The last and final leg of my reading week adventure was in Prague. In my opinion, this was the best part and made and excellent way to end a trip. We arrived late after a long train ride in and were greeted with piles and piles of snow! It reminded me of being back in Canada, which was oddly comforting (despite the fact that I am not a snow person). We had beautiful sunny weather and got to see many splendours of the beautiful city. Every inch of Prague is beautiful and it felt a bit like a fairytale. Here are some pictures:
This is St Wenceslas Square by night:
We had dinner at a traditional Czech restaurant called "U Fleku" which has been around since the 1500's. It has old paneled walls with hand painted decorations and every single chair had a different colourful stein painted on the back:
Traditional Czech cuisine...Beef goulash and dumplings served with dark frothy beer...Delicious!
The first day, on a walking tour:
This is the inside of St. John's cathedral. Inside there is a mummified hand hanging from the ceiling that is supposedly real. This comes from the legend that there once was a thief in the church, hoping to steal goods after everyone had left at night. When he came out of hiding, a stone sculpture of the Virgin Mary grasped his hand so that he could not move. In the morning he was found alive but grasped within the statue so the only option for the church was to slice his hand and forearm off. This hand is now hanging to warn visitors of the dangers of thieving from the church.
The outside:
Old Town Square:
The astronomical clock:
Details on the astronomical clock: Four little figurines meant to represent the four fears/despised traits of the Czechs - these two are Vain and Greed:
And these two are Death and a Turk:
In the old Jewish quarter, on the left you can see the oldest Jewish cemetery in Europe:
This is the oldest Jewish synagogue in Europe. It was preserved during World War 2 because Hitler thought that the Jewish quarter in Prague could remain as it once had been, to serve purpose of a museum once the Jewish race was wiped out.
The opera house:
On St. Charles' bridge: (with Prague Castle in the background, right above my head)
Entrance to Prague Castle:
Strahov Monastery. This is a very old monastery where the monks have been brewing their own beer for centuries.
The monks' beer-making process:
St Charles' bridge at night:
The John Lennon memorial:
The Dancing House:
Prague has a lot of Art Deco motifs:
Some delicious donut-like things that were everywhere:
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