Today we toured Prague Castle. We started off the day with our first Prague tram experience. I'd read so much about getting nabbed for fare-jumping I was extra careful about putting all five tickets into the validator, one at a time... double checking the stamp. I probably looked like a dweeb, but it worked. We got to our destination without getting caught the transit secret police.
We walked through the courtyards to the front and after a difficult session asking a guard who didn't speak English about a good place to stand during the ceremony, we figured it out and got a spot right behind where they string the ropes for the 12 noon changing of the guard. That's the big ceremony of the day, where the band comes out and everything. It was quite a spectacle. Elodie really wanted to see it for some reason, but it was pretty impressive and we were all glad that she insisted.
After that, it was time for lunch. We went to a place called Lvi Dvur near the castle. It was quite good.
The waiter was nice and when he saw that we were going to keep ordering bottles of water, after two, he just brought us a pitcher (pretty unheard of in Europe...). He also comp'd us some bread with a local version of aioli (pork fat and spicy mustard) that was quite tasty. The big surprise is seeing how much my kids like roast duck. It's become their "go to" dish on the menu. Normally, I'd be a little bothered by the fact that's it's also usually one of the most expensive things on the menu, but this is the Czech Republic and nothing on the menu is all that expensive. The duck dinner my kids eat goes for about 250 Kc which is about $12.35. Besides, I'm so happy that their not pining for pizza, chicken fingers and fries that I'd probably pay even more that that.
After lunch, and some single-scoop ice cream cones to go, we set off through the royal gardens to meet our guide for the afternoon.
Having a personal guide, while not strictly necessary, did make it much easier. We peppered her with questions about what we were seeing and she was able to streamline our approach to the wide array of options when it comes to touring the castle complex. She made it more enjoyable, even for Elodie who tends to be our weakest link when it comes to touring stuff. Our guide's name was Andrea
Řezníčková and we made arrangements to tour with her through Personal Prague Guide. I highly recommend her and the service.
As we walked through the gardens, Andrea explained about the history of the Czech people and how they have, throughout their history, seldom been an independent nation. They are a proud people, who love beauty and the arts and they take great pride in their capital.
In front of the first castle courtyard, Andrea pointed out the statue of Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk, essentially the founding father of the modern Czech Republic.
Today was a special day for Czech's. It's Saints Cyril and Methodius Day which commemorates the arrival in 863 of Church teachers St. Cyril and Metoděj (Methodius) who came from the Balkans to Great Moravia to propagate Christian faith and literacy. In St Vitus Cathedral there is a window that highlights these guys.
The cathedral had many beautiful windows and was an impressive walkthrough.
After some pictures outside,
we made our way to St George's Basilica, a romanesque building from the 10th century. After the sweeping spaces and larger crowds in the cathedral, I found the more intimate scale and solidity and relative peace in the basilica comforting. It was also interesting to see the juxtaposition of the romanesque and gothic architectures of the two buildings.
After we left the basilica, we wandered into what they call Golden Lane -- either because the goldsmiths were there or because alchemists hung out there... I hear it both ways.
One of the exhibits there is something called Defense Corridor which houses an impressive collection of armor and arms
Charlie On The Crossbow from Dan Douglas on Vimeo.
After we escaped from Golden Lane... they didn't make it easy... we took a walk through the lower gardens which offered many nice views of Prague.
Lawn Mowing Robot from Dan Douglas on Vimeo.
No wonder the lawns looked so good!
We walked down from the castle into the Lesser Town and had dinner at a place called Malostranská beseda. It was delicious and Charlie and Katie both devoured, you guessed it, roasted duck. Elodie mixed it up and had steak.
Again, my kids picked the most expensive things on the menu, but I was still happy they were eating. With a nod toward acting our age, Laura and I both had salmon and that was quite good. Naturally, I washed mine down with a litre of Pilsner Urquell -- also quite good.
Finally, after that, it was time to point our tired feet back to our apartment. We debated what to do with our day tomorrow, originally our plans called for hauling ourselves over to Kutná Hora, but we're starting to have a little "castle fatigue"... or at least I am. So, we may find another pass time tomorrow during the day. In the evening, we're off to see a concert here in Prague.
