Praha 11/21

Phil and I had a comfortable hostel stay. I made efficient use of the breakfast, stuffing down multiple sandwiches along with bowls of cereal and eggs. We rode the subway to join the rest of Prague's tourists at the Prague Castle. Built on top of a hill overlooking the city, the castle would have offered excellent views if it weren't for the haze. We took some photos anyway.

We entered the castle area, passing by two unflinching Czech military guards that reminiscent of Buckingham Palace guards. We purchased tickets that allowed us into a well-preserved civilian section of the "Castle" called Golden Lane. In retrospect, the 70,000 square meter Prague Castle did not resemble a traditional medieval castle, but rather a tightly spaced old town surrounding a spectacular cathedral. On display in Golden Lane building were chainmail and suits of armor.

I was particularly interested in this window. The slot, I believe, is for shooting arrows. The cylindrical piece of wood can be rotated to close the window entirely. We inspected a prison tower, then moved into the religious section of the castle.

St. George's Basilica

St. George's Basilica was founded in 920, although it has surely been rebuilt since then. It was one of the many Prague churches and concerthalls hosting daily classical concerts. Facing the Basilica was the glorious St. Vitus Cathedral.

St. Vitus Cathedral

With my back against a nearby building, I still could not photograph the entire cathedral. The Cathedral was founded in 1344, and here lie many Bohemian kings.

Interior of St. Vitus

Next we toured the Old Royal Palace. Photos were prohibited, but I took some non-flash stealth shots. From the Castle grounds, we walked into the city center, crossing the Charles Bridge in the process. It is one of the more elaborate old bridges in the world, decorated every 50 feet or so with a religious sculpture of some sort. It had some more modern relevance to me, as the site of scenes in the movie Mission: Impossible. I had the strange urge to give a Mission: Impossible tour. "This is the Charles Bridge where IMF agent Jim Phelps faked his own death and dove into the Charles River. Here is the parking lot where Claire Phelps' car exploded, but she was not inside at the time. This is the gate where the diplomat carrying the fake NOC list was stabbed." Okay, I didn't find the gate, but seeing the Charles Bridge, and enjoying the view of the city amidst the many vendors and strolling people was a pleasure.

Charles Bridge

Crucifixion on Charles Bridge

Concert hall of some sort

Phil and I took a breather on the steps of this concert hall, then made our way into the heart of Prague - at least the commercial and tourist heart.

Old Town Square

Christmas Carolers

There was a choir performing in a busy pedestrian area. It was an elaborate setup with TV cameras and professional lighting. There was even a light inside a tethered balloon floating 30 feet in the air. The carolers were excellent, singing Latin hymns as well as some more popular music - I definitely heard Hakuna Matata from the Lion King. Hearing Christmas music left me a bit homesick, possibly for the first time since arriving in France.

Later that night, Phil and I spent happy hour at the dirt cheap hostel bar, enjoying Pilsener Urquell, Budweiser Budvar, and other excellent Czech beers with some older traveling Brits and ex-pat Americans. After a game of Kings and some various others, Phil and I ate dinner, then returned to the hostel briefly. A friend of mine from Westport, Sean Soderstrom, was in Prague and I made plans to meet him across town. I dragged Phil along, but we left without a map and soon we were hopelessly lost on the trams. After an hour and a half of tram-riding, we were back where we started and decided to call it quits.