Prague: A Walk To Prague Castle & St. Vitus Cathedral.
I knew it would be a long walking day.
To me, Prague is a walking city. I have felt this way about a lot of cities I have visited. I would rather walk miles and miles to get somewhere, allowing myself to see-hear-smell-feel-taste the city as I pass through it. And even though Prague seemed to have solid public transportation, I knew I would be using none of it.
And I knew I needed to strap on my sneakers to get to this place...
High on top of that hill is the Prague Castle and the St. Vitus Cathedral. The cathedral part is the gothic-looking section with the towers and turquoise points.
In order to get there, I would have to walk over two miles... Which is no big deal. But a good chunk of it would be uphill.
AWESOME!
Walking through the old town was easy and charming. The streets of Prague are lively starting early in the day. Then you cross the Charles Bridge...
It was began being built almost 700 years ago. And while there are many bridges crossing the Vltava River, this one is the most special.
It has a nice view...
And there are many statues of saints that span it at points...
This one I liked a lot. If you look closely at Mary's face, you can see the spider webs...
I just find that so special. I love aged things. And the details in the character.
Once I crossed the bridge, I had to ascend the hill. It took a while. But the view at the top was pretty...
I love the brick-red color of the roofs of Prague.
The palace itself was charming. Lots of statues...
And I witnessed the changing of the guard. Then I walked through the garden area...
Eventually, I circled back around and found the cathedral portion... Which stands out the most.
It's stunning. The details in the arches... The gargoyles...
The clock tower...
The baroque towers...
The inside of the cathedral was free to walk into. There were parts that you had to pay to see. I didn't go to those parts, because I found the open area beautiful... With it's arched ceilings...
And the illumination from the windows...
And while they can't even begin to hold a candle to the ones from La Sagrada Familia in Barcelona... The stained glass was gorgeous.
Definitely worth the walk up the hill. There was even a Starbucks right outside the palace to relax at!
Comments
thanks for sharing your travel stories, I really find your short but poignant impressions interesting, especially since I know most places you visit currently in Europe from many of of my own travels or of course in case of Berlin, my home and am always thankful for more not so obvious reasons to re-visit.
Most of these travels are some time ago, as these were easy&affordable destinations since growing up or for e.g. Prague even during childhood before the German reunification and lifted travel restrictions. These days I finally get to do some longer/ further travels exploring other corners of the world and just sometimes drop over to Rome/ London etc to see or join friends.
One thing though (or maybe I mistook sarcasm): you really find it ok, to have these starbucks sitting everywhere, when there is the great European and in this case bohemian coffee house tradition;b... sometimes even at risk due to foreign coffee chains...? Dont get me wrong, I do frequent sb as a safe bet for a togo or in some coffee-phobe(e.g. China) areas of the world, but here in Europe and to relax I'd always recommend the local bars/cafe's unless you feel home sick of course.
If still time, I highly recommend the really easy and not long but so impressive tour of the Prague Charles University Library (Clementinum with astronomical tower), the first public one in the world...it is another great view from up there, too. Thanks g
thanks for sharing your travel stories, I really find your short but poignant impressions interesting, especially since I know most places you visit currently in Europe from many of of my own travels or of course in case of Berlin, my home and am always thankful for more not so obvious reasons to re-visit.
Most of these travels are some time ago, as these were easy&affordable destinations since growing up or for e.g. Prague even during childhood before the German reunification and lifted travel restrictions. These days I finally get to do some longer/ further travels exploring other corners of the world and just sometimes drop over to Rome/ London etc to see or join friends.
One thing though (or maybe I mistook sarcasm): you really find it ok, to have these starbucks sitting everywhere, when there is the great European and in this case bohemian coffee house tradition;b... sometimes even at risk due to foreign coffee chains...? Dont get me wrong, I do frequent sb as a safe bet for a togo or in some coffee-phobe(e.g. China) areas of the world, but here in Europe and to relax I'd always recommend the local bars/cafe's unless you feel home sick of course.
If still time, I highly recommend the really easy and not long but so impressive tour of the Prague Charles University Library (Clementinum with astronomical tower), the first public one in the world...it is another great view from up there, too. Thanks g