First of two full days in Prague and we definitely made the most of our time. If you haven’t been here get ready for a surprise. Beautiful architecture that has somehow survived the centuries and incredible history around every corner.
Starting in the morning we took the #22 tram to the base of the hill on which Prague Castle sits. There is quite a walk uphill to the castle but when you get there you’re rewarded with a beautiful view of Prague.
Inside the castle grounds there are a number of things to see including “Golden Lane”, which was named this way because it was where Prague’s goldsmiths were located during the 16th and 17th centuries.
There is a big and beautiful plaza in the middle of Prague Castle that is surrounded by the centuries old buildings of the Royal Palace and apartments.
But the real gem here was St. Vitus Cathedral.
A church has been located here since the 10th century but this building began construction in 1344. It is a spectacular example of Gothic architecture and is gorgeous inside and out.
Once inside you can see just how grand the cathedral actually is.
As you can see it was a bright sunny day and that resulted in an incredible light inside the cathedral that streamed through the stained glass windows.
The light thrown from the stained glass painted the columns inside the cathedral.
Really beautiful, and we have never seen stained glass painting light in this way before!
From the Prague Castle we walked to the Strahov Monastery where you will find a library with two halls.
Just outside the two halls is the “Cabinet of Curiosities” which was used to entertain important visitors as they waited to enter the library.
This is the Theological Hall and you will find mainly theological writings as well as various translations and publications of the Bible. It was built in the 1670s.
The other hall is called the Philosophical Hall and it takes up two floors of the building.
After all that it was time for an open-faced sandwich lunch at Bistro Sisters. Excellent place if you come here.
In the same neighborhood as Bistro Sisters you’ll find a statue commemorating influential writer Franz Kafka, who called Prague home.
Close to there is old Prague’s Jewish Ghetto, and in the ghetto you will find the Old Jewish Cemetery which was in use from the 1500s to the 1700s. The space has always been constrained but contains about 12,000 gravestones.
The golem of Prague was purported to be laid to rest in the loft of the synagogue found at the Old Jewish Cemetery.
As the sun began to set we headed over to the Old Town Square to see the Christmas Market.
Prague is quite festive at Christmas and honestly we had no idea it would be this popular and crowded.
The several Christmas markets in Prague are thronging with people and the city is lighted up like a Christmas tree!
Even some of the smaller, yet still beautiful, squares are dressed for the holidays.
Only one more day in Prague before we continue on to our next stop!
