Pretty Picturesque Prague!

(Prepare for lots of pictures!)

As a birthday present to my boyfriend, A., I took us both to Prague, the capital city of the Czech Republic. What caught my attention most during our visit is how beautiful this city is! And although we were only there for four days we still managed to get a lot done. So here’s just a few of my favourite things (yes, this isn’t even everything we visited!):

Prague Castle
This was less of a single castle and instead a complex of buildings – but still the largest ancient castle in the world. The most impressive part was the Saint Vitus Cathedral. It was in the middle of a courtyard, looking rather out of place with some newer buildings built around it, but had a gorgeous inside with some stunning window panes. We also visited one of the royal palace halls and the cute Golden Lane (even despite the masses of tourists!)

Golden Lane

The Old Town
Old Town Square is quite easily the heart of the city, with the Astronomical Tower and Town Hall – which we walked up for some spectacular views. Also in the Old Town area was the Klementinum, a historic complex of buildings including the Baroque Library and old astronomical instruments. Again, lots of steps but with our guided tour I learnt a lot about this interesting historical space.

Charles Bridge was also very picturesque with its Baroque figures, connecting the old town with the castle area.

 

Petrin and Funicular Railway
In pursuit of an adventure and some incredible views of the entire city we got the Funicular Railway up f Petrin Hill, followed by what felt like a million steps up to the top of the Lookout Tower. And despite my aching feet, the climb was worth it! We also explored the other buildings at the top of the hill, including the new observatory and the gloriously childish but fun Mirror Maze.

My Tips
Franz Kafka Museum: This is one of the best museums I have ever been in – the whole place was so well attuned to the ideas of Kafka’s work. It included great multi-sensory features with sounds and light, and the explanations using his type of language, thought processes  and themes (even if it meant I didn’t always understand what it was explaining!). A must for any literary lovers!

The Globe Bookstore and Cafe: this was a great little bookstore, stocked with novels in English, not too far away from the old town, and with some brilliant food and cocktails too! This is a definite recommendation too.

 

Overall, I loved my time in Prague – with so much to do and see it was hard not to!

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