[The following post is from the archives of my In Search Of Incredible blog, originally published on 8 November 2016]
9 December 2015, Wednesday
We have a full day today to explore Prague, and we dedicated the morning to visiting the city’s crown jewel – Prague Castle. The castle is located at Lesser Town (Malá Strana), which is across the Vltava River. While researching for this post, I checked out the official website and discovered that there are several entrances to the castle grounds and there are actually five ways to get there.
But first, we need to get our tickets. The same ticket can be used across the tram, bus and Metro network. Tickets are sold at vending machines at the stations or you can also get them from most tobacco shops, just like in Italy.
There are four types of tickets you can buy: Short-term ticket valid for 30 minutes ride (24 CZK), Basic ticket valid for 90 minutes (32 CZK), 1-day pass (110 CZK / S$6.30) and 3-day pass (310 CZK). We bought the 1-day pass since we had a full day to explore Prague.
From our apartment at Vladislavova, we can take either tram service number 22 or the Metro train. We chose the former because it was more direct, and also because I love taking trams. If we had chosen the Metro, we would have to take the train at Národní Trída station (yellow line) to Mustek one stop away, change to the green line and continue the journey to Malostranská, another two stops away. From Malostranská, the nearest entrance to Prague Castle is via the gate Na Opysi, located at the easternmost point of the castle grounds.
As it was, there was a tram stop outside Národní Trída Metro station, conveniently located opposite our apartment and less than 5 minutes walk away. After hopping onto the tram, we alighted four stops later at Malostranské námestí, the main square of Lesser Town. By the way, “námestí” means “square” in Czech. From there, we walked along Nerudova street and then up along Ke Hradu before emerging at Hradcanské námestí with the Gate of Giants, the main entrance of Prague Castle. The Gate of Giants is located at the westernmost point of the castle grounds.
According to the official website, apparently the easier way is to take Tram 22 and alight at Prazsky hrad instead of at Malostranské námestí. For this option, you will only take 5 minutes to reach the Second Courtyard of Prague Castle. Nevertheless, we enjoyed walking along Nerudova street because it was so pretty. The narrow road and pedestrian walkways were all paved in cobblestones and old, stately buildings flanked both sides. Along the way, we also stopped at an interesting antique shop that sold all kinds of curios. It was a very pleasant stroll even though it was quite a steep uphill climb.
We arrived at the Gate of Giants at about 10:45am. It is so-called because of the pair of giant statues at the entrance gate. One of them is raising a knife while the other is swinging a club at their respective fallen enemies. Standing in front of the two giants are a pair of Castle Guards (real people, not statues) in their smart suits and mink fur headgear. As they are on duty, they can only keep still and stand at attention while many tourists pose for selfies with them.
After passing through the gates, we found ourselves in the First Courtyard. It is also known as the Square of Honour and it is where the Changing of the Guard ceremony takes place. The most elaborate ceremony takes place at 12pm daily so we didn’t get to witness it as we were too early.
Standing at the First Courtyard, you will see Matthias Gate in front of you. The gate was named after Matthias II, who was the Holy Roman Emperor from 1612, King of Hungary and Croatia from 1608 and King of Bohemia from 1611. Matthias Gate was designed by Italian architect Giovanni Maria Filippi and built in 1614, and it is believed to be the earliest Baroque work of art in Bohemia. Standing on each side of Matthias Gate are tall wooden flagpoles carrying the Czech Republic flag. If the gate looks somewhat out of place, it is because Matthias Gate was originally a freestanding structure before it was integrated as part of the entrance building in the 18th century.
After passing through Matthias Gate, we were in the Second Courtyard. It is rectangular in shape and it is larger than the First Courtyard. Directly in front of us was the Chapel of the Holy Cross building, which since 1961 has been converted to the Treasury of St. Vitus Cathedral, housing more than 400 treasures and precious artefacts such as the Sword of Saint Wenceslas. The building on the left is the Prague Castle Picture Gallery, which contains many valuable paintings and art pieces. Adjacent to the Picture Gallery is the Information Centre where you can buy tickets for the tour.
There are three types of tickets available – Circuit A, B and C. Circuits A and C are priced at 350 CZK (approx. S$20) while Circuit B is priced at 250 CZK. Basically, the attractions in Prague Castle have been divided into 10 stations, and each circuit gives access to a different set of stations. If you’re only interested to see St. Vitus Cathedral (labelled station “VIII”), you can choose either Circuit A or B. Circuit C is catered more for art and history aficionados and it only includes access to two stations – the Treasury of St. Vitus Cathedral (IV) and the Picture Gallery (VI).
