Today we visited Prague Castle - otherwise known as Prasky hrad. To get there we crossed Mánusúv most and walked up the steep hill along a narrow road lined with sellers of tourism paraphernalia. The castle is actually a collection of adjoined buildings and walls and there is much to explore. We entered through iron gates and walked through a series of courtyards. Finding ourselves outside St. George's Basilica, we entered and were promptly shouted at by a woman in a language that may or may not have been Czech. We tried to buy a ticket but she didn't seem happy about this either so we left.
Instead we went into the Cathedral of St. Vitius. This was a fabulous example of religious extravagance. Not quite on a par with St. Peters' in Rome but an impressive building nonetheless. We explored the main part of the building and then discovered the way up to the bell tower. We had to buy a ticket to gain access - and interestingly the ticket provided access to various other attractions within the castle including St. George's...
It was hard work climbing to the bell tower. The way up was a seemingly endless spiral staircase with no handrail and no resting places. I rediscovered just how unfit I am, and upon reaching the top had to sit down and have a rest before going to look at the view. I'm a big fan of going up in towers and tall buildings, and this view across Prague is well worth the climb. You can see the river and all the bridges, and over the baroque rooftops of Malá Strana. We spent some time here, looking and photographing.
We went back to St George's, this time with ticket, and it wasn't particularly spectacular. A couple asked Natalie to take their picture and she got shouted at in Czech before getting the chance to take it as photography inside is against the rules. Some of the staff here seem particularly up-tight, perhaps because they have to deal with equally rude foreign tourists every day, but it seemed excessive all the same.
We explored the rest of the castle, making sure to visit all the places our ticket allowed us entry to. This included the Old Royal Palace, containing an impressive hall, Vladislavský sál, and the Powder Tower, which housed some kind of exhibition with the labels all in Czech. We found a very busy, very touristy cafe where we tried to get lunch. The staff here were also rude, slow and disinterested, so we grabbed baguettes from the fridge instead of trying to order anything cooked. Sitting outside here in the sun was very pleasant all the same. Finally we came across Golden Lane, an extremely pretty street where the miniature cottages once used by Rudolf II's castle guard are now shops selling yet more trinkets and souvenirs.
One of the highlights of the castle is the gardens. These are terraced all the way down the hill towards Malá Strana, the Small Quarter, and are great fun owing to their three-dimensional nature and maze-like arrangement of stairways and walls. You have to pay to enter at one point (after you have walked so far down that paying is always going to be a better option than climbing back up) but the attendant was friendly and helpful, and a map was usefully provided.
At the bottom of the hill we found ourselves in Malá Strana, the baroque centre of Prague. The Rough Guide says, "the streets have changed very little since Mozart walked them [...] between 1787 and 1791." It is quite easy to imagine that you have been transported back to that time when walking around here.
We continued to explore for the rest of the day. We crossed Karlûv most, which is an impressive bridge lined with statues, and filled with traders and musicians. There are also superb bridge towers at each end. We continued into Staré Mêsto, finding endless narrow streets to explore.
In the evening we dined outside Hotel U Prince in Staromêstké Námêstí. This seemed like it might be a bit too touristy to be any good, but it turned out to be excellent. The location is superb - the buildings in the square are magnificently lit up at night. There are huge gas heaters to keep warm by, the service is friendly and efficient, and the food is top quality fare.
Afterwards we proceeded to Club Karlovy, billed as "Middle Europe's Biggest Music Club". This is close to the Charles bridge which gave us an excellent view to look at as we queued for forty minutes. It was well worth the wait though. There are four flours of different kinds of music, from top quality trance to '80s and '90s cheese. There's a chillout area on the ground floor. The drink is cheap - just a £1 for a Vodka and Semtex (the Czech republics equivalent of Red Bull), entry is just £2 and the cloakroom is free.
Whilst at the bar there I noticed a guy looking at his beer with suspicion. In the Czech Republic they seem to like to pour their lager with a good inch or two of frothy head. I made a comment to this effect to the guy - guessing correctly that he was British. We were mutually thrilled at finding other Englishmen. He was in a group of lads celebrating a 21st birthday. We chatted with them for a while, and we all laughed when one of them got beer thrown in his face by a Czech girl in return for his unwanted advances!
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