Normally at the end of May / beginning of June each year, there is a bank holiday, and Alex and I always take the opportunity to take a short trip within Europe to celebrate my birthday. In 2013, we spent a long weekend in Prague.
I had really high expectation for Prague. I heard it is a fairy-tale like, magic city. Alex had visited it before in the winter, so we decided summer could be a good time see the city again.
We started from the Old Town square. It is a really lively area with loads of young people and tourists. From there, we visited the Old Town Hall, and watched the Town Hall Clock. Every time the clock strike the hour, the figure of Death opens the clock windows, and the 12 Apostles moves out slowly one by one. There are also figures of Vanity and Greed on the clock that reminds people don't waste time,
The city tower is in the center of the square. As you climb on top through a case of rotating iron stairs (it made me very dizzy), you will see a beautiful view of the entire city.
The square leads to several roads with beautiful architects and boutique shops along both sides. We passed by the opera house, also found a very cool Cubist cafe and had a cake there. Apparently Cubist architect was very popular in Bohemia and Austria, but never caught on in the rest of Europe. The style is based on lots of repeated geometric shapes. Very strange. :)
From there, we also visited the Jewish quarter and the old Jewish Cemetery. Because of the lack of space in the Jewish quarter, people were buried on top of each other, up to 12 layers deep. In the rather small cemetery, there are over 12,000 gravestones. The view was very impressive.
The next day, we went and visited the Prague castle. The castle is on the other side of the Vltava river sitting on a little hill. There is a long wall surrounding the area, and inside of the compound, there are many palaces, towers, churches, gardens, etc. It is unfortunate that the Royal Palace was not open that day. So we just walked around, and enjoyed our view from the top.
From the Palace, we went back to the city and walked along the Vltava river. We visited the beautiful Charles Bridge in the Old Town. The bridge was decorated by many beautiful status of Saints. At the end of the bridge, there are also two magnificent Bridge Towers. The bridge connects the Little Quarter and the Old Town. We visited the Little Quarter. It is filled with lots of boutique shops with very cool souvenirs. We also passed by a market with lots of street food. We had some sausages and grabbed a drink and sat on the road, listening to the street performers and watching people passing by. It was very nice and relaxing.
The last day of our visit, we visited a very nice restaurant on the river side and celebrated our trip.
I had really high expectation for Prague. I heard it is a fairy-tale like, magic city. Alex had visited it before in the winter, so we decided summer could be a good time see the city again.
We started from the Old Town square. It is a really lively area with loads of young people and tourists. From there, we visited the Old Town Hall, and watched the Town Hall Clock. Every time the clock strike the hour, the figure of Death opens the clock windows, and the 12 Apostles moves out slowly one by one. There are also figures of Vanity and Greed on the clock that reminds people don't waste time,
The city tower is in the center of the square. As you climb on top through a case of rotating iron stairs (it made me very dizzy), you will see a beautiful view of the entire city.The square leads to several roads with beautiful architects and boutique shops along both sides. We passed by the opera house, also found a very cool Cubist cafe and had a cake there. Apparently Cubist architect was very popular in Bohemia and Austria, but never caught on in the rest of Europe. The style is based on lots of repeated geometric shapes. Very strange. :)
From there, we also visited the Jewish quarter and the old Jewish Cemetery. Because of the lack of space in the Jewish quarter, people were buried on top of each other, up to 12 layers deep. In the rather small cemetery, there are over 12,000 gravestones. The view was very impressive.The next day, we went and visited the Prague castle. The castle is on the other side of the Vltava river sitting on a little hill. There is a long wall surrounding the area, and inside of the compound, there are many palaces, towers, churches, gardens, etc. It is unfortunate that the Royal Palace was not open that day. So we just walked around, and enjoyed our view from the top.From the Palace, we went back to the city and walked along the Vltava river. We visited the beautiful Charles Bridge in the Old Town. The bridge was decorated by many beautiful status of Saints. At the end of the bridge, there are also two magnificent Bridge Towers. The bridge connects the Little Quarter and the Old Town. We visited the Little Quarter. It is filled with lots of boutique shops with very cool souvenirs. We also passed by a market with lots of street food. We had some sausages and grabbed a drink and sat on the road, listening to the street performers and watching people passing by. It was very nice and relaxing.The last day of our visit, we visited a very nice restaurant on the river side and celebrated our trip.
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