I realised I had forgotten to buy a train ticket from Vienna to Prague a few days ago so I had to buy online and get my ticket directly from the ticket machine, which was easy enough, just needed to input the reference number they gave you. Trains from Vienna to Prague didn’t leave from Westbanhof so I had to change once at Wien Meidling, I suspect it would be faster to catch a metro to Wien HBF or Wien Meidling and take the train directly because though because I had to wait one hour for the connecting train in Meidling.
While waiting for the train at Wien Meidling, look who I spotted on the cover of a magazine (bottom right)! Our favourite Austrian, well, American now: The Governator. 😎
Arrived at the hotel in Prague and they gave me a beautiful cornerview room with a great view of the city. Although the Wi-Fi did not work in my room… 😑
After exchanging some Czech Krones from the hotel (the rate was actually not bad!), I set off to Pražský hrad (Prague Castle), took a metro to Hradčanská station (which was actually quite a bit of a walk but it was still the closest station).
Katedrála svatého Víta, Václava a Vojtěcha (St. Vitus Cathedral) from afar.
Entrance to the Prague Castle. As you can see, it’s not really a typical castle, don’t expect stone walls and towers.
Someone important enough to have a police car escort coming out of the castle.
Look at the soldier on the left laughing, so unprofessional! 😂
A group of soldiers marching, cute pastel blue uniforms, haha.
Prague Castle court yard.
Now, the ticketing system to the Prague Castle is sort of complicated. Basically the castle grounds are free to roam around 24/7, but there are some places which do cost money to get in and you can’t buy the tickets separately, they come in sets (check out the official website here). Most of the sights worth seeing are free anyway so don’t feel compelled that you must go to the paid places (internet reviews say they are not worth going anyway). Although the lady told me everything was going to close at 5pm (I arrived at 4:30pm), I ended up buying the circuit B anyway because I really wanted to go into the cathedral and I also had to pay an extra 50 Kč for the photography permit. I was tole the ticket will still be valid the next day so I could come back to visit the rest of the places if I wanted to.
St. Vitus Cathedral, a very typical gothic cathedral.
After I went in, I realised you could go into the entrance part (where all the people are) without paying, you just need a ticket to go into the inner parts of the church. Also, nobody checked my photography permit (maybe because it was near closing time).
Love these giant round gothic stained glass.
As you can see, a very typical gothic interior.
MOAR STAINED GLASS.
This guy surfing on a float is actually the tomb of John of Nepomuk, you can also see his statue on the Charles Bridge.
That one 3D guy amongst all the 2D wall paintings, lol.
Those tombstone things on the wall, does that mean there are bodies buried IN the wall!?
Although similiar to other gothic cathedrals, this one houses some of the most colourful stained glass I have seen so far.
Since I still had some time left after rushing through St. Vitus cathedral, I decided to pay a visit to Bazilika Sv. Jiří (St. George’s Basilica) as well, just behind St. Vitus.
St. George’s Basilica is the oldest church building within Prage Castle.
Some kind of relic behind the gate down the stairs, probably a tomb.
Check out the modern weaponry on the right, guess this castle is still used as a defense base!? 😂
St. Vitus from the back.
Bride running away from the rain.
The most beautiful part of the castle is of course the view of the city!
You can even see the famous Charles Bridge.
Someone apparently got too amazed by the view and left their glasses here. 😂😂😂
As you walk along the castle walls you can enjoy the view from different angles.
After walking down from the castle, walked towards the Vltata river and spotted the famous historical Karlův most (Charles Bridge), which was built in the 14th century.
Everything is so cute about this! The little boat, the cute uniforms, haha.
Once you reach the Charles Bridge from the castle’s side, you can go up to the Lesser Town Bridge Tower, which in my opinion has a better view of Prague than the clock tower in the historical center even though it’s not quite as tall.
The famous orange roofs of Prague.
Great view of Prague Castle…
…and also of Charles Bridge! That’s why I love the view from up here, it’s so diverse!
“Balls.” 😑😑😑
Postcard perfect. 😍
Walked down to Charles Bridge, the path is lined with elaborate statues.
I would like to stand here and admire each statue but there were too many!
Charles Bridge, lined with vendors and buskers, lol.
Across the bridge is the historic center of Prague.
Surrounded by colourful historical architecture.
Pražský orloj (Prague Astronomical Clock), built in the 15th century, it’s the oldest astronomical clock which is still working. According to Wikipedia, a legend has it that the clockmaker Hanuš was blinded on the order of the Prague Councillors so that he could not repeat his work; in turn, he broke down the clock, and no one was able to repair it for the next hundred years.
Staroměstské náměstí (Old Town Square).
As with every romantic historical city, there are the horse drawn carriages.
Food stalls with areas where you can stand around drinking beer and eating sausages.
Went to get meself some Bohemian pork knuckles for dinner, yummy!!! OMG I love pork knuckles in the part of the world, just can’t get enough!! And the tripe soup was good too. Couldn’t finish the pork knuckle though, took the leftovers home for breakfast tomorrow. 😂
After dinner, went up the clock tower for a night view of Prague.
As you can see, it’s not really night even though it was already like 9pm, and the tower closes at 10! How do you see complete night views in Prague during summer??
You can see Prague Castle in the distance.
Finally the streets have lit up!
The streets and buildings somehow looks like toy models from up here.
Dusk.
Around ½ of The World in 80 Days 