Last Day in Prague

Photos by Betsy

We began our day early with a walk to the Prague Castle. We walked across the Charles Bridge, which never gets old, and into the Castle Quarter until we came to the steps leading up and up to the castle. Betsy says there were maybe 150. I’m pretty sure there were 10,000.

The view was worth the climb, I admit, even though we could have the same view with a tram ride up to the castle. Betsy takes no short cuts in life.

Prague’s “little Eiffel Tower” is in the upper left background, on the hilltop

We walked through a courtyard and then security, which was tight at this site, and then into the courtyard of the massive cathedral. The castle itself is the site from which Czech leaders ruled for more than a thousand years. Nobles built palaces in proximity to the castle, making the entire complex quite the fancy neighborhood. We climbed those steps to see the cathedral more than the rest, though we did walk through the castle and some of the palaces. As we passed by one, choosing not to enter, Betsy remarked, uncharacteristically, “if you’ve seen one palace, you’ve seen them all.”

But, St. Vitus Cathedral, filled with stained glass and royal tombs, was a sight to behold. This Roman Catholic cathedral is the Czech National Church. Kings were crowned here and the crown jewels are kept here, though not on display.

The towers rise 270 feet and the exterior is decorated with dozens of saints, gargoyles and even representations of the four architects and builders who finished the church in the 20th Century, six centuries after construction began in 1344.

Inside, the church is more than 400 feet long and 100 feet high.

The Stained Glass

Betsy loves stained glass, so she focused her camera on some of the best. The glass allows light to flood the church and create a beautiful light.

This window, telling the story of St. Wenceslas, was created in 1934

The church is a graveyard for medieval kings and bishops including the namesake, St. Vitus, who was martyred in Italy in AD 303 and never set foot in Bohemia. Supposedly, Wenceslas acquired a piece of Vitus’ arm bone, a holy relic, in 925 and built a church on this same spot to house the relic.

This contains the remains of the first Habsburgs to rule Bohemia, Ferdinand I and his wife, Anne. It dates from 1590.

One of the most impressive tombs honors St. John of Nepomuk, the priest who heard the confessions of the queen and was murdered for not telling the king. The tomb is claimed to have more than a ton of silver, whose artistic installation was ordered by said queen.

The king had his own box in the church, which was connected to the king’s apartments by an outside corridor so he could attend Mass in private.

The Wenceslas Chapel contains the tomb of St. Wenceslas, patron saint of the Czech nation. Bohemian kings were crowned in this chapel and it houses the crown jewels in a safe behind a door in a corner of the chapel. The safe has seven locks whose seven keys are held by seven different people, including one by the Czech president. They have to meet in the chapel when the safe needs to be opened.

After we left the complex, we stopped by a little Christmas ornament shop and made a few purchases. We buy Christmas ornaments from most places we visit and it’s so fun to hang them on the tree and remember where we’ve been.

We decided to explore that side of the river a bit since we were there. First we walked through a market area that was mostly food and then we found a great little artisan shop.

She helped us in the shop where we selected a few gifts

Betsy spotted a French restaurant that looked inviting and she was so right. It was the perfect spot for lunch. Neither of us had eaten any breakfast, so we were hungry for something good. Betsy ordered the French onion soup, which is nothing like the version with tons of cheese and croutons. The broth was complex and delicious and two types of onions made it wonderful, slow cooked onions and some caramelized and fried onions. It also had just the right amount of cheese.

We both had salad with French dressing, not the orange stuff in the salad dressing aisle, but a mustardy, sharp dressing. The salad included sorrel and lettuces and it was very lightly tossed in the dressing. Just perfect.

To share, we ordered the Entrecote, Cafe Paris, which was a perfectly cooked piece of sliced ribeye steak with pommes frites. The special sauce is a signature of the restaurant. We were told only 10 restaurants in all of Europe have the recipe, which is comprised of 37 ingredients. We tasted tarragon, mustard, white wine, herbs, garlic and so many other flavors perfectly combined. It was good to split the dish because the sauce was rich.

We had a wonderful coffee to finish. It really was perfect and we loved the restaurant and especially our fabulous servers.

We left the restaurant and just a few steps later, we were so surprised to end up at the Lennon Wall. We had forgotten about it. The John Lennon Wall started in 1980, shortly after Lennon was murdered. John Lennon never visited the location of the wall, but the wall was created in his honor by the youth of Prague. The wall became about so much more than Lennon. The communist party ruled Prague in the 1980s and anti-communist graffiti would show up on the wall in protest and as an exercise of free speech. Then, when the Velvet Revolution restored democracy, the wall became a instrument of celebration.

Of course, where there are tourists, there is an opportunity to make money. Just beyond the wall, there’s a business referencing the wall.

Back in Old Town, we happened upon the Prague Library and saw a line of people going in, so we followed. A book tower was constructed at the entrance and it was amazing.

A mirror in the bottom made the tower seem infinite

Back at home, we packed most of our things to be ready to travel to Krakow at 8 a.m. Around 7 p.m., we walked just around the corner to the Tyn Church for the concert by members of the Prague Philharmonic. Betsy called it a classical music Greatest Hits concert, which worked for me. Eight violinists, two cellists and a bass made up the ensemble. For the first few pieces, a very talented guest violinist joined the group and for two other pieces, a soprano joined. She sang Ave Maria and it was beautiful. The program included Vivaldi, Bach, Beethoven, Schubert, Handel, Mozart, Pachelbel and Smetana.

We really enjoyed the concert, and that includes me. I didn’t love the organ pieces that played when the ensemble took breaks as much, but I appreciated hearing that pipe organ played in that setting.

We walked to a little restaurant across from our apartment for dinner. The atmosphere was pub-ish, very sparse. One young guy worked the bar and restaurant and he was perfectly quirky and fun. The menu made no sense. It had everything from traditional Czech food like roasted pork knuckle and sausages to nachos and gnocchi. Our expectations were low and were not exceeded, but it was still fun. Betsy had the pork loin with cabbage and bread dumplings. She only ate the little bit of cabbage. The pork loin was as dry as cardboard and the bread dumplings were like big round slices of something out of a tube. I had something that was a safer bet, a spicy chicken stir-fry with rice. It was average, but edible. It may have been the worst food we’ve had on this trip, but it was still fun.

Looking out our apartment window to where we had dinner.

Tomorrow we have a long ride to Krakow, and hopefully time to take a walk around the city center. We leave Prague after loving every minute of our time here.