Walking tours galore!

After 10 hours of sleep, and relaxation from the spa, we were raring to go!

We started off with breakfast in the hotel, it was good but incredibly busy! We never stick around too long, plus we had a food tour at 1.30pm, so we knew better than to stuff ourselves!

The first tour of the day kicked off at 10am beside the Powder Tower, a short walk from the hotel. The tower is a gothic gateway built in 1475 as one of the original city gates separating the old town from the new town. In the 17th Century, it was used to store gunpowder, hence its current nickname. Not sure this was a particularly good idea, given that one spark would ultimately destroy it and half the city!

Our next stop was the “House of the Black Madonna” built in cubist architecture. The guide told us that no-one knows why the Madonna is black (see right of picture), only that she was taken from the previous building before it was knocked down, and then returned to the same spot when it was rebuilt in 1912. It now houses a museum and cafe; the cafe is apparently excellent, apart from the fact there are circular tables, every cubist’s nightmare! 

After a short walk around the corner, we stopped outside The Estates Theatre, a beautiful neo-classical theatre opened in 1783. It is famously known as the venue where Mozart conducted the world premiere of his opera Don Giovanni in 1787. Apparently Mozart loved Prague and would have happily lived here, but it didn’t pay quite as well as Vienna!

The next stop is probably the most famous site in Prague; the Astronomical Clock is one of the oldest and most elaborate working clocks in the world. Mounted on the Old Town Hall, it displays not only the time but also the positions of the sun, moon and zodiac signs. Every hour, animated figures including the twelve apostles appear from the open windows. The whole thing lasts 42 seconds, but it’s worth it! We didn’t watch the show this time, but we caught it the following night which was even more atmospheric!

There are many churches on the square, but I quite liked his one, the “Church of Our Lady before Tyn.” It is a stunning Gothic church with twin spires, each over 80 metres tall. The towers are intentionally unequal in size, symbolising the masculine and feminine sides of the world, reflecting the medieval belief in balance and duality. I thought it was pretty cool! (Although everyone knows women rule! Ha ha). And also from large to small points North (because women can’t tell directions, ha ha! Iain)

Also on the square is a statue of Jan Hus; he was a Czech priest, philosopher and reformer who became a key predecessor to the Protestant Reformation. He criticised corruption within the Catholic Church and called for a religious and moral renewal based on the bible. In 1415, he was condemned and burned at the stake, becoming a national hero and an inspiration for Martin Luther. Ever heard of defenestration? If not, it was after the death of Hus where his followers, the Hussites, threw various people, mainly Catholics, out of windows and onto spikes below! There are a few Czech words in the English dictionary including defenestration and pistol!

As we walked towards the Jewish quarter, we passed the Spanish synagogue with a statue of Franz Kafka and the depiction of his famous work “The Metamorphosis.” Kafka was born in Prague, but remained relatively unknown until after his death at the age of 40. This statue is pretty cool, but everyone misses the cockroach on the ground, the whole point of his book!

A short walk from the Spanish Synagogue, down the “most expensive street in the Czech Republic,” is the Old-New synagogue, so called because of the mispronunciation or misunderstanding of the Hebrew “Altenai” which sounds like old-new in German! The synagogue is the oldest active synagogue in Europe; it has been at the  centre of Jewish life in Prague for over 700 years.

After a short walk, we eventually got to The Charles Bridge, a stone bridge connecting the Old Town with the Lesser Town. It was built in the 14th century under the reign of King Charles IV and is adorned with 30 baroque statues of saints. The bridge is beautiful, but it is also one of the busiest places in Prague, don’t try to get anywhere quickly!

Before crossing the bridge, there is a fantastic view of Prague Castle, or complex. It doesn’t really look like a castle in the traditional sense, but I’ll let you know if it’s worth a visit or not as we plan to go Monday. 

One thing I forgot to mention, there were little otter-like animals swimming in the river; I asked what they were expecting a not very interesting answer, but turns out they are ‘escaped’ capybaras. I expected to see one in Argentina, definitely not in Prague!

The final stop of the tour was the John Lennon Wall, a colourful mural located in the Lesser Town, beside the French Embassy. It was started when Lennon died as most people didn't even know it had happened due to communists controlling the news; the wall has been covered with graffiti, song lyrics and messages. Apparently, the French didn’t mention anything about the wall to the Communists, it just so happened that one of the guards patrolling came across it a few days after Lennon’s death. Despite repeated repainting by the authorities, it still remains a living symbol of free expression and youth rebellion. 

The next tour was a 30 minute walk away, and we were running out of time. We literally ran from the previous one, back across the bridge and followed the river for about 2km. It was 1.22pm when we got there, only 7 minutes after the meeting time, but still 8 minutes before it was due to start. Unfortunately, we were last there and we got a few bad looks!

The boat brewery, L’od Pivovar, was the first stop of our food and beer walking tour; its a microbrewery built on a boat and I thoroughly recommend. We got to choose one of three beers, which was accompanied by pickled cheese and homemade malt-bread. The cheese is called Hermelin and is a bit like a Camembert but much lighter. 

After this, it was time to go to the next stop. Our guide, Eva, didn’t like busy places so she took us various short-cuts, down side-streets and also into a museum which was a convent. It was quite a peaceful place, albeit a bit of an odd option for a food tour!

Our second stop was the Gingerbread Bakery, where we got to try three different things, one of which had poppy seeds. They were all excellent, but I was already starting to feel full and we still had another three stops to go!

Our third stop was a place called Tauris, where we were served a sandwich. This isn’t just a normal sandwich, it needs to be made to look pretty! It also tasted pretty good too.

Iain and I were both getting full, and it only got worse! We stopped at a place famous for its homemade Kolache, a traditional Czech pastry filled with fruit and cheese. The center is usually open showcasing the filling, and the edges are slightly raised. It was so tasty but I was stuffed!

A very weird and controversial artwork on the way to our last stop; I thought it was pretty good. The spitfire butterflies are on the side of an old department store, they were to attract people to visit as it is now home to a games type place. I got the impression from our guide, that the older generation are not fans. Apparently the artist is very controversial!

Our last stop was Cafe Louvre, a historic cafe founded in 1902. It was a popular meeting place for famous people like Franz Kafka and Albert Einstein. It serves classic Czech dishes so we had to choose what we wanted; I went for chicken with a paprika sauce whereas Iain went with goulash. We also got a choice of wine, beer or a soft drink.

We really thought that was the end of the meal, but we finished with an apple streudel and that definitely tipped us both over the edge. Neither of us complained about the walk back to the hotel, even though it was 20 or so minutes.

After the food coma, we decided to have a couple of drinks in the hotel bar, it was full of Viking cruise patrons, remind me not to do one of them until I am at least 70!