Amazing Prague!

Since Prague is only 90 minutes away from Dresden, we just couldn't head back to Frankfurt without a slight "detour."  So, after saying goodbye to beautiful Dresden, we headed Prague.  We signed up for another all-city tour to get a quick preview of those places we planned to return to and visit at a more leisurely pace.

We waited for the tour bus across from the Powder Tower, built in the 11th century and rebuilt in the 15th.  During the 17th century gunpowder was stored there, which is where it got its name.  The royal route for the coronation of kings started at this tower and proceeded across the Charles Bridge up to the Prague Castle and Vitus Cathedral, where the king was crowned.

The architecture in downtown Prague was truly beautiful!

A fun surprise!  A Segway tour! 

Disappointingly, we didn't have good 2nd-story seats on this tour like we did in Dresden, so I was unable to get good pictures of the buildings we saw around town. 

  Finally, our tour bus left the river behind and headed up the hill to the Prague Castle

that reigns over the city below.  

The Prague Castle is more of a sprawling complex than a single building.  Begun in the 11th century, over the years it has come to be composed of a royal palace, a cathedral and three churches, a basilica, a monastery, towers, stables, and gardens.  

The bus dropped us off at the castle complex and drove away.  The guide then surprised us by telling us the tour would continue on foot through the castle and all the way back to town!

The main entrance to the castle was under construction.

We proceeded through a large outer Courtyard I...

into an inner Courtyard II...  

before stepping through and coming face-to face with the entrance to the amazing St. Vitus Cathedral!   Words cannot express what a stunning--but kind of scary--structure it is!  It was begun in the 14th century, a superb example of Gothic architecture.  

Many kings and emperors are buried there.

The nave was so impressive! 

Beautiful stained glass windows lined both sides of the nave.

The rose window was reminiscent of Notre Dame's rose window.

The rose window seen from the outside

Beautiful gold artwork adorned one section of the exterior.

And paintings in gold leaf adorned another.

Two panorama views in Courtyard III give an idea of the size of this place!

The basilica was a beautiful building.

Basilica interior

Exterior walls of the residential palace

There was a steady stream of tourists headed back and forth on the cobblestone pathway

 that led  from the castle down towards Old Town.  

Views of the beautiful city below from the pathway were so amazing!  Beautiful red-tile roofs, rivers criss-crossing the city, church steeples everywhere!  I probably took a dozen pictures of pretty much the same view!!!  I couldn't help myself!

Once we wove our way through a couple narrow streets, we arrived at the 600-year old 

Charles Bridge, Prague's most iconic landmark.  

   

Thirty Baroque statues line the sides of this pedestrian bridge with a myriad of vendor stalls, musicians, and beggars, making it an experience in itself.

Just a few of the "Love Locks" on the Charles Bridge

On each end of the bridge is a tower that offers a great view of the bridge and the city.

View from the bridge of the river

First of two wedding photo-shoots we witnessed

After working our way across the bridge and down a couple interesting streets, 

and enjoying a local treat of a continuous potato chip on a stick,

as well as viewing people having fun in the park,

we eventually found ourselves at Old Town Square.  All architecture styles--Romanesque, Baroque, Rococo, Gothic, and Renaissance--are all represented in the buildings surrounding the 

square. The statue in the center of the square is of Jan Hus, church reformer and martyr.

We had a great local Czech-food dinner in the square at an outdoor restaurant

 and enjoyed people-watching for quite a while.

A highlight of Old Town Square is the astronomical clock, that reveals Babylonian time, Old Bohemian time, German time, and sidereal time, as well as sunrise and sunset, phases of the moon, and the sun's position.  Believe it or not, it was crafted in 1410 by a clockmaker / professor of mathematics and with few repairs has been working for over 600 years!  When the clock strikes the hour, all sorts of movements and various sounds take place.

The Church of Our Lady before Tyn, constructed in the 14th century, today holds many works of art in Gothic, Baroque, and Renaissance styles.

Basically, the next morning we drove to the castle and repeated the same tour through the grounds and down to the Charles Bridge and back.  But this time it was on our own time schedule!  We were able to linger when and where we wanted to!  

On the way back to the car, we visited some of the palace gardens.

And a second wedding photo-shoot!

And by early afternoon we left amazing Prague behind as we headed back to Frankfurt.  We definitely had an unbelievable time, experiencing incomparable European beauty!!!