Travel Log: Prague, Czech Republic Part Two

 You may have seen on my Instagram that I recently visited Germany's Pfalz wine region, famous for its Riesling Trocken (dry Riesling), with a full week's itinerary planned by our dear friend for our group of 22 people. After our week in this stunning wine region, my husband and I decided to visit two new-to-us cities to complete our European adventure: Prague and Budapest. We went to Prague first, and spent two days exploring the Old Town area. Please continue reading to see more photos and details of our second day exploring Prague's historic sites.

Our second day started with a cappuccino at a small cafe in Old Town called Mondieu, then we started walking through Old Town streets to the Manes Bridge (Mánesův Most) located directly north of the Charles Bridge (Karlův Most). It only took about fifteen minutes to walk from our hotel to the Manes Bridge, stopping briefly to snap a photo of the Church of Our Lady before Tyn along the way, and from this bridge you can take in lovely views of the Charles Bridge and look up at views of Prague Castle.

After taking in the views of Charles Bridge from Manes Bridge, we called an Uber to take us up the hill to Prague Castle. My original idea was to walk (the walking time estimate on Google Maps is 14 minutes), but temperatures heated up quickly and we decided it was too hot and pulled up the Uber app instead. I purchased entry tickets for us online and we quickly arrived at the dropoff point for the castle grounds. Did you know that Prague Castle is the largest ancient castle in the world by area? It was a seat of power for the Habsburg royal family, most notably Emperor Rudolf II who was famous for turning Prague into a capital of art and science during his reign. Today, Prague Castle is the office of the President of the Czech Republic and, of course, a popular tourist destination.

There is a mix of architecture in Prague Castle's buildings including Romanesque (Basilica of St George), Gothic (St Vitus Cathedral), and Renaissance (Lobkowicz Palace and Schwarzenberg Palace with its geometric sgraffito exterior). I recommend spending some time exploring the grounds and taking in the views of the city before heading inside!

We walked toward the interior and immediately came to St Vitus Cathedral. This Gothic church is the largest and most important in the Czech Republic, and the burial place of several patron saints, archbishops, and some members of the royal Habsburg family. We happened to be in Prague over the weekend and visit Prague Castle on a Sunday, so the cathedral was not yet open when we arrived around 11am. We explored the other areas, and came back around noon, but the line was wrapped around the building and we opted to skip going inside. The exterior is beautiful and I am sure the inside is, too!

Our next stop was the Vladislov Hall in the Old Royal Palace to see copies of the Bohemian Crown Jewels. The real St. Wenceslas Crown weighs two and a half kilos with its 19 sapphires, 44 spinels, 1 ruby, 30 emeralds and 20 pearls inset in 21-22 carat gold. Wow!

We then walked over to the historic Golden Lane--a colorful representation of medieval homes for 16th century castle guards and marksmen, then later on goldsmiths (hence the name). These tiny homes have low door frames that even I had to duck to walk into! Today, some of the homes are souvenir shops and others are set up with furniture and household items to show how they would have looked in the 16th and 17th centuries. We exited the alley by a cafe that turned out to be a lovely spot for lunch and afternoon coffee with its outdoor patio and stunning view of terra cotta roofs. After lunch and a rest, we walked back by the cathedral (it still had a massive line), stopped at Starbucks so that I could purchase a Prague "You are Here" mug, and headed back to Old Town.

I am so glad we visited Prague Castle, but after a few hours of walking and exploring the grounds we were ready to relax. We went back to our hotel to enjoy the spa for a bit and  have dinner before heading to an evening chamber concert with ballet at the nearby Municipal House. That particular evening the lineup was Strauss, Mozart, Dvorak & Opera, and we very much enjoyed it! The concert was a little over an hour and tickets were ~$70 USD each. The Municipal House is a stunning venue and I am very glad we went for this experience on our final night in Prague.

Our two days in Prague went by far too fast, and I definitely want to return to this gorgeous city again sometime soon. However, we could not stay longer this time as we needed to continue to our final destination of our Europe trip (stay tuned to see more). Have you visited Prague? If so, please don't hesitate to leave me a comment below to let me know your favorite moments and sites. I hope you enjoyed this travel log, I appreciate you visiting my blog today, and I hope you have an amazing week!