July 18 – Prague

Last updated on August 27th, 2019 at 03:02 pm

We slept well, awaking refreshed and ready to experience more of Prague!

Today we are participating in a Small-Group Walking Tour of Prague with a Vltava River cruise and a traditional Czech lunch.

We met our Urban Adventures guide, Mark, at the Municipal House. Mark is from Louisiana by way of West Virginia. Two other experienced Urban Adventure guides, Tereza and Sasha, joined our group to participate in their company’s plan of guides learning from each other. There were 9 tourists in our group – hailing from Canada, Australia, Los Angeles, Virginia Tech and the two of us. Three guides and 9 tourists gave us great access to a wealth of knowledge about Prague and the Czech Republic.

Joyce noticed throughout the day large groups gathered around one guide and was very grateful for our group. Sonya Yassi, our travel agent, suggested this tour. This one, as well of those we were on 2 years ago in South America, have opened our eyes to small group touring.

We started our tour visiting The Powder Gate, Old Town Square and the Astronomical Clock and the Jan Hus Monument, which we saw yesterday walking on our own, but we learned so much more about each one. One sobering fact is that the Czech people have enjoyed a total of 50 years of freedom over the last couple of centuries.

We visited the Basilica of St James, an absolutely beautiful building built in Gothic style in 1232 and rebuilt in the Baroque style in 1689. The walls and ceiling are covered in beautiful paintings. There is a stunning Baroque organ loft built in 1702. In the front is the Black Madonna that was rescued from the Church of the Templar when it was destroyed. Hanging to the right of the entrance is a mummified forearm. The story is a thief tried to steal the jewels from the Madonna on the high altar. She grabbed his arm and held on so tightly it had to be cut off. We learned the Czech often marry historical facts with myths. Mark often would tell us what happened along with what the story was.

Our next stop was the Jewish Quarter. Along the way Mark pointed out small gold squares in the sidewalk near the foundations of some buildings. These represented Jews that had lived there that were killed during the German occupation of Czechoslovakia. Approximately 88,000 Czech Jews were killed my the Nazis. We visited the Old Jewish cemetery.

Even before World War II the Jews were not allowed to live outside their designated area. When they died they were buried within the cemetery in the Jewish Quarter starting in the 15th century, as Jews do not believe in cremation. The graves in the cemetery are stacked 12 deep with around 100,000 people buried there, the most recent about the end of the 18th century. This explains why the surface of the cemetery is raised several meters higher than the surrounding streets; retaining walls are necessary to hold the soil and the graves in place.

From the Jewish Quarter we headed to the Vltava River for a cruise in a boat patterned after those used in the 1800s. We saw the Charles Bridge from the river as well as the Lesser Town or Little Quarter which contains the Prague Castle. (‘Lesser Town’ was really not ‘lesser’!)

Swans and ducks have made their homes at the base of many buildings along the river and the canal. We saw all ages of swans and ducks sleeping, preening, eating and bathing in the river.

After the cruise, we walked across the Charles Bridge, founded by Charles IV in 1357. Charles was the first Czech to become the Holy Roman Emperor. The bridge has been pedestrianized and contains many statues, though most statues are copies with the originals safely stored in the National Museum. The bridge is wide with many booths of artists displaying their creations for sale. Alan discussed his ancestor from Prague, Augustine Herman, with guide Tereza. He also picked both Mark and Tereza’s brain to place Joyce’s ancestor Charlemagne, the first Holy Roman Emperor, in history with Charles IV.

From the Charles Bridge we walked along the river in the Little Quarter to Kolkovna Olympia Restaurant, for our traditional Czech lunch. Alan had Moravian Sparrow, roast pork in garlic and onions, red and white cabbage with white bread and bacon dumplings. Joyce had Svíčková, roast beef in cream sauce with bread and Carlsbad dumplings, cranberry target and whipped cream, which was very tasty.

We were also appreciative that unlimited water was included with the meal, which was included in the tour. Water to drink in restaurants is not free. In fact, water is more expensive than beer in the Czech Republic! Free refills of drinks is also not a Czech practice. When Coke Zero is ordered you get a 25 ml bottle and a small glass. We enjoyed the relaxed atmosphere at lunch and the chance to get to know the other people on the tour and the guides.

After lunch we walked to the tram stop and took a tram to the top of the hill to Prague Castle. The history of Prague Castle dates to the 9th century. Enclosed by the Castle walls are a palace, three churches and a monastery. The Castle has been rebuilt many times. Since 1918 it has been the seat of the government for the president of the Republic. The Castle area is guarded with two guards required to stand perfectly still for one hour (these guards change every hour) and policeman with a machine gun.

St. Vitus Cathedral is the Gothic showpiece of Prague Castle. Work began on the cathedral in 1344, but was not finished until the 20th century with work stoppages for various wars. The cathedral features flying buttresses, gothic vaulting beautiful stained glass windows, including a rose window at the back. When we were in the cathedral in the afternoon, the sun was streaming in the rose window reflecting reds, blues and violet colors on the floor and people standing at the back. King Wenceslas is buried at the cathedral.

Before heading down the hill from Prague Castle, we stopped at an overlook of the city for splendid views of the city and a few pictures.

Our tour ended at the Prague Castle so we needed to figure out how to get back to Wenceslas Square. Our guides gave us options including Metro, tram and walking and showed us what to do for each option. We opted to walk, realizing we could take it slow and rest when we needed to. Our guides estimated is was about a 20 minute walk.

Alan had talked to guide Tereza for recommendation on where to purchase crystal. She marked two places on the map, one of which was on our way back. We began walking, discovering a temporary street stage with folk music and dancing. We rested a few minutes listening and watching.

We found Dana Crystal with a couple pieces catching our eye. The walk back was pleasant, but since we had been walking much of the day, we were very tired when we arrived at our apartment.

After a short rest we walked a short distance to Restaurace U Provaznice, a pub. Alan had Wiener schnitzel served with pickles and salad and Joyce had Goulash, served with white bread dumplings and Carlsbad dumplings.

Walking back to the apartment, we both decided we wanted ice cream so we stopped at Albert’s for Alan’s breakfast danish and some decadent chocolate ice cream. We rationalized the ice cream by walking a total of 6 1/2 miles during this day.

Read more about Prague Small-Group Walking Tour with Vltava Cruise, Lunch 2019 – https://www.viator.com/tours/Prague/Small-Group-Prague-City-Walking-Tour-Including-Vltava-River-Cruise-and-Lunch/d462-5999CZUA?mcid=56757