Prague

Today, we visited Prague’s Jewish Quarter, walked over the Charles Bridge, had lunch at the Old Town Square, visited Prague Castle and the St. Vitus Cathedral, and had dinner at a Czech folk show. Photo: Driving through Prague.

Prague

Driving through Prague.

Prague

Crossing over the Vltava River on foot on a bridge. Our bus left us off at the bridge. Middle left rear of photo: Prague Castle and St. Vitus Cathedral.

Prague

Close–up of the castle and St. Vitus Cathedral.

Prague

Advertisement on the bridge.

Prague

Walking to the Old Jewish Quarter.

Prague

The Old Jewish Town Hall.

Prague

The Old Synagogue.

Prague

Walking to the Charles Bridge through the Old Town.

Prague

Farther along.

Prague

Farther along.

Prague

An impressive building that we passed.

Prague

Statues on the building.

Prague’s Old Town

View of St. Vitus Cathedral from the Old Town. I don’t know what type of balloon it was in the photo.

Charles Bridge (See Slide Show)

The Old Town Tower onto Charles Bridge from the Old Town to the Little Quarter. The bridge was commissioned by Czech King and Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV in 1357. There are 30 statues of saints on the bridge, with the statues dating from the 17th century. I have put my walk over the Charles Bridge on a slide show on this site: Go to Slide Shows, Central/Eastern Europe–2, Charles Bridge, Prague.

We only walked back and forth over the bridge and did not go into the Little Quarter.

Movie: Charles Bridge Organ Grinder

Movie of an organ grinder with a fake monkey on Charles Bridge.

Prague’s Old Town

We are now walking to the Old Town Square through Old Town.

Prague’s Old Town

Many marionettes for sale.

Prague’s Old Town

Marionettes hanging from the ceiling.

Prague’s Old Town

Very cute marionette.

Prague’s Old Town

And more.

Prague’s Old Town

Scary marionettes.

Prague’s Old Town

Continuing our walk.

Prague’s Old Town

Farther along.

Prague’s Old Town

Closer–up of the building.

Prague’s Old Town

Detail of the front of the building.

Prague’s Old Town

Art Nouveau statue of the legendary Princess Lubuse, who became the first woman ruler of a West Slavik tribe, beginning a dynasty that lasted 400 years.

Prague’s Old Town

An outdoor T.G.I. Fridays.

Prague’s Old Town

More marionettes.

Prague’s Old Town

Continuing our walk.

Prague’s Old Town

Two towers.

Prague’s Old Town

The top of one of the towers.

Prague’s Old Town

Farther along.

Prague’s Old Town

Close–up of the building.

Prague’s Old Town

Farther along.

Prague’s Old Town

A pretty square.

Prague’s Old Town

An interesting building.

Prague’s Old Town

Many tours are offered in Prague.

Prague’s Old Town

Farther along.

Old Town Square

The Old Town Hall. The famous Astronomical Clock is on one of its sides.

Astronomical Clock

The Astronomical Clock dates back to the 15th century. The bottom circle is an astrological calendar, tracking the movement of the sun. The top circle tells three kinds of time. The blue in the top clock records the visible part of the sky, divided into 12 parts: Babylonian time. The outer, medieval Arabic numerals tells Old Bohemian time. The ring of Roman numerals tells time as we know it.

Astronomical Clock (Movie)

At the hour, the windows open and a procession of the 12 Apostles  move from window to window. At the end of the procession, the cock crows and the clock chimes the hour. At 12 noon, a bugle is blown at the top of the tower.

The first time I tried to take a movie of the clock, I was standing in front of the crowd that gathered at the hour. I didn’t get a good movie as I was too close to the clock. The second time I stood way back from the crowd and got this movie using my zoom lens. The couple from India on our tour, Meena and Dev, also figured out where was the best place to take a movie and they were near me.

Old Town Square

I ate lunch here in front of the Astronomical Clock.

Old Town Square

So far on my tour I hadn’t tried schnitzel. I ordered pork schnitzel and potato salad. I found the schnitzel dry and not very inviting to finish. This restaurant offered an international menu including Tex–Mex dishes. I asked the waiter about it and he said they get so many foreign visitors in Prague and many of these visitors prefer to eat food from their own countries.

