Prague: Day 3

Day 3

We spent the early morning wandering through Jewish Quarter which is one of the most beautiful parts of Prague.

We then caught the tram to the top of Prague's Castle Quarter. One of the most stunning sights was the Strahov Monastery's library.

I mean, look at those books! To take pictures you have to pay extra and you get a little "photographer" sticker to wear. Worth it so I can swoon over this library.

Just below the Monastery is the Monastery Garden which has the best views of Prague. Don't miss it!

From there we visited Prague Castle for the changing of the guard, entered St. Vitus Cathedral (the line is forever long but moves quick enough) and toured the underrated and under-visited Lobkowicz Palace. William Lobkowicz narrates the earnest audioguide. The collection has beautiful paintings, originals of Mozart's orchestrations.

The streets near the castle are bustling. Street performers, food vendors and these impressive illusionists. If only the shady massage people would channel their energy into something cool like this.


The convenience of staying near Old Town Square is that we ended each day wandering through it. We focused on the crowds of the Astronomical Clock on Town Hall.

As the crowds gather on the hour, the clock whirls around telling time in many different ways: Bohemian Time and Modern Time (with Roman numerals), sunrise and sunset, moon phases.

On the top of the hour, Death tips the hour glass and then the 12 Apostles march on through the open windows. It's quite the crowd pleaser. Hold onto your bags! We were warned it is prime pick pocket territory.

Gathering crowds below the Astronomical Clock.
The second best view in town (after the Monastery Garden) is from the top of the Astronomical Clock. We skipped the interior of the church and went straight for the view.

Oh how I wish this was my balcony!

And with dreamy views like this, we ended the night at the symphony for Prague's Spring Music Festival.

Prague is dreamy. Now excuse me while I dream of stuffing my face with one of these.

Practicalities:

• Transportation: use the tram to get to the top of Castle Hill. It's a bit of an uphill walk and the tram is cheap.
• Get a load of that view. Best views, IMHO, are from the Monastery Garden and the top of the Astronomical Clock. 
• Crowds: Beware of thick crowds below the Astronomical Clock. 
• Accommodation: most of our activities centered around Old Town so it was worth it to pay a little extra to stay close and not have to pay for a tram/metro ride in. We liked our place here. 
• Eating: avoid eating on the big squares if you want good quality that is affordable.  
• Travel Planning: Rick Steves for life. Other helpful sites included: 
• Czech Republic Travel Sheet
• Seat61.com for traveling between countries

Traveled May 2015.