Romantic Danube: Exploring Prague

Romantic Danube: Overview
Romantic Danube: Flying United from Chicago to Brussels
Romantic Danube: Brussels and continuing to Prague
Romantic Danube: Marriott Courtyard Prague
Romantic Danube: Exploring Prague

The primary purpose of our trip to Europe was a cruise that Viking calls the Romantic Danube.  But since we were going that far from home, C and I looked to extend our trip a bit.  Viking offered a pre-trip stay in Prague and a few extra days in Budapest as their official extensions.  While there were some nice things included, C and I decided we'd be fine on our own for a couple of days on either side of the tour.  We knew there was enough English spoken in each city that we'd be OK and it's always kinda cool to be able to go your own way.

The first morning our first challenge was getting to Old Town, where the touring companies are centered.  We exchanged a little money at the mall across the street from the hotel and followed the tram tracks to the nearest stop.  Unless you're at a major station, it's not unusual for there to be no instructions on how to get bus/tram tickets and this stop was no exception.  So I held up some money to the driver in a "how much" gesture and he just waved me off.  Thinking that meant it was free (which was surprising, but not unheard of) we hopped on and rode several blocks towards our destination.  After awhile though we realized that people getting on the tram had tickets in their hand and were validating them on one of the on-board machines.  Oops!  We hopped off pretty quickly so we wouldn't get fined.  Fortunately we weren't too far from our destination.

We found ourselves in Republic Square, a large plaza that was both a transportation hub and a shopping district. Still unable to find exactly where we needed to be, we popped into a hotel where the concierge told us exactly what we needed to know.  Kudos to him for not giving us the "duh, you dumb Americans" look because the street we needed was right in front of our faces!

Republic Square

All we had to do was go past Municipal House, an Art Nouveau building containing a concert hall, ballroom and restaurants...

Municipal House

...and go through the Powder Tower (or Powder Gate), which was hard to miss.

Powder Tower

This is one of the original 13 city gates and construction began on it in 1475.  Though we didn't know it at the time, its design was inspired by the tower on the Charles Bridge, which we'd see later.  The tower received its name in the 17th century when it was used to store gunpowder.

We'd looked up free walking tours of the city and decided to go with Discover Prague though there are a number of similar businesses in the area.  Each company has its signature color.  Discover Prague's was yellow though we saw tour guides from other groups in red and others in green or blue.  Our guide's name was Tate which I though was unusual for a European though his accent wasn't really European either.  Turns out the reason he spoke English so well was because he was from Idaho.  Yes, a man whose nickname was "Tater" was, of course, from Idaho.

Old Town Square

Our tour began right where we met our guide, in the Old Town Square.  There are several large buildings surrounding the square, each in the style that was current at the time they were built: the Gothic Church of Our Lady before Týn, the Baroque St. Nicholas Church and the Rococo Kinský Palace.

Church of Our Lady Before Tyn

St. Nicholas Church

Kinsky Palace (on the right)

But the main draw of the square is the Astronomical Clock.  Installed on the wall of the Town Hall in 1410, it is the third-oldest astronomical clock in the world and is the oldest one still in use.  It suffered heavy damage during World War II but was repaired in 1948.

Prague's Astronomical Clock

There are three major components of the clock:

• the astronomical dial representing the position of the sun and moon
• the Walk of the Apostles, which is the hourly parade of moving sculptures
• a calendar dial

Local legend says the city will suffer if the clock is neglected so it’s always kept in good condition.

The door at left is large enough for a human to step out on
to the catwalk. The arm denoting the position of the sun must
be manually adjusted each day.

Rudolfinum

The Rudolfinum is a concert hall that is the home of the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra.  It was named in honor of Rudolf, the Crown Prince of Austria when it was opened in 1885.  Local son Anton Dvorák conducted his own works here and his statue faces the building's front doors.

Rudolfinum

After World War I, the newly-formed Czechoslovakia needed a place to house its parliament and the building was adapted for this use.  Strangely, it is the Nazi Party we have to thank for restoring the building to its former glory.  When the Nazis took over the area, there was no need for a parliament and the building was returned to its original purpose so that the German Philharmonic could perform there.  Along the way they actually improved the hall's acoustics and even added a small concert hall on the ground floor.

