Don't get me wrong, I loved the countryside, I loved it a lot, but Prague is Prague is Prague. And even with all the touristy stuff, it doesn't get any better than Prague. Trust me.
We drove into Prague during evening rush hour, cars everywhere on the crowded streets. Chris expertly navigated us to Mala Strana (Lesser Town) and found our hotel among the winding, pedestrian-only streets. Not quite sure how he did it, but it was impressive, he's definately the navigation king.
Thanks to the lower cost of the off-season in Prague we were able to stay in a hotel situated right on the Vltava River (literally our hotel was on its banks), underneath the St. Charles bridge. If you haven't been to Prague, you should know that this is a prime location, with easy access to all different parts of the city. Here's the street of our hotel, taken from the bridge, it's the far yellow one on the left.
Looking down the street from our hotel and you can see how easily we could access the bridge. The St. Charles Bridge connects Hradceny (the Royal quarter) and Mala Strana with Stare Mesto (Old Town) and Nove Mesto (New Town). It's the center of Prague 1.
Prague can be pretty noisy at night, but our little square was peaceful, quiet and relaxing. Our first evening, we walked around the bridge, Stare Mesto, and just soaked up the sights. Up to this point the cities we visited shut down by 6 p.m., but here it came alive in the evening. Behind us is Prague Castle.
The hotel had upgraded our room to it's upper floor, which meant the best views of the river. When we woke up in the morning, a beautiful sunrise over the Vltava and the bridge greeted us. 
On the bridge looking at Prague Castle.
I think this is the only picture during our whole trip that someone took for us, and the only one that's not a close-up of our faces with a little scenery behind us:)
We walked across the bridge, under the tower, and hiked up to Hradceny to spend the day at Prague Castle, yes, it's a hike to Prague Castle.
Here's the view from the top. Somewhere in Uherske Hradiste I lost the cute head wrap my friend made for me so I had to buy a cheapee souvenir shop hat, you'll see it in almost all my pics of Prague because it was so cold!
This area has been the seat of power for Bohemia since the 10th century. It's the largest working castle in the world, it is still used as a center of government, it's kind-of like the Czech version of the National Mall, only with much better architecture. 
Central to the castle is St. Vitus Cathedral, considered the most important church in the country, construction began on it in the 14th century, it replaced an earlier Romanesque structure.
We had to wait outside to enter the cathedral and almost froze, we used the bathroom just to get out of the wind. Our faces are so chilled that we can barely smile.
Looking down the street from our hotel and you can see how easily we could access the bridge. The St. Charles Bridge connects Hradceny (the Royal quarter) and Mala Strana with Stare Mesto (Old Town) and Nove Mesto (New Town). It's the center of Prague 1.Prague can be pretty noisy at night, but our little square was peaceful, quiet and relaxing. Our first evening, we walked around the bridge, Stare Mesto, and just soaked up the sights. Up to this point the cities we visited shut down by 6 p.m., but here it came alive in the evening. Behind us is Prague Castle.The hotel had upgraded our room to it's upper floor, which meant the best views of the river. When we woke up in the morning, a beautiful sunrise over the Vltava and the bridge greeted us. 
On the bridge looking at Prague Castle.I think this is the only picture during our whole trip that someone took for us, and the only one that's not a close-up of our faces with a little scenery behind us:) We walked across the bridge, under the tower, and hiked up to Hradceny to spend the day at Prague Castle, yes, it's a hike to Prague Castle. Here's the view from the top. Somewhere in Uherske Hradiste I lost the cute head wrap my friend made for me so I had to buy a cheapee souvenir shop hat, you'll see it in almost all my pics of Prague because it was so cold! This area has been the seat of power for Bohemia since the 10th century. It's the largest working castle in the world, it is still used as a center of government, it's kind-of like the Czech version of the National Mall, only with much better architecture. 
Central to the castle is St. Vitus Cathedral, considered the most important church in the country, construction began on it in the 14th century, it replaced an earlier Romanesque structure.We had to wait outside to enter the cathedral and almost froze, we used the bathroom just to get out of the wind. Our faces are so chilled that we can barely smile.Like I said before, it was about 20 degrees colder than normal (what global warming?), so cold that even water coming off the gargoyles froze! Unfortunately the interior of the cathedral wasn't heated and was just as bitter as the outside!!
The nave, looking toward the altar...aaah, flying buttresses...I'm in Gothic heaven.
During a surge in nationalism in the beginning of the 20th century the stained glass windows of the church were redone by a number of Czech artists, including one by our favorite art noveau artist, Alphons Mucha. Here's a panel from the window.
During a surge in nationalism in the beginning of the 20th century the stained glass windows of the church were redone by a number of Czech artists, including one by our favorite art noveau artist, Alphons Mucha. Here's a panel from the window. St. Vitus, like all Catholic churches, is filled with the remains of saints, kings, nobles, etc. The most famous of all is St. Vaclav, otherwise known as St. Wenseslas, that would be Good King Wenseslas, just like the song. He is the premier saint of the Czech republic, the most important one, here's his shrine inside the cathedral.
