip and several shampoo-ings later, I'm thankfully as clean and smoke-free as can be!

Instead, we decided to pick a random restaurant on our own and ended up at U Ceskych Panu. It turned out to be a medieval style restaurant housed in a gothic-type cellar. I don't have any photos of the place, but here's a snapshot I found online:

The potato gnocci with cheese sauce and broccoli was yummy, but made my stomach a bit uneasy. Therefore, I only had one tiny bite of the apple streudel we ordered for dessert. Guess I'll just have to go back to Prague soon to actually enjoy their pastries. :)

Stay tuned for the final Prague post to hear about my experiences in the Jewish Quarters and how I almost wasn't allowed to leave the country!