Prancing in Prague

Today is very bittersweet. It is my last full day of travelling for Spring Break but I am completely exhausted and ready to go back to the Villa. But I definitely didn't want to waste any time. We got breakfast on the way at some local shop and I had an omelette. It tasted of America. Our first stop brought us to the edge of Charles Bridge. It is the most famous bridge in Prague because it was the only bridge crossing the Vltava River from 1402 until 1841 and it connected Prague Castle to Old Town. We planned to cross later so off we went.

Charles Bridge

We passed by a movie set on the way to our next stop. I'm not sure what it was but it was a period piece involving Nazi Germany presumably during World War II. It was a lot of fun to see. Next was the Nová Scéna or New Stage which is part of the National Theatre of Prague. It is an interesting building on the exterior with a glass bubble like appearance and on the interior a lot of green marble was used. We didn't get to see the actual theatre but what we did get to see was pretty cool. There was also a market outside in the plaza that was interesting to walk through. Following that just down the street was the Dancing House designed by Frank Gehry. It is a very unique building that is supposed to resemble two dancers. It was an interesting building to be sure and one that only Gehry could come up with. We spent quite a bit of time here before heading out.

Dancing House

We walked a little bit farther down the river and came to the Emmaus Monastery. It is a monastery that dates back to 1347. It is sort of a plain looking compound and the main church is simple but pleasant. The exterior of the church, namely the roof, is modern having been built in the 1960s. This was a rebuild following bombing by the USAF in 1945. The roof line looks interesting but it doesn't really fit with the building nor is it reflected on the interior. From here we crossed the river to see a very modern building. Jean Nouvel's Golden Angel building sits on the a crossroads and on top of a train station. The train station also looked pretty well designed even though it was Soviet designed in 1985.

Golden Angel

We crossed back over the river this time using Charles Bridge which ended up being super crowded. We made our way to Old Town Square where a market is located and Easter festivities were occurring. We watched the Astronomical Clock on the tower do its hourly show but after seeing the Glockenspiel in Munich I was thoroughly disappointed with this one. After walking around for a while and checking out a design store and just taking it easy, we decided to go up in the Old Town Hall Tower. Breathtaking views of Prague were abundant up here. Although we weren't as high as the Lookout Tower yesterday it was still a nice bird's eye view in the center of the city.

Looking at Prague Castle from Old Town Hall Tower

From there we got dinner and called it a night. We have a couple things left to do tomorrow before going back to Riva so a good night's sleep will be great.