Exploring The Old Town of Prague

Our time with Uniworld was done. We had tried to book our two extra days at the same hotel but there was nothing available so we were to move on to a different hotel about an eleven minute walk away--without suitcases. It was more like twenty minutes as we struggled with suitcases a bit over the cobblestoned sidewalks and streets. Crossing the street that had trams took some bravery. As one guide said, "In the zebra (the crosswalk) the cars and buses must stop. The trams do not." Another guide had told us when crossing the street, "Be strong. To run is to show weakness."

It was too early to check in but we were able to store our bags for later. The hotel, The Art Neuveau Palace Hotel was every bit as impressive as the Imperial had been and I looked forward to seeing what our room would be like.

Unencumbered by luggage, we were on our way to the first stop on my GPS My City app, the Old Town Center. We arrived in the center and to our left was the old town hall with the iconic Astronomical Clock. The circles represent all sorts of calendars including old Bohemian time, astronomical charts of the sun and planets, the path of the sun and moon through the zodiac and even another ring that shows the day, date and the name of the saint commemorated that day. Whew. I like my old fashioned watch better. It may be analog but I tell time quite well with it.

It was fifteen minutes before the hour and the clock was about to entertain the gathering crowd with a parade of apostles in the two upper windows. Right on the dot of the hour (the performance is hourly from 9 to 9 each day) the bells rang, the two upper windows opened and the twelve apostles appeared as promised. We had been told that at the end the rooster would flap its wings but it didn't happen either time that we watched the show.

Next up was a visit to the Church of Our Lady before Tyn. We didn't get inside that church but we did get inside the beautiful St. Nicholas Church. Fall decorations were set out to celebrate the season. The centerpiece however was the huge crystal chandelier that graced the center of the church. The picture doesn't do it justice as you can't see the sparkles of color in the prismed pieces.

We circled back to the old town hall. The crowd had diminished a bit but looked like it was building for another round of apostles. Inside the town hall was mainly an information center but in one corner was a display case with pieces of an old bell and a reproduction of the original. The bell dated back to 1313 and survived countless close calls only to meet its fate during the Prague Uprising in 1945 when a bomb struck it.

It had been about two hours and we'd had some tea and a croissant. Our room we'd been told would be ready by then. We walked back to the hotel before we got too far away and received our keys to the room. What a surprise! Our TA had booked us into a suite. A closet area just inside the door to one side, a huge bathroom with double sink and bidet on the other side and through the little hallway we entered a sitting room. Double doors led to the bedroom and since the room was on the corner of the building on the fifth floor, we had views in several directions of the city. Bless our TA, this was going to be two very nice nights.

We would settle in a bit and then continue our tour of the Old Town. The weather had finally turned in our favor with some sunshine, no rain and warmer temps that almost reached 60 F. 

The amazing thing about Prague is that it did not sustain much damage in WWII. It was said Hitler wanted to preserve the city for Germany, the Reich. The city was a little out of range of allied bombing but did sustain some damage when bombers were sent to destroy the weapons plants established by the Nazis and, there being no great GPS back then, hit the wrong target. The town hall did sustain damage and the clock needed to be repaired.

The buildings are much as they were in the 18th and 19th centuries. Every one I looked at, I wondered if my grandfather had seen. I don't know how much of the city was important to him and his family. I have no idea where they lived exactly or what their occupation was. Grandpa was a farmer in the states. Was he one here? 

It is hard to walk along and not take pictures as each building is so unique in design and decoration. Except for the towers that still stand. The Powder Tower which was used to keep ammunition and the Old Town Bridge Tower look very similar.

The Old Town Bridge Tower is the gateway to the Charles Bridge. If you read my post on the Prague Castle you will be familiar with St. John of Nepomuk who was thrown from the bridge for not revealing the queen's confession to the king. He is one of the 30 statues on the bridge and is distinguished by the halo of five stars surrounding his head. It is said that to touch the brass plaque at his feet is good luck and means you will return to Prague some day. Bob just had to try it.

All told, we had walked over five miles for the day and returned to the hotel to shower and go for dinner at a restaurant close by. Early to bed as we anticipated another day of sightseeing. There was still more to Prague to see.