Feeling well rested we headed off to catch our tram into the city and commence a big day in Prague. The first big decision of the day was that after walking down 201 steps (yep we counted them) to get to the tram stop we vowed we would be getting a taxi home!
We got off the tram and headed toward Wenceslas Square, the historical centre of Prague and actually a World Heritage Site.
Then we walked on to the Powder Tower, one of the original 13 gates of the old town, it was used to store gunpowder in the 17th Century, thus the name Powder Tower. Ironically the Tower is located in what is now known as the New City in the Republic Square.
As with most cities the Old Town is usually our favourite spot. The Old Town Square in Prague didn’t disappoint.
Located in the Old Town is the Church of St Nicholas, a beautiful building built between 1704 – 1755. The Baroque organ has over 4,000 pipes up to six metres in length and was played by Mozart in 1787. In fact, Mozart’s spectacular masterpiece, Mass in C, was first performed in the Church of Saint Nicholas shortly after his visit.
As we made our way to Charles Bridge we saw a number of beautiful buildings and bridges.
The Charles Bridge contains 30 amazing statues, many of them have been replicated and replaced over the years, but they are no less stunning. Being a Sunday and with the weather so fantastic there were so many people around. As we walked across the bridge we were swamped by tourists!
The views from the bridge and castle were pretty awesome.
Inside Prague Castle is St Vitus Cathedral, another example of Gothic architecture it is considered the biggest and most important church in the Czech Republic and contains the tombs of many Bohemian Kings and Holy Roman Emperors. The stained glass windows were really quite beautiful and the high ceilings were spectacular.
We really enjoyed our short stay in Prague and headed back to the apartment, already getting excited for our journey back to Austria tomorrow to Salzburg.
Such gorgeous artwork in those churches!