Two of the top destinations for people visiting Prague are Prague Castle and Charles Bridge. Of course, Prague Castle and Charles Bridge are also on our must-see list as well.
We headed to Prague Castle and Charles Bridge on the first day when we arrived in Prague. It was a nice sunny summer afternoon. From Old Town, it was quite easy to find our way to Charles Bridge, by simply following the crowd. The closer we were to Charles Bridge, the more crowded it was. Finally, we saw the Old Town Bridge Tower in front of us and St Francis of Assissi Church is right next to the Old Town Bridge Tower.
Charles Bridge has shown up in many movies, for example, Mission Impossible, and Casino Royale. It was really nice to see this famous bridge in person. Along Charles Bridge, there are many historic statues. I also saw musicians performing and artists selling their arts everywhere on the bridge.
The view from Charles Bridge was beautiful! I saw Prague Castle on the hill, river cruises and party boats on the Vltava River. The red roof buildings and the Vltava river together look just like a picturesque painting in a story book.
On the other end of Charles Bridge is Mala Strana, where Prague Castle is located. Entering Mala Strana, the street was packed with people! There are many cute shops, restaurants, and snack bars. I saw the National Marionette Theater and Prague Ghosts and Legends Museum. They were on my to-do list, but we didn’t get a chance to visit them because there were some many things to see! Oh well. At least I got pictures of them.
We continued heading to Prague Castle and I started to feel the street going up-hill. When you head to Prague Castle and start to feel the street going up-hill, you are heading to the right direction. After climbing a little while, I saw Prague Castle on top of the hill. On the way, we passed by Prague’s oldest pub.
My effort of climbing all these stairs paid off. The view from the top of the hill is stunning. I was able to see many landmarks from here. The crowds on Charles Bridge looked so insane!
Prague Castle area is quite large. There are multiple buildings spreading out. The building I like most is St Vitus Cathedral.
We leisurely walked around and occasionally “joined” some tour groups with tours who speak English 😀. We overheard a tour guide mention that the Golden Lane would be free to enter after 6pm and we decided to join that group as well 😊. While we were waiting outside of Golden Lane, I bought a couple of amazingly hand painted eggs, one has rabbits in a green field, which fits so well the theme of our house, and the other has Prague Castle on it.
At 6pm, we followed the crowds and entered the Golden Lane. Golden Lane is a short street. It used to be the “dormitory” for the castle guards and goldsmiths. The houses on Golden Lane are all small and short. We visited a weapon and armor museum and it was quite interesting to see these medieval weapons and suits of armor that I only have seen in the movies and read in books. I learned that the famous Czech writer and Nobel Price winner in Literature, Kafka, lived in the Golden Lane for a period of time (house number 22).
After passing through a dungeon looking path, we were out on the other side of Prague Castle. From there, walking down hill took us back to the town. Farewell, Prague Castle.
Prague Castle and Charles Bridge are impressively beautiful. It is not hard to understand why Prague is one of the top destinations in Europe!
Prague Castle, Czech Republic
Charles Bridge, Czech Republic
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