Craning our cheapskate necks. :)

Today we decided to head across the Vltava River to see the Prague Castle. We walked across the lovely (though tourist-packed) Charles Bridge. On the Old Town side of the bridge is a beautiful bridge tower with Gothic gates, and all along the bridge are statues gazing down on the tourists, musicians playing for tips and a dozen artists drawing caricatures and portraits. After crossing the bridge, we headed over to Little Quarter Square to see the Church of St. Nicholas. We were all to cheap to pay to go all the way inside, so we stepped just inside the door and "craned our cheapskate necks" (quote from Rick Steves. :) ) to see the inside of church.

Gothic Gate entrance to the Charles Bridge.

The statue-lined, tourist-packed Charles Bridge. :)

The Little Quarter entrance from the Charles Bridge.

From Little Quarter Square, we headed up to the Prague Castle, climbing a couple hundred stairs to the castle at the top of a hill. Inside the castle walls were beautifully manicured lawns, lovely views over the city and the incredible St. Vitus cathedral. The Prague Castle is not so much just a castle with living quarters, but a few city blocks inside a wall including a cathedral, a monastary, a palace and more.

The view of Prague (Church of St. Nicholas is the green dome) from the Prague Castle ramparts.

Olive on the ramparts of Prague Castle.

The incredible St. Vitus Cathedral.

After Prague Castle, we headed back down to Little Quarter Square for lunch. We had lunch at Malostranska Beseda Restaurant in the shady outdoor tables. Then we headed back across the Charles Bridge to New Town to go shopping at Wenceslas Square - everything had been closed when we stopped there last night. After shopping, we headed back to our apartment, stopping at Havelská market to pick up some more fresh berries.

Prague is really nice in that all the main sights (Old Town, New Town, Little Quarter, Palace Quarter and Jewish Quarter) are within easy walking distance. Once we arrived at the apartment, we never once stepped on the public transportation. Everything seems to be within a couple mile radius, and all the walks are lovely with beautiful facades, lovely cobblestone streets and little traffic. It is a perfect town for strolling. :)

In the evening we headed out for drinks and snacks. We stopped at a restaurant called U Supa that had a beautiful outdoor garden area and live gypsy jazz! I absolutely LOVE gypsy jazz, and these guys were really good! We sipped port, lounged in the garden and tapped our toes to the strains of gypsy jazz. What a lovely way to end our Prague night...

 

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