Next we walked down to the Vltava River and crossed one of the 17 bridges to the other side, then we walked up the hill to the Palace up above. It was raining off and on all day. The stones were wet. It was a climb. The palace up on top is a huge area, like a small town.
Along the way to the top:
Here’s a fun shop that had wooden cookie presses and rolling pins:
Prague Castle
From Wikipedia:
Prague Castle
Prague Castle is a castle complex in Prague 1 within Prague, Czech Republic, built in the 9th century. It is the official office of the President of the Czech Republic. The castle was a seat of power for kings of Bohemia, Holy Roman emperors, and presidents of Czechoslovakia. The Bohemian Crown Jewels are kept within a hidden room inside it.
According to the Guinness Book of Records, Prague Castle is the largest ancient castle in the world, occupying an area of almost 70,000 square metres (750,000 square feet), at about 570 metres (1,870 feet) in length and an average of about 130 metres (430 feet) wide. The castle is among the most visited tourist attractions in Prague, attracting over 1.8 million visitors annually.
We just walked from one end to the other, through the complex of buildings. It took almost an hour. We didn’t go into any buildings–they were all closed, but there were still lots of people and umbrellas. There were no gardens, just buildings and squares and lots of cobblestones.
This the Vitus Cathedral. You can read more about it here. Last week it closed to the public for renovations. It’s the largest and the most important cathedral in Prague. Besides religious services, coronations of Czech kings and queens took place here. The cathedral is the burial place of several patron saints, sovereigns, noblemen and archbishops.
I stood under the gargoyle rain spouts, watching the water fall from high above me onto the stone pavement below.
The Palace is a series of buildings. They are spread across the hilltop, without starting or ending, like huge wings of a great manor home.
This is the entrance to the Palace (on the left end of the diagram).
There were 2 guards at the gate of the palace entrance like at Buckingham Palace. They did not move, except to blink their eyes when I thanked them for letting me take their photos.
From here we walked back down the hill, with beautiful views of Prague below us.
We spent the evening on a river cruise going around in circles on the river and eating all the food we wanted. It was nice to rest our feet.
Our Frankfurt Germany Mission 