Circuit A has everything in Circuit B, with the addition of three stations – the Story of Prague Castle exhibition (II), Powder Tower (VII) and Rosenberg Palace (IX). The Great South Tower of the Cathedral with a View Gallery (X) is the only station not included in any of the Circuits, and is only accessible with an individual ticket costing 150 CZK. Like most people, we chose Circuit A.
As we entered the Third Courtyard, we were immediately greeted by the impressive sight of St. Vitus Cathedral. The Gothic building dominates everything in the courtyard, with its main tower rising 96.5m into the sky. As far as first impressions go, perhaps only the Il Duomo in Florence and the Duomo di Milano in Milan can rival it in terms of grandeur. If the exterior was impressive, it was nothing compared to the interior.
I have been fortunate to visit many cathedrals in Europe over the years, and I must say that St. Vitus Cathedral ranks among the most impressive I have seen. You can’t help but feel small standing there below the high vaulted ceilings and being flanked by the towering stone pillars, which are centuries old. There is plenty of natural light coming through the stained glass windows, and what beautiful stained glass they are. We took a long time inside St. Vitus Cathedral, slowly absorbing the details of the building and taking photos from every angle. It is truly magnificent.
Next, we visited the Powder Tower (VII). It is a cylindrical stone tower on the north side of St. Vitus Cathedral. In the past, it was used for defence purposes as it overlooked the lower stag moat, functioning as a cannon tower. It got its name because gunpowder was made and stored here. Since 2004, it has been converted into an exhibition space showcasing uniforms and other artefacts from the Military History Institute. It was informative but nothing too spectacular.
After that, we visited St. George’s Basilica (III), which is distinctive because of its red façade, resembling a fire station. Founded in 920, St George’s Basilica is the second oldest church in Prague. Only parts of the original building have been preserved, as the church was enlarged and reconstructed over the years. It has a Romanesque appearance, with the main apse and two steeples. From the outside, you cannot really tell that it is a basilica because it looks too garish to be one. Inside, it is a totally different story, with its imposing stone walls and musky air. It was like being transported to a different place.
Next, we went to Golden Lane, a medieval street with rows of shops painted in colourful hues. They are the last remaining small-scale architecture of Prague Castle and have been preserved mostly as they once were. The buildings used to be inhabited by defenders of the castle, such as servants or goldsmiths. Hence, the present name Golden Lane was derived from its former name, Goldsmith Lane. The most famous house here is No. 22, with its sky blue exterior. It used to be inhabited by the renowned German writer Franz Kafka from 1916 to 1917.
Lastly, we visited Rosenberg Palace (IX). The Renaissance palace was built by the Rosenberg family between 1545 and 1574 and remained in its original form till the 18th century when it was radically rebuilt to house the Institute of Noblewomen, which educated noble daughters who were over 24 years old. There wasn’t much to see here so we glazed through it quite quickly.
When we exited the Prague Castle grounds via the Na Opysi entrance, it was around 12:15pm. From there, we had a fantastic view of Prague city across the river. We then followed the crowds and soon found ourselves at Malostranská Metro station. We decided to take the train and make a trip back to Charles Bridge to see the daytime view.
Charles Bridge was as bustling as ever, with the only difference being the presence of artists who had set up stalls along the bridge to sell paintings. Most of them captured the classic view of Charles Bridge at night with the spectacular Prague Castle as backdrop. It was hard to tell if they were really painted or merely printed, but they were very beautiful. I would have loved to buy a big one to hang it on my wall at home.
It was a gloomy kind of day so the pictures didn’t turn out fantastic. I think it would be prettier in the early morning or late evening time. We didn’t linger for too long at Charles Bridge so we headed back to Old Town Square to revisit the Christmas market and grab a bite. All the stalls were open but it wasn’t as crowded as last night. Somehow, it is just a bit more magical at night, when the lights come on and you can really feel the Christmas spirit in the air.
By about 1:30pm, we were done with sightseeing, so we decided to make a trip to the Fashion Arena Prague Outlet for some shopping. We took the Metro (green line) to the terminal station, Depo Hostivar. From there, we hopped on a free shuttle bus to take us to the Outlet. There are generally two trips per hour and we arrived just in time to catch the 2pm bus. Be sure to check the bus schedule on their website here.
The bus ride took just 8 minutes and we arrived in no time. It was like any other shopping Outlet and it had all the usual brands – adidas, Calvin Klein, Lacoste, Levi’s, Nike, Oakley, Puma and more. It promised discounts of 30–70%, but as usual, the prices were still not dirt cheap enough to send me into a shopping frenzy. I only ended up buying a Lacoste polo T-shirt. I took the 4:20pm shuttle bus back to Depo Hostivar and then went back to the apartment.
