Prague for a weekend # Travels in Germany

Prague is a capital of Czech Republic, a city with a population of 1.24 million people. It is located on the banks of Vltava River and is a home for various ethnicities. The city of bridges, great architecture, famous landmarks, castle and cheap beer could not leave you careless.

The city of Prague has everything for a nice sightseeing trip for a weekend. It is about 3,5 hours ride from Berlin which makes it a great destination for a short-term visit. That’s why this short note about it belongs to this blog, which idea is to show the best options for travelers, especially if you live in Berlin.

Getting to Prague
You can take pretty cheap buses from Berlin to Prague, but when I was planning a trip I had encountered that due to the long holidays the tickets were practically sold out. That was the case I used Bla-bla car service for a first time. The website enables you to look for a ride to share and pay the driver some small amount of money to reach yours destination. So if you are really having problems with the tickets or travelling on a tight budget – feel free to explore this option.

Sightseeing in Prague
The city has a big old historical center that you might like to explore. I will try to cover the most important landmarks. Note that in Czech Republic they do not use euro, so you will need to change the money to Czech koruna.

The Powder Tower or Powder Gate is a Gothic tower in Prague. It is one of the original city gates, dating back to the 11th century. The gate was used to store gunpowder in the 17th century, hence the name Powder Tower or Powder Gate.

Old town city hall, old town square.
Probably the most central part of the city. It has National Gallery, old city hall with an astronomical clock and other important landmarks.

National Gallerie at the Old Town square

The Prague astronomical clock, or Prague orloj which was installed in 1410 is the the third-oldest astronomical clock in the world and the oldest one still working. The clock mechanism itself is composed of three main components: the astronomical dial, representing the position of the Sun and Moon in the sky and displaying various astronomical details; “The Walk of the Apostles”, a clockwork hourly show of figures of the Apostles and other moving sculptures — notably a figure of Death (represented by a skeleton) striking the time; and a calendar dial with medallions representing the months. {WIKI}. Recently, on 9 October 2010 the Clock’s 600th anniversary was celebrated with a light show on the face of the clock tower. Several animated videos were projected on the clock, depicting it being built, torn down, rebuilt, and peeled away to show its internal mechanisms and the famous animated figures, as well as various events in the clock’s history.

Unfortunately during the time when clock is about to strike, so much tourists gather on the square, making it almost impossible to take a shot of a clock without capturing people’s heads.

Municipal House in Prague (Czech: Obecní dům) is a civic building that houses Smetana Hall, a celebrate concert venue. Designed in Art Nuvo style. The mosaic above the entrance is called “Homage to Prague”

Karlov most (Charles bridge)

I’ve been told that this bridge is full even at night. Tourist groups are passing it all day long, but it worth going there – from the bridge you can contemplate the beauty of the river and see the Prague Castle uphill. The construction of the bridge started in 1357 under the auspices of King Charles IV, and finished in the beginning of the 15th century. The bridge replaced the old Judith Bridge built 1158–1172 that had been badly damaged by a flood in 1342.

The Building of Black Madonna
According to the guide, in medieval times not streets and house numbers determined the order, but statues. As the people of that time could barely read, this statues where used to mark the building. However the original building was torn down and the new one was designed in cubism style, the statue which remained was installed later on the house’s facade.

Some more photos of the streets of Prague.

The road uphill towards Prague Castle. It should be noted that it is basically not a castle, but an area with various landmarks. That’s why the status of the biggest castle area, enlisted in Guinness World Records book was taken away from the Prazsky Hrad.

sightseeing Prague city St. Georges Basilica

St. Vitus Cathedral – is a Roman Catholic metropolitan cathedral in Prague, the seat of the Archbishop of Prague. The great example of Gothic style cathedral, founded 21 November 1344, when the Prague bishopric was raised to an archbishopric.

Jewish quarter in Prague

The former Jewish quarter in Prague has a long history, going back to the 12 th century. There is the oldest still existing synagogue in Europe – the Old-New Synagogue – and the Old Jewish Cemetery from the 15 th century. Several other historical buildings are preserved in this quarter, which is called Josefov at the present time.

The monument to Franz Kafka, depicting a scene from one of his first short-stories. He was born and grew up in this district.

The Spanish synagogue – the numerals of the facade are in Roman, not Hebrew. This marks the unity between cultures. Some say that name of the synagogue derives from the Golden era of Jews in Spain, before they were expelled.

Old synagogue

Pinkas Synagogue (Pinkasova synagoga): 16th-century synagogue, now a memorial to Holocaust victims.

If you are also looking for nice views, you can take the funicular to the highest hill in Prague.
The line was originally opened in 1891, with a length of 383 meters. The funicular has three stops: Újezd (at the bottom of the hill), Nebozízek (the middle station) and Petřín (at the top of the hill).

Now the length of the line is around 500 meters and you can go up to Petřín Lookout Tower, which is the highest spot of the hill to see the Prague panorama (120 korun). The tower strongly resembles the Eifel Tower and is 63 metres high. It was constructed in 1891 and was used as an observation tower as well as a transmission tower.

The view of Prague, close to Petřín funicular highest station

Štefánik’s Observatory at the Petrin hill

Gater at the Petrin Hill

Vyšehrad
Vyšehrad is a historical fort located in the city of Prague, Czech Republic. It was probably built in the 10th century, on a hill over the Vltava River. Situated within the castle is the Basilica of St Peter and St Paul, as well as the Vyšehrad Cemetery, containing the remains of many famous people from Czech history. It is also a nice place to take some panoramic photos of the city and banks of the river.

The statue to Woodrow Wilson, the president of United States. Dedicated to his support expressed to Tomas Masaryk for formation of Czhechoslovak state in 1918. (Central railway station park)

Kafka museum
A gloomy museum of Kafka (as well as his novels) which discloses Franz’s biographic facts while he lived and worked in Prague. The museum has a lot of great installations, related to his novels and that helps to discover them in a new light.

The statue of peeing man by David Černý, known for his contraversial post-modern sculptures.

Conclusion
Prague is a charming city to visit, with its unique culture, which formed for hundred of years, vivid and diverse architecture and special atmosphere of the city. It’s a great destination for a few days to spend in and a place you’d like to come back one day.

Special thank’s to:
Anna Udalova, a couchsurfer who hosted me for 3 days in Prague
Christian from Good Prague Tour for conducting a great excursion

Raw calculation of costs