On the Feast of Stephen (+10)
I hope you all had a great New Year. This blog has been fairly inactive again and so it is time to post my Prague photos before the Christmas feeling entirely disappears. I was there in mid-December and though it did not snow, sadly, there is nothing like Good King Wenceslas to create the festive spirit. Here he is in the square named after him.
Old Square was also looking the part with a large Christmas tree and a Christmas market. Below is the clock known for its famous mechanical performance to mark the hour. If like me, you are a fan of the Danish astronomer Tycho Brahe, you will be interested to know he is buried in another church nearby, having been Court Astrologer to Rudolph II.
Prague's other great landmark is its castle from which two men were thrown through a window during the Defenestration of 1618, marking the start of the Thirty Years War. Isn't it a relief to have moved on from those times of religious tolerance? Hmm. This picture is not the most striking but I like it because of the Czech flag in the foreground.
Most people who go to the Czech Republic never leave Prague, which is a shame because there are plenty of other amazing places to visit.I particularly recommend the World Heriatage city of Kutna Hora, an hour away by train. It has a comically creepy church decorated with human bones (very Christmassy) and this rather stunning cathedral.
posted by James Medhurst @ 6:34 PM
2 comments
2 Comments:
Wow! Great photos! Thanks so much for posting them.
Arriving in Prague in the Winter was like a dream come true for me as to gaze across the snow covered rooftops was like something straight out of a fairy tale...
Right from the moment I took my first walk around the old town in the evening mist of my first night, I instantly felt as though I had been swallowed up by its astounding history from its first founding just over a millennium ago.The old town square is simply breathtaking, presided over majestically as it is by the town hall and the dominating presence of the monolithic Church of Our Lady before Tyn. We booked a room in one of the Prague hotels right in the center of the Old Town - wanting to be close to everything.A short five minute walk from the square has you standing on the banks of the Vltava River gazing in awe at the medieval masterpiece of the Charles Bridge - in fact the only thing that can possibly tear your eyes from this visual feast is the simply stunning presence of Prague Castle and St Vitus Cathedral standing proudly watching over the city on the opposite bank.
And that is just the beginning of visual treats that Prague has to offer... :-)
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