Franz Kafka once said “Prague never lets you go, this dear little mother has sharp claws”. Even more than 100 years ago people were drawn to Prague and it’s easy to see why.
Ambivalent about visiting prior to coming here it has now rocketed to the top of places we love in Europe. It’s easy to see why when you walk around and are surrounded by magical fairytale streets such as this one.
The architectural detail you will see on buildings and bridges is impressive. This below is one side of the famous Charles Bridge, which was started in 1357 and finished about 75 years later.
It is a pedestrian only bridge, is almost 1,700 feet long, and connected Old Town Prague with Lesser Town Prague across the Vltava River which runs through the city.
On the other side the bridge lets you off in Lesser Town.
The bridge was built so long that the western end actually travels over the neighborhood called the Kampa that lies along the banks of the river.
This part of Prague dates to 1257 but due to fires and what not the buildings generally date to the middle 1500s. Yes, the fairytale era.
Then at night the whole side of the river turns magical.
You can see why so many people come here, especially for the holidays.
Later in the afternoon we returned to Old Town to see the astronomical clock on the Old Town Tower.
The clock was first installed in 1410, making it the third-oldest astronomical clock in the world and the oldest clock still in operation.
The astronomical dial has a background that represents the standing Earth and sky, and surrounding it operate four main moving components: the zodiacal ring, an outer rotating ring, an icon representing the Sun, and an icon representing the Moon. It’s stunning.
At the end of the day we enjoyed a beautiful Christmas Eve dinner of roasted goose at a Czech restaurant called U Zpěváčků in Old Town that had stayed open. It was excellent!
Tomorrow is Christmas Day and a travel day for us as we continue our trip in Budapest. See you there!
