Prague

Edward Kopka

20 Nov 2024 • 5 min read

We spent three days in Prague with two days to explore the city (the third day we went to Pravčická Gate). It is a wonderful old city with many beautiful and historic buildings. It is known as the city of a hundred spires because of the many old towers. We were able to go up a few of them and from each we had amazing views of the city. We went to the old town square, the castle, and the Klementinum, but perhaps my favourite attraction was the Karlův most (Charles Bridge in English). I was able to cross it multiple times and, built in 1357, I was so fascinated by how well it has stood the test of time.

The main square with the old town hall clock tower.

Views of the main square and the city from the top of the old town hall clock tower.

The astronomical clock that shows not only the time, but also the sun and moon positions, and other astronomical information.

This is the monument to Jan Hus and his followers the Hussites. He started a protestant reformation in Prague many years before Martin Luther and died a martyr's death.

The old gothic church as seen from a street across the main square.

The tower on the western end of Karlův Most.

Karlův Most as seen from the east side of the river after our first crossing.

The view of Prague Castle as seen from Karlův Most taken early in the morning.

The city as seen from the Prague Castle taken at twilight. The second image is zoomed in on Karlův Most.

This is St. Vitus Cathedral, the big church located within the Prague Castle grounds.

The main hall within the Old Royal Palace. I loved the architecture of the roof that had this flowing pattern inspired by nature, almost like it was grown rather than built.

St George's Basilica, this is the older church within the Prague Castle and I really like the old but solid architecture of this building.

The Golden Lane, a narrow street in the Prague Castle. The houses on the left were built into the old castle wall. This photo was taken at dusk, but usually the lane is busy with tourists.

Prague castle as seen from the adjacent Royal Gardens. The castle wall shown on the right side of the first image (behind a tree) is the wall of the Golden Lane.

I walked through this park that was on a bit of a hill, there were many viewpoints along the path; these two images both focus on the river and the Karlův Most, but taken at different angles.

Another couple of pictures taken from a lookout point next to the Prague Metronome. The second image especially shows why this city was called 'the city of a hundred spires'.

We visited the Klementinum, the second largest building complex in Prague (after the castle). The Astronomical Tower was used for scientific observations (second image).

The Baroque Library of the Klementinum is really beautiful. We could only stand in the door to look in as the entire room is climate controlled to preserve the old books.

These pictures were taken form the top of the Astronomical tower in the Klementinum. This tower was once used to determine solar noon.

Overall Prague was really nice, if a little too hot over the few days we were visiting. I really enjoyed walking around the city (we went on a walking tour at one point) and enjoying the historical architecture.

I also did enjoy the food in Czechia. On our second day I found a self service restaurant that sold simple traditional meals. It was not only cheaper than many other places we went to, but also really delicious. I had a dinner of bread dumplings with a dill sauce and boiled egg, a very simple meal, and yet it was very tasty. If you ever go to Prague, I would definitely recommend the Havelská Koruna restaurant.

Thanks for reading – Edward

Written 15th of September 2024

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