Eastern Europe in 10 Days (Day 4): Prague, Czech Republic
I reached Prague at late night on day 3 because it took the bus around 4 hours to reach Prague from Bratislava. I did nothing that night because our hotel is located outside the city centre and it’s basically too late to wander out so I just checked in and concussed on my bed. Anyway, I had a whole day to exlore the old town of Prague the next day. It’s very important to rest your pair of legs because the old town of Prague is huge and there is no motor vehicle allowed inside the old town. I suppose certain areas may be covered by tram but since I joined a tour and our tour does not really involve taking tram, so I had no choice but walking. Never mind, I love walking anyway.
Our exploration on day 4 started with a visit to St Wenceslas’ Vineyard at Prague Castle. The vineyard is located on the eastern hillside of the castle and guess what, it’s freely accessible. Other than having a superb view, St Wenceslas’ Vineyard is the oldest vineyard in Bohemia, being founded by St. Wenceslas himself at the beginning of the 10th century. There are only two varieties of grape cultivated in the vineyard itself, Riesling and Pinot noir. The other varieties of grape are cultivated along the viewing path. Visitors are welcomed to enjoy the drink at Villa Richter and the Piano Nobile restaurant at the lower part of the vineyard.
Walking downhill from the St Wenceslas Vineyard, I continued to walk along the Lesser Town where the the Love Locks is located. It is a custom by which padlocks are affixed to a fence, gate, bridge or similar public fixture by lovers to symbolize their (supposedly or hopefully) everlasting love. It seems that the custom has existed for quite some time, up to the point nobody knows from where the custom originated. Our local guide told us that when you find your true love, you carve your names on a lock and lock it onto the gate, then throw the key into the canal. Sounds pretty similar to what the Korean love to do at Namsan Seoul Tower.
Climbing up from the Lesser Town, I have stepped onto the most visited bridge in Prague, Charles Bridge. It is a stone Gothic bridge that connects the Old Town and Lesser Town. It was constructed under the order of Czech king and Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV in the year 1357. It is said that egg yolks were mixed into the mortar to strengthen the construction of the bridge. There are so many statues on the bridge and it will take quite some time for you to check the statue one by one. I actually did try but my pictures were gone together with my dead Macbook Pro so I could not upload them here. Moving on from the tragedy of dead laptop, I guess I should be grateful that certain pictures are still intact from my phone. Like the view of the longest river in Prague, Vltava River taken from the middle of Charles Bridge.
You may notice the riverbank view of Vltava Bridge from one of Jay Chou’s MV. Yep, he did the shooting in the city of Prague and hence, the similar buildings and the riverbank featured in his MV. If I recall correctly, he also held his pre-wedding photoshoot in Prague as well. Kinda envy but you cannot really be jealous toward a celebrity. A bit of know-your-place, please? Hahaha.
At certain section of the river, visitors can enjoy some romantic attractions like the pedal boat hire. The activity is available from April to October from 11AM to 11PM. If you want to make the ride even more romantic, you can opt for the evening ride on boat equipped with a lantern. Now that sounds like something from Rapunzel’s story in Disney’s Tangled. Awww.
From the many Baroque statues which are placed along either side of Charles Bridge in the 17th century, the most popular statue (it even had a queue forming in front of it) is the one of St John of Nepomuk, a Czech martyr saint who was executed during the reign of Wenceslas IV. Apparently he was thrown into the Vltava from the bridge. But what makes the statue popular is the belief that if you touch the statue, you are supposed to have good luck plut ensure your return to Prague (which I don’t mind, really). I wonder if the plaque is shone to perfection every other day because seriously it has been touched by I don’t know how many hands during the day.
After crossing the bridge from Lesser Town to the Old Town, I have finally reached the largest castle area in the world, Prague Castle. It was founded in the year 880 and it has three courtyards and a number of gorgeous buildings over 7 hectares. So do you now realise why I did say that it’s very important to have a fresh pair of legs at the beginning of my post?
There is a guard stationed right at the entrance to the castle area. I really admire people who works as a guard because they really cannot move at all no matter if they are harassed by weather, animal or wacko tourists.
The most dominant feature of Prague Castle is the St. Vitus Cathedral. I did not have time to enter the cathedral but website describes the interior of the cathedral as beautifully created by medieval masters lit to perfection by the rays of sunlight which stream through the beautiful stained-glass windows. The cathedral houses the tombs of important saints and Czech rulers (I start to wonder if most big cathedrals across Europe are haunted) including the tomb of St. Wenceslas and St. John of Nepomuk, as well as the emperor Charles IV and Rudolf II. If you have the time to enter the cathedral, make sure to climb up to the main tower to see the most beautiful view over Prague.
At Vysehrad district which is located a few steps away from St. Vitus Cathedral, you can hear the sound of bells from the St Peter and Paul Basilica once a hour. The church has undergone a number of modifications in the 900 years since it was built. The construction was finally completed in 1903. Inside the church, you can find the interior which is richly decorated with Art Nouveau ornamental and figural wall paintings. The church’s treasury houses an exhibition of jewellery and rare textiles from the Vysehrad Chapter.
Overall, I really love the old town of Prague. I think I covered the most important parts of the old town but I did admit one day is not enough to cover the whole area in leisure manner. My legs was pretty much sore toward the evening but it was one of the most memorable parts of the Eastern Europe tour.