Czeching out Prague

We made the long drive from Konigssee, back into Austria then north into the Czech Republic and to its capital city, Prague (or Praha in Czech). We’ve been to Prague once before, but last time everything seemed to be so incredibly busy that we only saw about half what we were meant to. This time we made a much better start and managed to get a pitch on a camp site on one of the islands on the Vltava River. The Vltava is a pretty major waterway that eventually ends up as part of the Elbe (which we’ll be seeing again soon).

Prague is a very old city and has been the capital of the Bohemian region for over a thousand years. To get to the old town was quick hop across the Vltava on one of the river taxis.

First point of order is the main square in the old town where we ate some Trdelnik. These sugar coated dough treats, toasted over hot coals are apparently not a Czech tradition but were first seen in 2010 and are aimed squarely at the tourists. Tasty though! We then took in a few of the traditional sights such as the astronomical clock and Joolz had her picture taken with the ‘Little Mole’.

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We then took a tram across the river and up the hill to Prague Castle. The castle is technically still the political seat of the republic and has been since 9th century. We had been to the castle on our previous trip to Prague but we had been very rushed and only really seen the cathedral. This time we bought a ticket that got us entry to some of the buildings and explored more. First was Golden Lane, which is a street that originally just ran along one of the outer castle walls. Over the centuries, residents of the castle complex added lean-tos, bricked them in, added additional floors and expanded them until they became a street of random and very small medieval dwellings. The last one was vacated in the 1950s and they are now a museum with each one restored (with some artistic interpretation) to a previous state, including an alchemists, a baker, an inn and several more. We also got to peek in the castle, a church and the cathedral.

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We then worked our way back to The Van. We walked over the famous Charles Bridge, which includes dozens of statues along its length. We also stopped at the Fleku beerhouse for a quick beer. The Czechs invented Pilsner (the town of Pilsner is actually just up the road) and is what us Brits call Lager.

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After a couple of days in Prague, we headed North again, following the river back to Germany…