A quick walk turns into......
- Ian
- 17 hours ago
- 4 min read
Bit of a rest yesterday morning then we decided that we need to have a walk, so we headed off not knowing where we were going to go, so we consulted the map and started towards the Vaclavske Namesti, Wenceslas Square. Though not a square, it's a 750m long retail, hotel & restaurant precinct in the centre of Pragues' New Town. The National Museum & statue of St. Wenceslas on horseback, crafted by Josef Václav Myslbek, feature at the top end. Cutting a striking figure, King Wenceslas (Svatý Václav) the patron saint of Czechia, was murdered a thousand years ago by his brother. Many events were featured here over the centuries including the 1918 declaration of independence, it's where a university student, Jan Palach, set himself alight in protest at the Soviet invasion in 1968, and the venue for the 1989 Velvet Revolution protests .
We then meandered around old cobble stoned streets, stopping at some design shops for retail inspiration, and purchasing, to take home and a small cafe for a break & cuppa. Stumbling our way around Old Town, more window shopping, we found the Old Town Square and the Astronomical Clock, along with a couple of thousand of our closest friends.
The Astronomical Clock (Pražský orloj) was built in the 15th century into the southern wall of the Old Town Hall Tower.
Every hour from 8am to 11pm you can witness this intricate construction in motion from the front of the tower and watch the Procession of the Twelve Apostles. 'Christ' leads his disciples out, via a trap door and a skeleton, representing Death, tolls a bell to a statue of a defiant Turk.
Below the Astronomical Clock, 12 medallions depict the signs of the zodiac; they were added in 1865 by renowned Czech painter Josef Mánes.
We didn't even wait for the hour to strike but headed back to the hotel to avoid the weekend bustle; we'll go back during the week when things are less hectic.
Actual Spitfire with butterfly wings, a monument to fallen soldiers & the Astronomical Clock among other photos
And this was when I wish I'd taken notice more when Mandy was chatting to one of the hotel Managers in the foyer the previous day. Unbeknownst to me, she had signed us up for a river dinner cruise, supposedly a fantastic experience on the River Vltava. Kama really got me this time, I will pay more attention in the future, I promise.
We are collected by a small mini van, around 12-seater, & taken to the Old Town Square, where we passed through a street, on the way, with all the ritzy name brand shops, with more security officers than customers. We collected some more people then drove, in a very twisted & circuitous route, through Prague while our guide pointed relevant Czech attractions, in between coughs, until we eventually (40 minutes) made it to our boarding point on the river. Earlier groups had the premium table by the windows so we were left with the residual table down the middle of the boat.
Waiter took our drink orders and returned with Chardy paint stripper & a Pepsi Max. The smorgasbord was soon attacked by the other quests so we waited until the access was easier. By this time we were in the loch waiting for the barge to be raised in order to progress up the river, some 3m required. 40 Minutes later we were on our way to the dulcet sounds of our onboard pianist and his young girl singer.
The excited patrons on board sand along to Elton John & Queen favourites sing with Czech accents, Rocket Man shooting for the stars but fizzing out on the way. Mobile phones were recording every song from the Prague Duo, all around the ship, singing along with each song, clapping away & having a grand old time. Mandy reminded me of how much she loved me, numerous times while laughing her head off. We spent a total of just over a hour stationery, in the lochs and finished the night with a stirring rendition of the theme from Titanic.
The evening did end on a humorous note however when we saw another Buck Night staggering from a bar in German short overalls & green wigs, our 4th Bucks group for the day; Prague must be the Bucks Party centre of Europe.
The mini-van driver decided to drop everyone back to their hotels in reverse order meaning we were the last off, oh well, that'll teach me.
Today was a cold day, top temperature of 9 degrees but felt like 1. Mandy went on charge for an hour or so then we decided to head to the revolving statue of the head of Franz Kafka by David Cerny.
The 11-meter-tall, 39 ton kinetic sculpture build in 2014, consisting of 42 independently moving, stainless-steel layers, rotates for 15 minutes on the hour (season dependant). It is absolutely exquisite and questionably the best sculpture I've seen; check out the link and images, it's gobsmacking!!
We've just returned from the best dinner so far in Europe, just around the corner from our hotel; Lola Vermut y Tapas. Outstanding food and service, so good that we've booked again for Wednesday night before the train to Vienna on Thursday.
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