Antonin Dvořák, native son who opened the Rudolfinum
by conducting the first-ever concert in the building

Jewish Quarter

Another stop on our tour was the Jewish Quarter.  In the 13th century the Jews were told to leave their homes and the were all relegated to one section of the city, which was then walled.  But there was little room for growth and when new Jewish families moved into the city, they had to live within the walled areas as well.  Add to that the normal growth of a population via births and it was soon a very crowded place!

Our tour did not include entry into any of the sites in this area and I wish we'd had time to go back and check out some of these places in more depth.

The town hall is topped by two clocks: one is the standard clock we're accustomed to seeing and the other has Hebrew numerals and runs "backwards" from the norm.

Jewish Town Hall with two clocks

One of the most fascinating places to me was the cemetery.  The Jews had a cemetery outside the walls for many years but due to citizen complaints, the king ordered it closed in 1478.  That meant the new cemetery had to be located within the walls of the Quarter, the same ones that were already filling up quickly.  The small plot of land soon ran out of burial sites.  With nowhere left to bury the dead, the headstones were removed, a layer of dirt was spread on top of the existing graves, and the headstones were re-installed, along with new headstones for more recent burials.  The latest date on the headstones is 1787 when Emperor Josef II had the cemetery closed for hygienic reasons.  In some places there are twelve layers of coffins beneath the earth and the headstones have become a virtual forest of names.

Even today, the headstones are visible some 12-15 feet above the street!

The headstones in the Jewish Cemetery are visible
just over the top of the building with the awning

Estates Theater

Our tour concluded at the Estates Theater, which was built in the late 18th century.  Mozart premiered his opera Don Giovanni here in 1787 and it was the first place that his opera La Clemenza di Tito was performed.  In fact it's the only remaining venue where Mozart personally performed.  It was even used in the 1984 film Amadeus.

Estates Theater

Charles IV

In Prague we found a great many buildings and structures named in honor of Charles IV, the king of Bohemia in the 14th century who was also the Holy Roman Emperor.  Later in our trip we learned that the region of Bohemia encompassed portions of what today are Germany, Poland and Austria.

Charles was a patron of the arts and of education.  Perhaps one of his most meaningful legacies is Charles University, which was founded in 1348.  It was the first university in Central Europe and is one of the oldest continuously operating universities in the Europe.

Just one of the many buildings of Charles University

More prominent than the university buildings is this Gothic bridge tower next to the Charles Bridge.  It is seen as a gateway into Old Town, thus partnering with the Powder Tower for this purpose.  In its base is a victory arch through which kings would pass on the way to their coronations.

Charles Bridge Tower

Detail of some of the figures on the bridge tower

This pedestrian bridge has 16 arches and is lined with 30 statues.  During our visit merchants set up stations along each side, mostly artists displaying a number of drawings and paintings, but there were handmade items as well.

Charles Bridge at twilight

Prague Castle

The next day we took Discover Prague's paid tour of Prague Castle.  Our ticket included a tram ride up to the top of Castle Hill, which was very nice as it is quite a steep walk.

Prague Castle

When you look at the castle from along the river you can see how massive the complex is.  St. Vitus Cathedral rises above every other building there but it's hard to comprehend just how large an area the castle walls enclose.  At over 750,000 square feet, Prague Castle is in the Guinness Book of World Records as the largest ancient castle in the world.  Today the President of the Czech Republic has his official residence within the walls which perhaps was why we did not venture inside many of the buildings.  Somewhere deep within the Bohemian Crown Jewels are kept.  For some strange reason they didn't want us to have a look at those either!

There are a number of palaces on the castle grounds, many having been re-purposed for modern use.

The Schwarzenberg Palace is now home to the National Gallery

The Archbishop's Palace

St. George's Basilica is the oldest surviving church with the palace
walls.  It dates to the late 17th century.

During the time of Rudolf II this area was the stables but is now exhibition space

St. Vitus Cathedral

You can't help but notice St. Vitus towering over the rest of the complex.  It's the largest church in Prague and contains the tombs of many kings and Holy Roman Emperors.  Construction began in 1344 but, as was common in Europe in those days, fire, war and other projects delayed its completion for several centuries.

The tour left us with some spectacular views of the city below before making our way down the very steep road back to the city.

The view of Prague from the castle

We actually stopped for a lite bite to eat at a café on our way down.  That night we were able to meet up for dinner with some friends who'd done the official Viking pre-trip extension.  It was good to catch up before making our way back to our second Prague hotel, the Boscolo, part of Marriott's Autograph collection.