A Pre-Christmas Visit to Prague

For many of our remembered moments, it is very clear why they made it into the long-term memory. However, I find it curious why some inconsequential moments, among the immense throng, somehow get embedded in the "better hang on to this one for the rest of your life" file.  

For example, for some reason, I remember the first time I thought that I would like to visit the city of Prague.  It was in the early nineties, probably right around the time that Czechoslovakia divided into two states: the Czech Republic and Slovakia, and I was sitting in my small living room in Pond Inlet, Nunavut where I was beginning my teaching career.  It was at a time when only really with-it adults had heard whisperings of a "world wide web" ( I was not one of them.  In fact, when I heard one of my colleagues, Gayle, in Pond Inlet being asked what her professional goal was for that year and she responded, "Learning more about the www.", I thought how bizarre it was that she was interested in the "World Wide Wrestling" Federation!).   So needless to say,  I was reading about this foreign city, a world away from Canada's high arctic, old-school style; in a magazine.  The article was comparing Prague with the Paris of the seventies and was encouraging people to get to see it before it was too late.

I am not sure what time-frame this magazine had in mind, but almost twenty-five years later I finally visited Prague.  While I have no firsthand experience to compare the Prague of the nineties with its present day version, we found the Prague of 2016 to be beautiful and well worth the effort to see it.

Here we've just arrived at the Prague Castle grounds, all 7 football fields of it, with St. Vitus Cathedral in the background. 

Construction of this Gothic cathedral began in 1344 and is where centuries of Bohemian monarchs have been coronated and buried.

And, more of the castle grounds.

On our two visits to the castle complex, the girls ordered potato gnocchi with cabbage and pork from this particular vendor at least 5 times.  The last time was later in the evening, and they were thrilled when he gave them quite the heaping portion!

Christmas markets in Prague had the added bonus of animals to feed and pet.

We stumbled across a number of Christmas markets of varying sizes throughout the city.

The girls could have hung out by the river with the swans for much longer, but I was getting wimpy in the cold and had to get walking again.  Our plan was to cross the historic Charles Bridge you see in the background designed by Petr Parléř, who also was responsible for the plans of the St. Vitus Cathedral.  He made quite the mark on his city!  Incidentally, this river is the Vltava which also flows through Český Krumlov.  

On the Charles Bridge that people have been crossing since 1402.  I read that this bridge's lasting power comes from a secret ingredient that was mixed into the mortar...egg yolk!

A blacksmith at work appears to be a Prague Christmas market tradition 

Barry and Lily posing like they mean business with some armour.

Lily feeling some joy as we are about to enter Prague's Old Town Square for the first time.

And on our left, we came upon Prague's famous astronomical clock, first assembled in 1410 with the assistance of the astronomer and mathematician Jan Sindel.  In the Middle Ages. it was considered one of the Wonders of the World.  You can read more about this clock here.   At noon the next day, we crowded in front of it with at least another 200 people to watch its show that you can see below.

If you are having difficulty viewing the video try this link.

Next on the agenda was to climb up the tower at the Old Town Hall and see the sights from high above the clock.

A bird's eye view of the square and the Jan Hus Memorial

The Church of Our Lady Before Tyn, dating back to the mid-14th century, towering above its neighbouring buildings.

We also climbed the Petrin Tower up on, you guessed it, Petrin Hill for more spectacular views of the city.

We returned to the Prague castle grounds one evening to attend a classical music Christmas concert in St. George's Basilica, founded in 920.  It was lovely and peaceful inside, but not very insulated from Prague's December chill!  Below is a short sample of what we heard that evening.

If you are having troubles viewing the video try this link.

And, I will leave you with the view looking back at St. Vitus cathedral from the square where St. George's Basilica stands