Prague Castle
Today, I learned how to catch ice type Pokemon at the Vltava River. As the sun seemed to poke out of the icy sheath, Fierce also showed me his Taekwondo Forms he has been practicing in class.
Soon, we followed the river across the St. Charles Bridge toward the Castle District. It was so cold, we ducked into a coffee shop just to warm up our fingers and toes. Then we jumped on a tram to Prague Castle.
Tickets in hand, we entered the St. Vitus’s Cathedral. You almost have to focus your eyes on what’s right in front of you as you walk through this church. Every inch is gilded, covered in gorgeous pieces of art and filled with statues or artifacts. My favorite piece was right at the beginning and was a floor to ceiling “painting” made of mosaics and displaying the baptism of Jesus.
In stark contrast, but of equal, beauty St. George’s Basilica is directly behind the Cathedral. The Basilica has a more serene feel and I thought the arches on the second floor were breathtaking.
The Old Royal Palace is just next to the Cathedral. Inside, make sure to look up, the ceilings are arched or domed. Parts of the building are originally from the Middle Ages. In a room painted in colorful shields, there was a Bohemian heater. We took this opportunity to take pictures of this piece of history and get warm in the process. I even stretched out my foot under the heater in real hopes of getting closer to the heat.
After taking additional refuge in a café and ordering hot cider, we headed down the Golden Lane. Here alchemists lived in these rooms built into the castle wall and tried to turn lead into gold. We also checked out the armory just above. The tiny halls are filled from one end to the other with suits of knight’s armor. If you ascend to the next floors, you will find a gift shop where Andrea treated Fierce to a toy knight and rooms filled with Medieval weapons.
The Prague Castle is delightful and definitely my favorite tourist site so far. As we descended down towards the city center area, I saw a street vendor selling various sweet smelling treats and couldn’t resist trying some. Andrea tried the corn-on-the cob, Fierce ordered the fruit cup with a doughnut-like cone and I tried the potato-chip spiral purely because I liked the way it looked. Selfie time!
We took a little break at the hotel and then hunted down a restaurant for dinner. Along the way, Andrea surprised me and bought me a garnet ring I had said I liked in the window. Garnets are the stone of Czechoslovakia, so it was such a sweet and thoughtful gift. We also happened upon the Banksy Museum. Fierce and I checked out the various graffiti art and their opinionated statements of current affairs. I thought it was a good representation of Banksy’s work…so controversial. Do you like it? Do you not? ??? In the end, I would recommend seeing it, if you happened upon it’s doors.
Dinner and then back to the hotel…writing now…good night!
