Day 73 (continued). Prague.

Wow, so much to see!! And so much to tell you about! But where to start. I took two walking tours today...one general one in the morning and one of the castle area in the afternoon. The morning guide did the afternoon tour, too, and since I really liked her I decided to continue on with her. But almost too much info for one day. I'll be going back to some of the places we saw today to get a more in-depth look, so I won't bore you with all of the details in one day....I'll spread the boredom over the week :-).

The tour met in the Old Town Square. The first thing the tour guide told us was to not buy anything in the square, as it would be a rip off. (a couple of guys had already had that experience). But I don't want to give you a bad view of Prague with this and my taxi story from yesterday...there are plenty of other places to go to eat and buy Prague mementos. And I am thoroughly loving this city!

A lot has happened in this square over the years, which was a marketplace as early as the 11th century.....celebrations, marches, executions, etc. The astronomical clock...


...is a highlight of the square. It is on the tower of what is left of the old town hall (the rest of which was destroyed by Hitler as he pulled out of town). The clock was installed in 1572 and is quite remarkable. It is both a solar and lunar clock...



At the top of the hour, bells ring, the rooster crows, the statues dance, and the doors open up, and the 12 apostles emerge...



Then a live trumpet player plays from the balcony. Quite cool!

There are two key churches in the square...the first of which is the Church of our Lady Before Tyn...


This church was completed during the 14th century and had some relationship with the Hussite movement, which was a Protestant movement led by Jan Hus against the corruption of the Catholic church (long before Martin Luther). He was burned at the stake in 1415 as a heretic. As he had a solid following, his death led to revolts. The animosity between Protestants and Catholics raged for years. There is a memorial to Jan Hus in the square...



...and the Hussite Church still has followers in this country.

Another church on the square is the church of St. Nicholas, completed in the early 18th century...



When we went over to the castle district, there were some phenomenal panoramic views of the old town...










At the end of the tours, I walked back across the Charles Bridge (more about Charles another day)...




Entrance to the bridge on the opposite bank of the river...



There are 30 statues in all lining the bridge...including this one with the two spots to rub for good luck (including the dog on the left, Cynthia :-)



All of these statues are, however, replicas. The original ones have been removed and placed in museums for safe keeping. Then there is the gate on the other side...




And a view down to the bridge near my hotel, from which I watched the fireworks last night...



A very long day, so time to return to my hotel with my aching feet. On the way back, I passed a restaurant my hotel had recommended, so stopped for a bite to eat...a very good meal, including some fresh steamed vegetables, which I have not had enough of these last few weeks. I forgot to mention, that on the tour, we stopped at Bohemia Bagels, and I had my first bagel since leaving New York!! Yum!

Lots more to be covered over next few days!

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