Prague : Prague Castle

The largest medieval castle complex in Europe consists of cathedrals, towers, museums, gardens, palaces, and a basilica. The history of the castle stretches back to the 9th century and has been developing uninterruptedly throughout the last eleven centuries! Originally the residence of Princes and Kings of Bohemia, since 1918 the seat of the President of the Republic. Here are photos of the important buildings within the complex.

We make our way up to the Prague Castle District walking the Old Castle Steps, and come to the East Gate where we spot two guards. As we all know, these guards do not interact with people and hardly move!

I'm sure these guards were curious to know what I was doing there at the entrance,

laughing as I was re-taking shots of me jumping in the air, haha!

St. Vitus Cathedral

Contains tombs of many Bohemian kings and Holy Roman Emperors, and is the biggest and most important church in the country.

A view of the cathedral from across the Vltava River

The intricate stained glass inside the cathedral was breath-taking!

Tomb of John Nepomuk : Mentioned in my earlier blog post, this is the saint who was drown in the Vltava River.

There are 2 enormous angel statues on either ends of the tomb.

Using a cross-star camera filter added some kind of spiritual effect to the photo!

St. Wenceslas Chapel : located within the cathedral, relics of saints are kept. The lower part of the walls are decorated with semi-precious stones and paintings about the Passion of Christ. The upper part of the walls have paintings about the life of St. Wenceslas. In the center of the wall is a Gothic statue of St. Wenceslas. The Chapel is not accessible by the public, but can be viewed from the doorway.

The view of the backside of the cathedral. You can instantly tell the Gothic style of the cathedral.

Loreta Church : also within the Prague Castle District, is a historical building created to promote the legend of Santa Casa, a copy of the house believed to be the Virgin Mary's. Within the building is a Treasury that houses the "Prague Sun," a 6000+ diamond monstrance (vessel)!!!!! Photography was prohibited inside, sorry!

Being a Formula 1 fan, I couldn't help but get excited to see the massive Renault Team truck! They were getting ready for the Renault F1 Roadshow in Prague for June 4th. This was a personal highlight of mine today!!

Next Stop....BUDAPEST!!!

Prague : Charles Bridge

A famous historical bridge founded in 1357 by King Charles IV. It crosses the Vltava River and is an important connection between the Old Town and Prague Castle. It is protected by three bridge towers and is decorated by a continuous alley of 30 Baroque sculptures and sculpture groups, mostly from the 18th century.

The thick morning clouds with the drizzly rain gave a very dark, old atmosphere to the area.

On March 20, 1393 John of Nepomuk, a national saint of the Czech Republic, was thrown into the river. Legend tells that he was killed by request of the king, because he refused to tell the king about the queen's confession. People touch the relief for good luck.

Locals say that it's a Prague ritual to touch the cross and the stars with your left hand and make a wish. This location is supposedly where he was thrown off the bridge.

A view of the bridge, the Prague Castle in the distance, the Vltava River and a Smetana statue.

The Charles Bridge is so popular, many artists have recorded music videos here (Linkin Park, Kanye West, INXS, AFI, etc). Also, movies and video games have used this historical site as a scene in their production.

Prague : Cesky Krumlov

Cesky Krumlov is located approximately 180 km (110 miles) south of Prague and is best known for the fine architecture and the Cesky Krumlov Castle. It sits by the Vltara River, the same river that runs through Prague. "Cesky" simply means Czech, and "Krumlov" is derived from the German "Krumme Aue" which could be translated to "crooked meadow" due to the naturally tight curvature of the river.

We decided to take a guided tour to the city as it's approximately a 2 hour drive one way. We had the best guide ever! His usual work is an Engineer, but on his off days he loves to share his knowledge and passion of Prague by being a temporary tour guide =) He took great care of us and always told us that "You are my people, and I am your people!" He had a black umbrella that he never let out of our sight, so we could see where he was!