Old Town Square

My dessert––one of the best desserts I had ever had: liquid chocolate with Bailey’s and ice cream. It should be easy to make. Start out with really good chocolate, melt it, and add Bailey’s Irish Cream to it. Add vanilla ice cream with crushed pistachio nuts on it and decorate with fresh strawberries. The ice cream should be hard enough and the melted chocolate deep enough in the bowl so that when you take a spoonful of ice cream it will drop into the chocolate. Absolutely delicious.

Prague’s Old Town

After visiting the Old Town Square, it was time to walk back to where the bus was to pick us up. The route back was along an upscale shopping street. Photo: Advertisement for a Belgian restaurant.

Prague’s Old Town

Advertisement for another restaurant.

Prague’s Old Town

A Hublot sidewalk clock.

Prague’s Old Town

A Piguet sidewalk clock.

Prague’s Old Town

A Rolex sidewalk clock. All these clocks were fairly close together.

Prague’s Old Town

Crystal balls for sale (about $23.50 U.S.).

Prague’s Old Town

More crystal.

Prague’s Old Town

An old building seen on my walk.

Prague’s Old Town

On the side of the building was this shopping area. I wish I had had the time to explore it.

Prague’s Old Town

Seen on my walk.

Prague’s Old Town

Workmen fixing a cobbled sidewalk.

Prague’s Old Town

I wondered how they do it. They appeared to be hammering the cobbles in.

Prague’s Old Town

I’m at the bridge I have to walk over to meet my group at the bus. There is a university here.

Prague

The Metronome on the other side of the river. It was placed here in 1991 after the Velvet Revolution, replacing a huge statue of Stalin.

Prague

Statue on the side of the bridge. I could see some of my tour group on the tower at the back of the photo.

Prague

I thought I would try out my zoom lens. There are some of my tour group.

Prague

And with more zoom. Sue seems to be showing something she bought to Kevin, Helen, Barbara, and Gary.

Prague

The statue under the bridge seen from another angle.

Prague

Sightseeing boats on the water.

Prague

A decorative sightseeing boat.

St. Vitus Cathedral (See Slide Show)

Our next stop was to the Prague Castle complex which includes the St. Vitus Cathedral, shown in the photo. I have put my photos of St. Vitus Cathedral on a slide show on this website. Go to Slide Shows, Central/Eastern Europe–2, St. Vitus Cathedral, Prague.

Prague Castle (See Slide Show)

Entrance to Prague Castle. I have put my photos of Prague Castle on a slide show on this website. Go to Slide Shows, Central/Eastern Europe–2, Prague Castle.

We only spent a few hours at Prague Castle, but there is much to see at the castle complex and you could easily spend a full day at it.

Views from Prague Castle

The views of Prague from the castle were great. The first one.

Views from Prague Castle

To the right of the last photo. Charles Bridge is in the middle of the photo.

Views from Prague Castle

A zoomed view of the Charles Bridge. You can see how crowded it is in the afternoon.

Views from Prague Castle

To the right of the second to last photo.

Views from Prague Castle

Another view of Prague.

Views from Prague Castle

A close–up. This is where we were in the morning, at the Old Town side of the Charles Bridge.

Views from Prague Castle

Another close–up.

Views from Prague Castle

To the right of the last photo.

Prague

Seen on our way back to our hotel.

Prague

Seen on the way back to our hotel.

Czech Dinner and Music (See Movies)

We had an optional Czech Dinner and Music Show this evening. I took movies of the show which are on this website. Go to Movies, Central/Eastern Europe, page 7, where they start. There are four movies of the folk dancers and one movie of a folk singer.

Czech Dinner and Music

We had unlimited wine and drinks at our meal.

Czech Dinner and Music

The wine was served from special glass pipes. Our glasses were filled quickly and often.

Czech Dinner and Music

The appetizer, some kind of potato dish.

Czech Dinner and Music

The main dish––tasty.

Czech Dinner and Music (Movie)

The playing of different Czech instruments was part of the show. Here, a Czech didgeridoo was being played.

Czech Dinner and Music (Movie)

A bock, a type of bagpipe made from goatskin, is being played.

Czech Dinner and Music (Movie)

I don’t know what this instrument being played is called.

Czech Dinner and Music (Movie)

A wooden rake as an instrument?

Czech Dinner and Music (Movie)

A cymbalon is being played––a little Greek music.

Czech Dinner and Music (Movie)

Folk singing.