Czechia 01: Prague, Part I
Tuesday, January 21, 2025
Yet again, Thinh and I had an early wake up this morning so we could get an early start to the day. We had booked a train to Prague that departed at 07:45, so we had to leave the hotel early to make it over to the station. Our tickets were a bit unclear as to where we were supposed to sit: we had second-class tickets, but seats assigned in the first-class section. To avoid any potential issues, we sat in the second-class section of the train. Unfortunately the train was full, so we couldn’t sit together during the journey; Thinh was sat in the row in front of me. The train ride to Prague took seven hours, during which we both napped, and I watched some Netflix.
When we reached Prague at 14:45, we took the metro into the city center. By happy chance, the metro stop was just steps away from our hotel, so we didn’t have far to walk. The hotel was the nicest one we had stayed in throughout the honeymoon (and indeed our entire trip since leaving Vietnam). The room was enormous, with a sofa, large desk, and a luxurious bathroom – a very nice surprise to be sure! The room was somewhat cold inside when we arrived and we turned up the heat on the radiators, though there wasn’t one in the main bedroom area, just in the bathroom and entryway.
Thinh and I were quite tired after the long day of traveling, on top of the early hour that we had to wake up, so we spent the remainder of the afternoon lounging in our room. At dinner time, we walked down the street to a Czech restaurant to get something to eat. I had suggested this place because they serve pork knuckle and that is one of my favorite Central European dishes; Thinh was quite keen to try it as well. We decided to order some sausages and the pork knuckle, along with sweet potato fries, all to share, for dinner. The portions were huge and we quickly realized that we’d ordered far too much to eat tonight. The sausages and fries were good, but the pork knuckle was amazing – the start of the entire meal! The crispy skin of the pork knuckle was especially tasty. It was a huge serving and we barely ate two-thirds of it before we were both full.
After dinner we decided to go for a short walk and I took Thinh over to the main square for a surprise. He was curious about where I was taking him, but I kept it a secret until we arrived. Upon reaching the square, we turned a corner and before us stood the famous astronomical clock! Thinh was very excited to see the clock because he had seen so much about it online. The astronomical clock is a 600-year-old medieval clock. It has three main pieces to it: the astronomical dial which shows the positions of the sun and moon; the Walk of the Apostles that performs hourly; and the calendar dial showing the months of the year. It is a very intricate and complex clock that is quite hard to read for a regular person, but it is nevertheless awe-inspiring.
Unexpectedly, we arrived just before the hourly Walk of the Apostles began at 20:00, so we joined the small crowd in front of the clock to watch. The show is relatively simple, but given the age of the clock, it is impressive to see what people could build so many centuries ago. Four figures stand on either side of the clock, with a skeleton (representing Death) ringing a bell to strike the hour. Between them, two small windows open and the figures of the Twelve Apostles appear and rotate through the window. Thinh enjoyed the short show and I was glad that we had the opportunity to see the clock this evening.
Since it was quite cold out tonight, we decided to return to the hotel rather than walk around anymore. We had the next few days to explore Prague, so we weren’t in a rush. Both of us went to bed early tonight so we could get some rest before starting our sightseeing in Prague in the morning.
Wednesday, January 22, 2025
Today was our first full day of sightseeing around Prague and our plan was to visit Prague Castle. We left the hotel and walked to the other side of the Vltava River. The bridge we crossed had tram lines running across it and Thinh was mesmerized by the various trams. Some of them were older tram cars, which looked pretty amongst the old buildings in the city. We spent several minutes waiting along the bridge so Thinh could take photos of the trams. The views of the city from the bridge were also nice to see as we walked around.
The weather was, once again, cold today, though obviously to be expected since it was winter. Once across the river, we started the long walk up the hill to reach the castle. Despite the walk being almost entirely uphill, which was tiring, the views throughout the walk over the city were amazing. We could see out over the entirety of Prague and could admire the beauty of the old town area. Prague has always been one of my favorite cities in Europe.
Once we reached the castle area, we walked through the narrow cobblestone street to reach one of the squares, located at the rear of St Vitus Cathedral. The Gothic-style cathedral began construction in 1344, but it was not until the 1920s that it was fully completed and consecrated. This is one of the best examples of Gothic architecture and was, by far, the most impressive church of the ones we’ve seen during our honeymoon (the one on Kosice is a close second).
Before touring the various buildings of the castle, Thinh and I stopped in at a nearby Starbucks so we could warm up. The place was packed, but Thinh was luckily able to snag a table while I waited for our drinks. It was nice to get some relief from the cold and warm up for a few minutes. We then went out to find the ticket office so we could buy a ticket to tour the various buildings. Finding the office was easier said than done because there were few signs directing tourists. We eventually found one office back the way we had come earlier. Thinh and I decided to get tickets for the ‘main circuit’ which granted us access to the four main attractions within the castle.
First on our tour of the castle was the old royal palace, located next to St Vitus Cathedral. This location had been used as a royal residence since the 12th century, but the current Renaissance building was built during the 14th century. The palace was enlarged throughout the following centuries by various kings. The Hapsburgs used the palace for coronation festivities after they succeeded to the Bohemian throne.
It was chilly inside the palace as we explored the various rooms that are open to the public. The main hall was quite large and one could easily envisage large parties and banquets taking place inside. Many of the rooms were sparsely decorated with simple furniture. For me, the most impressive room was the New Land Rolls Room. This had been used as the repository of the land titles of the kingdom, with the walls and ceiling painted with the coats of arms of the prominent clerks. The paintings were vibrant and still in great condition.
