Saturday Snapshot - Remembering Prague

A couple years ago, my husband and I returned to Europe to visit friends in Germany. One of the junkets that we took with Gundel and Wichard was a train ride to Prague to do a walking tour of the city. It was a lovely time ... just look.

 

We came into Prague by taxi, as the city is huge and divided by the Vltava River. The signage is in Czech and none of us were fluent. Walking seemed the safest bet for us. Because we wanted to stay in the Old Town where the streets are very narrow and traffic is congested, we loaded our things in the cab at the railroad station and never looked back.

Our small hotel was in an ancient building that sat on an alley right beside the massive church in this photo. We found out that this is the church that Tycho Brahe is buried in ... to think we slept across the alley from a famous astronomer!

The view from our hotel room window ... under the tower ... full of atmosphere ... extremely romantic.

The main section of the Old Town is arranged in streets and alleys that radiate from this massive square. The architecture was jaw-dropping and very beautiful.

One of the really popular tourist spots was this astronomical clock that drew crowds on the hour- lovely when it was not crowded, but over-rated and a crush when the chimes rang and the trumpeters came out of the clock.

 We preferred to walk lesser known alleys to see the vast array of small buildings and all manner of restoration that has been done on these old structures. We're geeks, what can I say?

There were many tiny squares because of the willy-nilly layout of the streets and the angles that occur when many come together . In these squares were the old wells, at which residents got their water in the days long before running water and city water works. They were surrounded by ornate gates with beautiful details.

By late in the afternoon of the first day of our visit, we'd made our way to the river and a small cafe for beers and a look at the Charles Bridge that we'd cross the next day into the other section of the Old Town. High on the hill above the Old Town sits Prague Castle and its lovely cathedral.

Along the river promenade, sat some prime real estate and beautiful parks and green spaces with more fountains, wells, and statuary. It was just lovely.

The next morning, we walked across the Charles Bridge and up through some lovely markets toward the Castle and cathedral.

I fell in love with the many shops selling puppets. In one shop, I got brave and asked if I could take some shots of my favorite marionettes. There were several puppet theaters that we saw, but I couldn't convince my friends to fork over the money for tickets to one of the performances, so I had to content myself with gawking at the beautiful wares in the shops.

Pinocchio and the Friendly Dragon were some of my favorites.

We moved on up the hill and I saw lovely Bohemian glass work,  jewelry shops, flower vendors, and these pretty Matryoshka dolls on display. The colors were so vivid!

Below the castle walls, there was a large open air market with fruit, vegetables and flower vendors.

Once inside the Castle grounds, I was completely impressed by the St. Vtius Cathedral. It was massive.

The quiet and respectful atmosphere inside was such a nice break from the noise and bustle outside.

 

I could go on with this tour, but this is a nice place to stop. We've  gone from the lower city to the top of the hill and that's enough of a peek, don't you think? I hope this snapshot share wasn't too long ... I was just thinking a lot about Prague this week and wanted to re-visit.

This post is part of Alyce's weekly photoshare at her blog, athomewithbooks.net. pop on over and check out what others are sharing today. It's a big world and there are so many photos of it to share!