This sculpture commemorates St. Jan of Nepomuk, another significant saint, it's made from a few tons of silver, it has to be the most outrageous Baroque sculptures I've seen, and I've seen a lot of sculptures in a lot of churches.
Back of St. Vitus, this is the oldest part of the church. Did I mention I'm in art history heaven?? And that I love Gothic architecture??
Back of St. Vitus, this is the oldest part of the church. Did I mention I'm in art history heaven?? And that I love Gothic architecture?? We walked through an informative exhibit about Prague castle, learned about its construction, saw artifacts, medieval manuscripts, etc. We even saw St. Vaclav's helmet, considered to be the most important Czech relic after the saint's remains, just FYI:)
Inside the coronation hall--this was a main meeting place, and of course, where kings were crowned.
Coats of arms decorate the ceiling, this was only a fraction of them.
Coats of arms decorate the ceiling, this was only a fraction of them. The Church of St. George, typical Romanesque.
On our way out of the castle we walked through the Golden Lane, a street with tiny, medieval houses crammed next to each other. Originally it was home to archers and bowmen who defended the castle, and supposedly got its name from alchemists who later lived there and tried to turn metal into gold. Today it's just full of pricey souvenir shops. You can see I'm as tall as the door.
On our way out of the castle we walked through the Golden Lane, a street with tiny, medieval houses crammed next to each other. Originally it was home to archers and bowmen who defended the castle, and supposedly got its name from alchemists who later lived there and tried to turn metal into gold. Today it's just full of pricey souvenir shops. You can see I'm as tall as the door. Brrr...are you getting cold yet by looking at us?
We stopped at a restaurant overlooking Prague for a late lunch and spent the remainder of the day walking around Hradceny, Mala Strana and Stare Mesto. Every street looked like this, street after street of wonderfully ornamental buildings.
We were surprised at how crowded it was considering it was the off season, I can't imagine how packed it must be in the summertime. This is the namesti in Stare Mesto, of course I've cut out the crowds, but know that there were thousands of people walking around.
We were surprised at how crowded it was considering it was the off season, I can't imagine how packed it must be in the summertime. This is the namesti in Stare Mesto, of course I've cut out the crowds, but know that there were thousands of people walking around. On the bridge looking toward Stare Mesto.
Sculptures line the St. Charles bridge, they're pretty incredible. Supposedly if you touch this sculptural homage to St. Jan of Nepomuck (it shows him being pushed off the St. Charles bridge, look it up, it's an interesting story), you will return to Prague. Here's to returning sometime soon!
Sculptures line the St. Charles bridge, they're pretty incredible. Supposedly if you touch this sculptural homage to St. Jan of Nepomuck (it shows him being pushed off the St. Charles bridge, look it up, it's an interesting story), you will return to Prague. Here's to returning sometime soon! Our evening view of the castle.
Dusk and morning were the best times to be on the bridge, absolutely romantic and magical. How can you not fall in love with a place that looks like this?
Dusk and morning were the best times to be on the bridge, absolutely romantic and magical. How can you not fall in love with a place that looks like this? Our second day in Prague we walked to Josefov, the Jewish quarter, which is surrounded by Stare Mesto. Jews are reported to have lived here since the 10th century. Chris is in front of the Jewish synagogue, the wall of the cemetary is to the right.
The cemetary is one of the main attractions of Josefov, because there was only a little land to bury Jews, the graves had to be stacked, thus the headstones are layered next to each other. We wanted to walk through it, but you had to buy a $15 ticket which included synagogues we weren't interested in seeing. Our Lonely Planet book recommended looking at the cemetary from the 2nd floor of the Museum of Decorative Arts building next door, we did, and had a fantastic view. Oh, and we saved $30.
We spent a few hours going through the Decorative Arts Museum. Again, loved it. Room after room of miniatures, manuscripts, music, posters, jewelry, glass, clocks and more.
We spent a few hours going through the Decorative Arts Museum. Again, loved it. Room after room of miniatures, manuscripts, music, posters, jewelry, glass, clocks and more.We walked to Nove Mesto from there, planning to go through the Municipal House and see murals by Alphons Mucha, but we changed our minds when we learned how much it would cost. Are we sounding cheap by now? There's a point on a trip where you have to decide if something is really worth the time and money when there are so many things to see and spend your money on. To see these murals would have required a 1 1/2 hour tour, and just cost too much, so we decided against it.
Instead, we walked to St. Vaclav Namesti (St. Wenseslas Square) and ate lunch. I've said it before, but street food is the best. Chris had a brat...
and I had a smageny syr, a fried cheese sandwich, I've been wanting one ever since watching an episode of Anthony Bourdain in Prague. Yes, we're still freezing.
At the end of the square is an enormous statue of St. Vaclav.
It was here that thousands of people gathered on November 17, 1989 and overthrew communism. Called the Velvet Revolution, not one person was killed, the government peacefully surrendered. Pretty incredible.
We started our third day out walking to the Church of St. Nicholas.
Delicious Baroque goodness.
