Prague

Sorry everyone but due to a technical error last night there are 2 entries for Prague. So it will be a long read.

Monday 7/9/09
We awoke today to a beautiful sunny morning which was very nice after the last few days of overcast skies and rain!
We pottered around until the time came for our free walking tour of Prague which left from the hostel where we are staying. We met our guide Mike who was a Canadian and has been taking tour groups various places for the last 10 years. we caught the tram into Prague and walked into the Old Town Square where the tour actually starts. It was a fantastic site and the camera started going into overdrive and we hadn't even left on the tour yet!
The big group was split into smaller groups and we luckily had Mike as our official guide.

He explained about the start of the development of Prague and explained how we would see various different areas of the Old Town, New Town and the Jewish centre and the history behind the many sites.
As we walked he explained each stage of history from the early development of Bohemia through to the religious wars between the catholic faith and the formation of the Protestant church , the rise of the Hapsburg dynasties, First and Second World Wars and the Russian occupation.

He coloured the events with many stories of violent deaths, burning at the stake and preoccupation of the Czechs for throwing governemnt officials out of windows. He had a fantastic way of making it seem very real to us and gave us a good insight into the chequered history of this beautiful place.

I took 104 photos as everywhere you looked there was another beautiful building to look at. There is also the astronomical clock in the Old Town Centre, which on the hour chimes and has figures move around it as well as having the 12 apostles appear in windows at the top. This event draws crowds from all over the square to stop and watch. A truly kitsch event but one which is not to be missed as Death nods that we are all going to die while the other 3 figures shake their heads! Prague is a fantastic city where there is something new to see with each step. We finished the day with a beer in the square and people watched, walking back to catch our tram a whole new dimension was revealed as the setting sun hit the gold decorations on the various buildings and statues, an amazing light show.
Off to Kutna Hora tomorrow.

Tuesday 8/9/09
Another beautiful day, sunny and warm. We caught the tram into the city again this morning to go back to a couple of the places we wanted to look at in more detail. The first was the church with the withered arm. The story is a bit long to write but in essence it is a tale about a thief who came off second best. We then went to walk across the Charles Bridge. This is a very popular and crowded part of Prague as it has been standing for centuries and has fantastic statues along it's entire length. As we were walking Peter saw, yes you guessed it someone from Shell! The world really is a small place.

After our walk we then went on our tour of Kutna Hora and the Ossuary, which is the cathedral of bones. It is a very impressive and haunting place. There is a chandlier and altar made entirely from bones and the whole thing is amazing.As part of the tour we then went to the Church of Saint Barbera who was the patron saint of the miners as Kutna Hora's history stems from the silver mines which were found there in the 13th century.
We then went on a walking tour of the regional mint and King Wencelas's Royal Palace, parts of which are still in use today.

There is still so much of Prague still to be seen but tomorrow we are on the road again to Vienna, so it will have to wait until another time.