The throne room of the palace was the one that was best furnished, complete with royal portraits, benches, and the throne. The room had been host to coronations and banquets throughout history and is one of the most important rooms in the palace. In one corner of the room was a glass display case containing copies the Bohemian crown jewels. The originals are kept under tight security, with only the Czech President deciding if/when to publicly display them (which happens only rarely). The crown, scepter and orb are jewel-encrusted and covered in gold.
Outside the palace, we walked around the large square in front of St Vitus Cathedral, where we could see the different facades of the church. The side of the church had several large tile murals, along with a golden grate high up on the clock tower. It was exquisite and enhanced the beauty of the cathedral. Thinh and I then went inside the cathedral to have a look around. The cathedral was used not only for religious ceremonies, but also for the coronations of Czech kings and queens since it was built. It is also where numerous prominent people are buried. The stained glass windows throughout the church was stunning to behold, especially with them being illuminated by the light outside.
Several religious statues were placed throughout the interior of the cathedral as well. The huge organ in the rear of the church was impressive – it was too bad that there was no music playing during our visit! We walked around the entire building, circling around the main altar, where an elaborate, smaller altar was placed. A Christmas tree was still on display in the center of the church, which seemed a bit odd since it had been nearly one month since Christmas.
The third stop on our tour of the castle was at St George’s Basilica, just behind St Vitus Cathedral. Founded in the 900s, the basilica was enlarged and expanded during the 1100s and again in the late-1300s, acquiring a Romanesque style. The interior of the church is quite simple and austere, nothing at all like the St Vitus Cathedral. It’s a much small church as well, making our visit there rather short. We made a circuit around the church, but there was not much for us to see.
Our fourth, and final, stop was at Golden Lane, near to where we purchased the entrance tickets. This section of the castle was built in the 1500s as a place to house the castle guards. Later on the road and its buildings were taken over by merchants, particularly goldsmiths from whom the street gets its name. The writer Franz Kafka once stayed at a house on the lane as well! Golden Lane is flanked by small, colorful houses that now contain various exhibits and souvenir shops. Thinh and I were not terribly impressed by our time there though. While the houses were very pretty, there was not much that interested us, especially since we didn’t want to do any shopping. We looked in at some of the exhibits, but only for a brief moment. When we exited Golden Lane, we were next to a beautiful stone building that we both liked more than the lane itself.
By this point we were both very hungry and in need of something to eat. Neither of us felt like walking all the way back into town for lunch, so we decided to eat at a restaurant at the castle. Thinh ordered a goulash, and I ordered schnitzel, but both dishes were unremarkable. It was a bit surprising given that the restaurant had fantastic ratings, so this was disappointing to us both.
After lunch, we began the long walk down from the castle. Before crossing back across the river, we took a detour and strolled along the riverfront area. It was a pleasant walk, allowing us to admire the views of Prague across the river – the city truly is an amazing place! In the distance we could see Charles Bridge, which was out intended destination. Along the way we stopped at the famous “Pissing Statue” of three men ‘pissing’ into a pool, but it had been winterized and wrapped up for the season.
Before going to Charles Bridge, we walked through a lovely square surrounded by quaint buildings and over a tiny bridge that had a watermill. Around the corner was the Lenon Wall. This is a wall where people can legally do graffiti and it is covered by various artworks. The wall began after John Lennon was murdered in 1980, when an unknown artist painted a mural of Lennon’s face on the wall. Since then, others have expanded upon the artwork, making it the tourist attraction that it is today. Opposite to the Lennon Wall is the embassy of France, which is housed in one of the gorgeous buildings in the city.
Thinh and I then walked over to Charles Bridge so we could cross back across the Vltava River. The bridge itself is an architectural marvel. Construction began in the mid-130ss and took over forty years to complete. For the next four centuries, it was the only bridge crossing the Vltava River and thus it became an important connection between both sides of the city. Three stone towers protect the bridge, including Mala Strana Bridge Tower and the Old Town Bridge Tower. Standing along the length of the bridge are 30 statues depicting various saints, dating from the 1700s (though most of them are now replicas).
As luck would have it, the bridge was not very crowded today so we could easily admire the statues, towers, and views from the bridge. Behind the Mala Strana Bridge Tower we could see Prague Castle atop the nearby hill. Thinh and I took a very leisurely pace walk across the bridge, stopping to look at the various statues as well as watching boats sailing along the river. The overcast, gloomy weather somehow enhanced the beauty of both the bridge and the city today.
At the other end stood the impressive Old Town Bridge Tower, standing imposingly at the terminus of the bridge. Neither Thinh or I knew who any of the statues were depicting, but we still enjoyed admiring them as we strolled across the bridge. As we neared the end of the bridge, we could look back and were rewarded with stunning views of the river and the castle.
After crossing beneath the Old Town Bridge Tower, we stopped at a small square just next to the tower, where a statue of King Charles IV stood. From this square we could look out over the river and see the entire Charles Bridge spanning to the opposite bank. The façade of the tower facing old town had several statues along the upper levels. Thinh had loved our walk across the bridge, which made me very happy. Even though I had visited Prague before, being there with my husband made everything all the more special and memorable.
Thinh and I were both freezing cold by the time we finished crossing the bridge, so we hurried back to the hotel. Thankfully the hotel was just two blocks away from the bridge, so we were soon back inside, warming up after the long, cold walk through the city. Neither of us felt like going out for a big dinner tonight, so we ended up going to a KFC nearby and then to Starbucks to chill for a little while. As was becoming the norm, we went to bed early tonight as we had yet another early start to the day the following morning.
This featured blog entry was written by Glichez from the blog World Tour: 2024/2025.
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