I made the best of my last day in Prague by hanging out around the Town Square. I got up early and walked up to the St. Charles Bridge so I could enjoy the bridge all to myself, I was surprised to find people out there already, they were mostly photographers trying to capture the sunrise.
The St. Charles Bridge is a historic bridge that crosses the Vltava river in Prague. Its construction started in 1357 under the auspices of King Charles IV and finished at the beginning of the 15th century.The avenue of 30 mostly baroque statues and statuaries situated on the rails forms a unique connection of artistic styles with the underlying gothic bridge. Most sculptures were erected between 1683 and 1714. They depict various saints and patron saints venerated at that time. Beginning in 1965, all of the statues have been systematically replaced by replicas, and the originals have been exhibited in the Lapidarium of the National Museum.View of the Vltava River. It is the longest river within the Czech Republic, running southeast along the Bohemian Forest and then north across Bohemia, through Český Krumlov, České Budějovice and Prague, and finally merging with the Elbe at Mělník. It is commonly referred to as the “Bohemian sea” and the “Czech national river”.I always see brides getting their wedding photos taken all over Prague early in the morning when there aren’t any people out in the square or the bridge. Today I saw 3 brides in the Town Square. I also always see couples taking their engagement photos as well.After getting ready, I had another Trdelník ice cream cone. This was the “Chimney King” with vanilla ice cream, nuts, a brownie, chocolate sauce, and salted caramel.
The production of trdelník has a long tradition in the Slovak town of Skalica near the borders with Czech Republic. The original recipe was brought to Skalica at the end of the 18th century by the Transylvanian cook József Gvadányi, a retired Hungarian general. Check out this clip, I took it inside the Good Food Bakery shop.
After having my ice cream, I crossed the St. Charles Bridge again to visit the post office where I mailed off my watercolored postcard to a friend in the United States.On the way back I stopped at the John Lennon wall. Once a normal wall, since the 1980s it has been filled with John Lennon-inspired graffiti and pieces of lyrics from Beatles’ songs. It is located in a small secluded square across from the French Embassy, the wall received its first such decoration following the 1980 assassination of John Lennon when an unknown artist painted a single image of the singer-songwriter and some lyrics.
After my visit to the wall, I crossed back to the Town Square for lunch. I had “Old Prague Ham”. Old Prague Ham is a type of brine-cured, stewed, and mildly beechwood-smoked originally from Prague in Bohemia (Czech Republic). Check out this short clip of the cooking process.
Old Prague Ham is traditionally served in restaurants and from street vendors with a side of boiled potatoes and often accompanied by Czech beer. This is how I had it. It was delicious.Before leaving Prague, I had to have one more Trdelník chimney cone! This was a pistachio cone with orange prosecco ice cream. I ate this by the bridge, you can see the lovers’ locks on the gate in the background.Goodbye Prague, I had a lovely time here. Now it’s time to board the train for our next destination.
We arrived in Prague today around 8 AM. We took the metro to the Old Prague Town Square to check into our Airbnb apartment and then had the best time ever in Prague.
Old Town Square is a historic square in the Old Town quarter of Prague, the capital of the Czech Republic. It is located between Wenceslas Square and Charles Bridge. Our Airbnb apartment was located in this square.The Astronomical Clock in the middle of Town Square. The oldest part of the clock and astronomical dial dates back to 1410 when it was made by clockmaker Mikuláš of Kadaň and Jan Šindel, then later a professor of mathematics and astronomy at Charles University. The first recorded mention of the clock was on October 9, 1410. Later, presumably around 1490, the calendar dial was added and the clock facade was decorated with gothic sculptures.This was our Airbnb apartment.This is the view out of our apartment windows. We are very close to the Astronomical Clock.The first thing I did in Prague was to visit the Alphonse Mucha Museum.Alphonse Mucha, was a Czech painter, illustrator, and graphic artist, living in Paris during the Art Nouveau period, best known for his stylized and decorative theatrical posters of Sarah Bernhardt. He produced paintings, illustrations, advertisements, postcards, and designs which became among the best-known images of the period.Moët & Chandon Crémant Impérial, 1899.The Mucha Museum is the only museum in the world dedicated to the life and work of the world-acclaimed Czech ART NOUVEAU artist Alphonse Mucha (1860 – 1939). You can see many of his drawings and posters here.On the left: Fruits. On the right: Flower. Both are from 1897.The first Absintherie that I visited today.I had distilled Absinthe and a “Merry Berry” which was made with fresh blueberries, blueberry jam, sage, lime juice, and sugar.
Here’s a short video of the absinthe, it was beautiful. I didn’t really like it but I already knew I wouldn’t and that’s why I also ordered the Merry Berry.
After the Absintherie, I walked down to get a “Chimney Devil”. It was an activated charcoal ice cream with coconut inside a trdelnik cone.Banknote designed by Mucha: 500 crowns. Mucha was keen to do whatever he could to help the creation of the new state and readily agreed to design the first Czechoslovak stamps and banknotes. The first banknote came out in 1919 and many others followed in later years. Besides banknotes and stamps, Mucha designed all kinds of paraphernalia for the state, from the national emblem to police uniforms.After eating ice cream, I took a walk across the St. Charles Bridge. It was amazing.Here I am with the medievil Astronomical Clock.After walking around the St. Charles Bridge, I went with my cousins for an absinthe shot at another Absintherie.It had beautiful murals painted all over the bar.Here I am with my cousin Caro, looking for the green fairy.Another beautiful mural.This time I had the “beetle” shot (Bohemian style) and a “Raspberry Bramble” which had Absinthe, lemon juice, fresh raspberries, and raspberry syrup.
The Bohemian-style absinthe is poured into a glass, and a sugar cube on a slotted spoon is placed over the glass. The sugar cube is then soaked with absinth and is set on fire. The cube is then dropped into the absinthe, setting it ablaze. Then water is poured over the flame until it goes out. Check out the bartender preparing it in the video clip below.
Today we went on a walking tour of Prague. We visited the Astronomical Clock, walked across the Charles Bridge, St. Vitus Cathedral and the Prague Castle.
The Absynthe Bar on the 1st floor of our apartment.The world-famous Astronomical Clock.Absynthe spoon collection.Absynthe.Close-up of the Astronomical Clock.The Charles Bridge.The Prague Castle.Exterior of the St. Vitus Cathedral.The entrance to the St. Vitus Cathedral.Inside the St. Vitus Cathedral.Another interesting Absynthe place in the town square.
We took the train into Prague today, I was so tired today that I almost passed out. Instead of sightseeing, I opted to stay in the apartment tonight, drink hot tea and do laundry. The only sightseeing I had today was from the train station to the apartments that we rented.
The apartment buildings typically look like this in Prague.Datail of the building above.This is the view from our apartment.
