Prague: Day 1

We had a nice time in Prague at the end of October. Not only did we never feel nervous about our wallets (probably because we avoided the Metro), but we were entranced by the thousands of small, beautiful artistic accents, liked the ritzy Viennese vibe, and appreciated the lower Eastern European prices.

Right after we arrived at 7 AM from a loud and clunky short night's sleep on the train, we stopped at an amazing cafe for breakfast. It was my first time having the elongated Czech rolls, generously topped with caraway and salt. They're eaten with all toppings, even jams. I loved the savory/sweet combination.

Then, we checked into our nice little hotel. It shared a quiet square with a yellow church. There were three things that, besides a perfectly comfortable stay, would make us want to stay here again: 1) They have a bird named Beppa or something. Daisy loved him. 2) They have a bottle of champagne sitting out on the breakfast buffet. 3) One night, I was looking for Daisy's PJ's and eventually found them, folded and with one button done, under her pillow in the pack-n-play. What a sweet maid.

Brief walk from Hotel Hastal into the old town

In the center of the old square, there's a large statue of Jan Hus, the Christian reformer and martyr. His conviction after studying the Bible was that all believers should be able to take communion, but at that time, only the religious leaders partook. He was burned at this spot one hundred years before Martin Luther succeeded in defying the powerful Church.

Tyn Church was Catholic before Hus, but the Hussites managed to maintain ownership of the building for two hundred years after his death. In 1620, the Hapsburg (Catholic) victory over the Czechs meant that the symbolic golden chalice once marking the building was melted down and created into the Virgin Mary still shining over the now empty niche on Tyn Church.

The mechanically advanced astronomical clock performs a little top-of-the-hour show. Like in Krakow, a bugler joins in with a call from the top of the clock's tower. 

Prague's Astronomical Clock

Charles Bridge, another famous landmark, is from the 14th century, and until the 1800's it was the only bridge over the Vlatava (Moldau) river. 

Apparently, Dixieland on the bridge is a "thing"

The waters of the Moldau, made famous by
Smetana's Ma Vlast

We stepped inside St. Nicholas church in the Little Quarter.

Chris and sleeping Daisy

Even though we were exhausted, we decided to walk up to the top of the hill to see an old monastery. It took forever, but the trees glowed, the views were fabulous, and we had a special time in quiet nature.

Charles Bridge, Tyn Church, etc. Prague is known as
The City of a Thousand Spires for a reason

We had lunch at the monastery and toured Prague Castle, but I'll write about those experiences later. After that busy first day, we paused to watch the sun set by the banks of the Moldau before finding dinner and collapsing in bed. End of day 1.