Beautiful Prague

Prague is a magnificent city. There are churches, spires, and amazing buildings around every corner, and my camera was never left in my bag for long. I managed to scrape together a few days of sightseeing amongst all of the lesson stressing, but it is definitely a place I would like to go back to in order to wander the museums, streets, and shops some more.

Charles Bridge is one of my favourite tourist spots in Prague. Overloaded with souvenir sellers…yes. Packed with tourists from all over the world (including a lot of Brit hen/stag parties)…yes. But, there is a real charm to this bridge in spite of having to share it with a million other sightseers. There are entertainers ranging from a didgeridoo player to a Czech jazz band, from a blind Spanish guitarist to an American OAP barbershop-styley choir. Yes, you have to jostle for space on the bridge, and you certainly wont get a perfect shot of the bridge with no people on it (unless you’re up at the crack of dawn), but there is a great atmosphere of excitement and admiration as you walk along this bridge. Down the sides are amazing statues of people I don’t remember (apart from King Wenceslas), as well as hundreds (ok, so I’m exaggerating!) of artwork stalls. There are paintings, sketches, and photographs of Prague in a multitude of styles and colours. Of course, as one of the main tourist parts of the city, the prices are pretty steep for small pic, but if there had been the perfect shot I would have bought one to add to my collection of prints etc that I have bought on my travels. Unfortunately, I just couldn’t find what I wanted, and so (shock horror) didn’t really buy a souvenir from Prague…I decided that I would much rather have one of my own photographs blown up and framed, rather than pay for someone elses! Cheapo Lauren time! But it was still nice to wander the stalls, and look at the glass jewellery that I couldn’t afford, before stopping on the right hand side for a perfect shot of the looming Prague Castle in all its glory. I think I liked Charles Bridge so much because at night-time it was just magic, and you would look around and see the river, the glowing castle, and the distant spires, and think “wow, I’m in Prague!” Might sound stupid, but since when have my blogs and thoughts in general been exclusively ‘normal’!!

Prague Castle, St Vitus cathedral, the Old Town Square, the Jewish Quarter…were also all really interesting, and you can check out my pictures on my flickr page if you want to see more. One thing in Prague was a bit of a let down however…the astronomical clock in the Old Town Square. This clock is famous for showing the time (obviously!), along with lots of other stuff….can’t quite remember what all the other hands and faces are for! Anyway, every hour this clock chimes, and people gather round to watch the clock! I knew that figures were supposed to come out of the clock…and I was expecting to see some quaint old display…something along the lines of an advanced cuckoo clock!! I arrived at the clock at 5 to the hour, and joined the huge group of people who were looking very excited about the clock chimes, and had their cameras at the ready. The clock itself is very beautiful, and is in the gorgeous town square which immediately lends it even more grandeur. I was excited to see what would happen when the hand reached 12. I’ll tell you what happened….nothing!...it was rubbish! The clock chimes, and 2 figures come out of doors above the clock face…they move out, they go back in, and that’s it! It wasn’t just me that was a bit dismayed by the lack of ‘spectacle’….everyone around me seemed to mutter a kind of ‘oh’ as they realised that what they had been waiting for had lasted for about 5 seconds! Ah well…no city is perfect!

p.s. To see more pretty Prague pics...click on my flickr box..on the right side of the blog!