So, I'm guessing this art store sells paint? lol

Cesky Krumlov Castle and Chateau

The second largest castle in the country after Prague Castle.

Most of the Castle is covered in facade paintings.

Calling it a day in Cesky Krumlov, and we head back to Prague!

Prague : Marionette World...Pinocchio!!

With a sturdy rod extending up through the body and into the head, the Czech rod marionettes are quite similar to Sicilian marionettes, but are said to be a lot more complex as they have extra strings for the arms and legs. There are also Czech marionettes that don't have a central rod, which are the most difficult to manipulate (above photo). They are hand carved, usually using lime wood.

National Marionette Theater in Prague

Many marionette stores, such as this one, are scattered throughout the city.

This guy sure makes it look easy to manipulate a marionette! And he's only using one hand!!

Check out this video of Pinocchio dancing to music!

Prague : Walking Through History

Prague Astronomical Clock : The most famous monument in Prague, is composed of an astronomical dial, representing the position of the sun and moon in the sky, a calendar dial with medallions representing the months, and moving statues of the Apostles. With the Apostles and other moving figures that come to live every hour, it was always crowded around the clock tower with new spectators. The oldest part of the clock is the mechanical clock and astronomical dial that dates back to 1410.

[Astronomical Dial] The outer ring is a timescale of a 24-hour day, the central blue area represents the Earth, the blue above the Earth shows the sky above the horizon, and the red/black below the Earth show the sky below the horizon. The inner movable ring shows the signs of the zodiac. Additionally, there is a sun icon and a moon icon.

[Calendar Dial] The 12 large medallions show images of people harvesting in the different months, and the inner medallions are of the 12 zodiac signs.

Apostles appear every hour through 2 windows. Notice also the skeleton ringing the bell!

"Fred and Ginger" Dancing House : Alongside the Vltava River, stands this modern looking building surrounded by historic architecture. The top floor is a French restaurant, and the rest is an office building. The building reflects a man and woman (Fred Astaire & Ginger Rogers) dancing.

"Hanging Out" : Yes, that's a man hanging over the street! It's a life-size sculpture of Sigmund Freud (born in Czech Rep) hanging in Old Town Prague, created by the world famous Czech artist/sculptor, David Cerny. He is known for his controversial, large-scaled sculptures.

(I've enhanced the brightness of the figure to show more detail)

The Estates Theatre : Historical theater built during the late 18th century. In October 1787, Mozart conducted the world premiere of his opera Don Giovanni, and a statue was created in his memory, The Coat of Conscience.

Franz Kafka : A very influential writer in the early 20th century. The bronze statue is of Kafka sitting on a headless man, which is based from a character in one of his short stories.

Powder Gate : A gothic gate leading into the Old Town. Once served as one of the 13 gates to the city of Prague, but as the city grew beyond its old walls, the tower became less and less significant and eventually was used as a gunpowder storage facility, hence the name.

Municipal House : Just beside the Powder Gate, a major landmark and concert hall in the heart of Prague. It was built by the most significant Czech painters and sculptors. The main space in this multi-functional building is the concert space, Smetana Hall, in honor of Bedrich Smetana, a famous Czech composer from the 1800s.

(detail of the mosaic)

There will never be a shortage of graffiti in Europe!

What a day...need to rest up to for another day in Prague!

Thank You, Czech Republic, Hungary, and Germany!

(caught this glimpse for just a minute! I thought it was pretty cool!)

Our first stop was Prague, Czech Republic then we headed to Budapest, Hungary and our trip ended in Munich, Germany. Spending about 4-5 full days in each city gave us a good amount of time to see significant spots and take in the different cultures. It was an amazing trip and I cannot wait to share my experience with you all! Stay tuned and see ya soon!

I know I still have to continue blogging about my previous trip to Switzerland, Italy and Austria, but I will work on this trip first and then continue with the previous trip! I don't wanna delay posts for 2 trips!