A Day in Prague–A Walking Tour

This morning we walked into the old part of town, crossing the Charles Bridge again. We arraigned for a 2 hour walking tour through at 11:00 and did some wandering on our own until then.

Prague was one of the few big beautiful cities left in tact after WWII. The bombs didn’t fall here, thank goodness. It’s a gem of a city, beautiful everywhere you look. The buildings around us represented every period of time, with Gothic, Baroque, Neoclassical, Victorian, and some more Modern Architecture.

These old buildings are large and tall. The thought of constructing them 100s of years ago is overwhelming. How did they create such lasting structures? And such beauty. Every detail on every building is artistic and beautiful. Even the cobblestone streets and sidewalks were beautiful. More about those later.

In a place like this, you always look up. The rooflines were far above us. Most buildings were 5 stories tall, with towers and decoration all the way to the top.

Everywhere you look, you can zoom in to see the artistry.

Here’s a Turtle Neck shop–a tasty tourist treat. More about this later too!

Every street was interesting and full of visitors. Imagine what it must be like in the summer months!

While waiting for our tour to begin, we walked to the historical Wenceslas Square.

Wenceslas Square (Wikipedia):
Wenceslas Square is one of the main city squares and the centre of the business and cultural communities in the New Town of Prague, Czech Republic. Many historical events occurred there, and it is a traditional setting for demonstrations, celebrations, and other public gatherings. It is also the place with the busiest pedestrian traffic in the whole country. The square is named after Saint Wenceslas, the patron saint of Bohemia. It is part of the historic centre of Prague, a World Heritage Site.
Formerly known as Koňský trh (Horse Market), for its periodic accommodation of horse markets during the Middle Ages, it was renamed Svatováclavské náměstí (English: Saint Wenceslas square) in 1848 on the proposal of Karel Havlíček Borovský.
Less a square than a boulevard, Wenceslas Square has the shape of a very long (750 m, total area 45,000 m2) rectangle, in a northwest–southeast direction. The street slopes upward to the southeast side. At that end, the street is dominated by the grand neoclassical Czech National Museum. The northwest end runs up against the border between the New Town and the Old Town.

Here is Good King Wenceslas, honored and revered as a wonderful King.

Then we went back to the square with the famous astronomical clock, created in 1410. It is still running with the same mechanics. 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 disabled the clock, and no one was able to repair it for the next hundred years.