We hiked back to Hradceny, hoping to catch an exhibit from the National Gallery but unfortunately it was closed. Instead we got Baroqued-out at a gallery inside the Swartzenberg Palace (remember Hluboka Castle, the same family, this was their place in the city). The palace itself was nifty.
Instead, we walked to St. Vaclav Namesti (St. Wenseslas Square) and ate lunch. I've said it before, but street food is the best. Chris had a brat...and I had a smageny syr, a fried cheese sandwich, I've been wanting one ever since watching an episode of Anthony Bourdain in Prague. Yes, we're still freezing.At the end of the square is an enormous statue of St. Vaclav.It was here that thousands of people gathered on November 17, 1989 and overthrew communism. Called the Velvet Revolution, not one person was killed, the government peacefully surrendered. Pretty incredible. We spent the rest of the afternoon at a Mucha museum (if you've never seen his work, and you probably haven't, look up his work online, if you've been to my house I've got a few prints). His Slav Epic is undoubtedly his best work, unfortunately the castle that houses it was closed for the winter (see earlier posts as to why this makes sense), I guess that means we just have to come back!
Afterward we went to a monastery that houses a huge collection collection of medieval books and interesting artifacts like preserved sea turtles. We probably walked about 10 miles that day.
The square of our hotel at night, picturesque, huh? Again, imagine street after street like this in Prague at night. The white spots are snowflakes.
We started our third day out walking to the Church of St. Nicholas.Delicious Baroque goodness.We hiked back to Hradceny, hoping to catch an exhibit from the National Gallery but unfortunately it was closed. Instead we got Baroqued-out at a gallery inside the Swartzenberg Palace (remember Hluboka Castle, the same family, this was their place in the city). The palace itself was nifty. Walking down the stairs by Prague Castle.
We took the metro out to Vesehrad in the afternoon.
Vesehrad was the original settlement of Prague, and was a fairly important place in medieval times until Prague castle was fully developed. It's on a hill overlooking the Vltava River. This is the cathedral of SS. Peter and Paul, a miniature Gothic beauty.
After walking through the entry, we expected a Gothic or at least Baroque interior. We were completely and pleasantly surprised by the Art Noveau decoration, which covered every wall of the nave.
The adjoining cemetary houses a host of famous Czechs.
We took the metro out to Vesehrad in the afternoon.
Vesehrad was the original settlement of Prague, and was a fairly important place in medieval times until Prague castle was fully developed. It's on a hill overlooking the Vltava River. This is the cathedral of SS. Peter and Paul, a miniature Gothic beauty.After walking through the entry, we expected a Gothic or at least Baroque interior. We were completely and pleasantly surprised by the Art Noveau decoration, which covered every wall of the nave.The adjoining cemetary houses a host of famous Czechs. The view from Vesehrad, looking up the river towards Prague Castle.
Remains of the medieval wall at Vesehrad.
Old Romanesque basilica.
We spent our last morning in Prague walking around the bridge and Stare Mesto. The weather was absolutely beautiful, the temperature rose 10 degrees overnight. Too bad we were leaving that day:)!!
We spent our last morning in Prague walking around the bridge and Stare Mesto. The weather was absolutely beautiful, the temperature rose 10 degrees overnight. Too bad we were leaving that day:)!! The kitschy souvenir shops in Prague were annoying, but I guess that's what opens when a place attracts tourists. What surprised me most was the lack of any true folk crafts (except Bohemian crystal), you know I love folk crafts, but we could have bought our fill of matrosyka dolls--since when are those Czech? 
Standing in front of the old clock (the orloj), we got there early enough in the morning that the crowds hadn't arrived yet. This clock was the wonder of Europe when it was made in the 15th century, the old town councilors blinded the clockmaker when it was finished, afraid that he would make another. The clockmaker got his revenge by damaging the interior of the clock and it took centuries for it to be fixed.
Easter is a big holiday in the CZ, while we were there they were setting up a large Easter market in the Stare Mesto namesti, it opened the day after we left. We were pretty sad to miss it.
Shop windows were decked out for the holiday, and trees all over the city were decorated like this one for Easter.
Sadly we had to say goodbye to Prague, and headed to Munich to stay overnight before our flight the next morning.
Easter is a big holiday in the CZ, while we were there they were setting up a large Easter market in the Stare Mesto namesti, it opened the day after we left. We were pretty sad to miss it.Shop windows were decked out for the holiday, and trees all over the city were decorated like this one for Easter.Sadly we had to say goodbye to Prague, and headed to Munich to stay overnight before our flight the next morning. On the way we toured Karlstejn Castle, once the residence of Karl IV, Holy Roman Emperor. It was a long climb to the top, but well worth it!!
We couldn't take any pics inside, so here's the outside! Can you believe that Swedes once captured two of the towers? 
View from the ramparts overlooking the village below.
We couldn't take any pics inside, so here's the outside! Can you believe that Swedes once captured two of the towers? View from the ramparts overlooking the village below.
I think it goes without saying that I absolutely fell in love with Czech Republic on this trip, the people, the architecture, the history, it was wonderful. And it also goes without saying that the best part of the trip was spending it with my sweetie. I can't wait to go back again!!
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