August 10, 2013

August 10, 2013

Today we bought a 24-hour metro pass, so we can cover some ground in Prague. Our first stop is Vysehrad Castle west of our hotel. It is a large fortress sitting atop a hill on the east bank of the Vltava River on the opposite side from Prague Castle.  It is the legendary first settlement of Prague in the tenth century. Vysehrad is mostly a large park now.  The extensive outer walls are intact but are relatively modern, from the mid 19th century.  There are a handful of buildings inside the fortress including a church, and a cemetery with some of Prague's famous. The fortress has a nice view of the Vltava far below.  I spy an  RV park on an island below and tell Aimee, that could have been us.

A little north of the castle is the Dancing House, a modern art building that looks like two people swaying to music. Nearby is the St. Cyril and Methodius Church. Cyril and Methodius were Greek missionary brothers who brought Christianity to the Slavic countries in the 9th century.  Unfortunately we also have them to blame for the Cyrillic alphabet used by Russia. This church, however, is famous for being the last holdout of Czech patriots who had assassinated Reinhard Heydrich, the Nazi SS chief, during WWII. Bulletholes can still be seen in the wall.

We then took the Metro to the eastern end of Old Town and stopped at the Municipal House.  This city concert hall is an Art Nouveau beauty.  We stop for desert in the cafe and admire the architecture.

Afterwards we walk the northern part of Old Town past the Jewish sector.  There are several synagogues and cemeteries that can be toured.  The ticket price is exorbitant but fortunately they are closed on the Sabbath so I don't have to make a decision.

We went on to the central square for a pizza lunch and beer.  Afterwards we sat on a park bench and people watched.  We suddenly remembered we hadn't seen the inside of some of the old town churches. We quickly peeked inside a few before they were closed again for organ concerts.  Aimee and I both read Ken Follett's Pillars of the Earth, so when we see the inside of these highly decorated churches, we admire the massive columns and think about the medieval workmen who shaped the stones.

We still have some time to kill so we got on the tram that follows the river and took it for a while to see some of outer Prague.  Just south of the Charles Bridge, I spot a good view of Prague Castle so we get off and take a photo.  We then head for our hotel to have dinner and retrieve our bags.

Before we left for this trip, Aimee read that everybody should take a sleeper train once in Europe.  I indulged her sense of adventure and bought a private couchette ticket to Krakow. Since this leg of our trip is long it made good travel sense too.  Aimee got a little nervous when she saw the small bunk beds we have. Fortunately I ordered the honeymoon package that came with a bottle of water, a towel, and in the morning a cup of coffee and croissant.