At about 5:30pm, I went to Národní trída Metro station to meet my Czech friend IL, whom I befriended during my Tokyo trip in February 2013. I was travelling solo at the time and I was on my way to Enoshima Island. At the train station, I struck up a conversation with IL because we were heading the same way. We then toured the island together before exchanging contacts on Facebook as we went our separate ways. So when IL saw that I was in Prague, she contacted me and that’s how we arranged to meet up, 4 years later. The power of Facebook!
Like a true local, IL brought me on a walking tour of the city. We first went to the National Theatre, which sits along the bank of Vltava River. The National Theatre is known as the alma mater of Czech opera and it consists of three artistic ensembles – opera, ballet and drama. Bathed in a yellow glow, the building looked stunning from the outside. We didn’t go in but I’ve seen pictures of its opulent interior and it is everything you imagined an opera house to be.
We then continued walking along the riverbank towards Charles Bridge. It was a very enjoyable stroll as we filled each other in on the past 4 years of our lives, taking in the sights as we walked. From the riverbank, we had a great view of Charles Bridge. It was exactly like the view presented in the paintings I had seen earlier in the day. As I did not have a tripod with me, it was hard to get a good shot, but really, photos cannot capture the beauty of the scene as witnessed in real life.
As we walked along Wenceslas Square, I spotted a Bata shop and IL told me that Bata is a Czech brand and I was totally shocked. All along I thought it was a Singapore brand, or at least, an Asian brand. During my primary school years, Bata was practically synonymous with school shoes. Back then, branded sports shoes were not allowed and there was also a rule that our shoes had to be all white. I remember we had to wash them every week and apply shoe polish to make them gleaming white. We would be punished if our teachers caught us with dirty shoes. They were cheap and everyone wore Bata shoes to school. One of my favourite fake acronyms is still the one that says “Bata” stands for “Buy And Throw Away”. It’s quite apt in a funny way. For the record, Bata was founded in 1894 (122 years ago!) and they have over 5,200 retails stores in more than 70 countries worldwide. That’s a lot of shoes being bought and thrown away!
IL then brought me to Powder Gate or Powder Tower (aka Prasna brána), not to be confused with the one at Prague Castle. It is located near the Námestí Republiky Metro station and Palladium Shopping Centre. Construction on the Gothic tower began in 1475 and it was one of the 13 city gates to Prague’s Old Town, separating the Old Town from the New Town. The Powder Gate looks familiar because its design was inspired by the bridge towers on Charles Bridge, and they do look quite similar. Like the Powder Tower in Prague Castle, Powder Gate was also used to store gunpowder in the 17th century, and it was renamed from its original moniker New Tower to Powder Gate since then.
Right next to Powder Gate is the Municipal House, a distinguished Art Nouveau building that opened in 1912. I’m not too familiar with the different architectural styles but IL was, so she patiently explained to me what it was. Basically, Art Nouveau was a movement popular in the decorative arts and architecture between 1890 and 1910, and it is characterised by natural, flowing forms and elegant designs. Beneath the cupola and above the main entrance is a semicircular mosaic called Apotheosis of Prague, with a quotation in golden letters that translates to “Hail to you Prague! Brave the time and malice as you have resisted all the storms throughout the ages!”
The renowned Smetana Hall is located within the Municipal House. It is a 1,200-seat classical concert hall and home of the Czech National Symphony Orchestra. It is one of the finest concert halls in the world. Also within the Municipal House are a few magnificent restaurants and bars. These are places you go to see and be seen.
IL then brought me to Imperial Hotel, located a short distance away from Municipal House. Unlike the Art Nouveau Munical House, the Imperial Hotel is an Art Deco (Arts Décoratifs) building. Art Deco replaced Art Nouveau and became popular in the 1920s and 1930s. It embraced modern, striking and bold designs and its influence extended not just to architecture but to buildings, furniture and fashion as well. In a nutshell, Art Nouveau is flowery and decorative while Art Deco is sleek and streamlined.
Even though we weren’t going to have a meal there, IL brought me in to the restaurant on the ground floor of the hotel to have a look. The entire restaurant including the ceiling was covered in beautiful porcelain tiles and it was very beautiful. IL then urged me to visit the washroom to check out the taps, so I did. They were not just ordinary taps but golden swan taps. It couldn’t get any more lavish than this!
And that was about the end of my unofficial walking tour with IL. It was so nice to see her again after 4 years. I thanked her for her time and for graciously showing me around her beautiful city, and educating me a little about architecture. Hope I can play host to her one day if she decides to visit Singapore!
After IL left, I went back to the Old Town Square area to shop a little and to buy some souvenirs before heading back to the apartment. That’s it for Prague, we’ll be moving on to our final destination, Munich, tomorrow!