11th January - Prague
Trip Start
Dec 26, 2008
1
16
28
Trip End
Jan 26, 2009
Prague,
Bohemia,
Czech Republic
Sunday, January 11, 2009
eggs/omelettes were replaced with poached eggs (much to Penny's horror) but we got large slices of pannettone. It was still very good and we rolled downstairs and organised an excursion tomorrow for Kutna Hora in the country.
Caught the tram in and then crossed over to the other side of the river and found our way to the funicular which we caught up the hill to the Petrin Tower. Got our tickets and queued for a little while until we volunteered to climb the stairs instead of using the lift. It was a pretty easy walk to the top and we were rewarded with an excellent view over Prague and the castle.
Being very careful on the icy steps we descended and looked around the nearby church then followed the "hunger wall" through a park then took a side path to see the state of the "Panny Marie z Exilu" that overlooks Prague
Church on Petrin Hill
. Took the path back the way we came then made our way to the Strahov monastery. The church itself was quite beautiful but we had to view it through a iron grate as tourists are not allowed entry (not surprising given the busloads that were there in the morning). We then visited the Strahov library which was quite magnificent also with two beautifully decorated library rooms and a chamber of horrors in glass cases out the front containing unusual creatures like hammerhead sharks, octupi, fish, crocodiles etc... all dried and preserved.Seeing a bar that sells St Norbert's beer, brewed in the monastery, was across the way we went and grabbed a seat and ordered beers (amber and dark). Both beers were so good we had another with some pretzels and wrote out our post-cards in the warmth and comfort of the pub as it slowly filled up with lunchtime patrons.
By the time left we were both a bit pissed so we ate our rolls and set off for the castle again, being even more careful about the slippery pathways. On the way we visited the Loreta church complex, apparently an important place of pilgrimage. We found the treasury particularly impressive. We continued through the castle grounds - not needing to take any more photos of the cathedral and went back to St Nicholas' in Mala Strana, which had been closed yesterday
Penny on Petrin Tower
. It was beautiful on the inside although Penny was disappointed to find that the gorgeously coloured marble she had been admiring wasn't actually real.We then walked back across the Charles Bridge and into and out of a lot of tacky souvenir shops before Darren found himself a (not tacky) T-shirt. We continued on our way home via the Bethlehem Chapel, which we thought may be worth a look and which had a very interesting exhibition about Jan Hus and the Hussite movement.
By the time we got back to the apartment we felt like we had walked a very long way, so weren't that happy when we remembered we had run out of teabags. It took a while for us to recover enough to walk back down to the supermarket to get some more.
This evening for dinner we were definitely going to go into town (like we were last night) but once again, when it came down to it, walking just up the road seemed like a much more attractive option. We went to U Kroka again and Darren had a Bohemian platter and two beers, while Penny had a different sort of filled potato pancake, not as rich this time, with a glass of Czech red wine (not bad) and a Becherovka (bloody bewdiful). Probably it's a good thing Penny has only just got around to trying it. Now we are having cups of tea and Penny is just going to upload some photos. We hope you are enjoying them!
