EUROPE & DC '23 • Day 15: Prague, Czech Republic

PRAGUE CASTLE & KAFKA

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Prague Castle and the Charles Bridge

PRAGUE CASTLE

Take a walk up the 220 stairs to yet another hilltop castle. This one is a bit different though. It doesn't feel so much like a fortress but more like a walled in area with government buildings, a large cathedral, the Golden Lane (see below), and other miscellaneous buildings that would have been within the walled perimeter.

THE GOLDEN LANE

Inside the walls is the famous Golden Lane, an alley of tiny dwellings. No one lives there anymore, but a couple really interesting things to see. There was an excellent collection of armor on display. Some of the armor seemed so crazy to me that I wasn't sure if it was actually real. Maybe much of it was for show and not for battle?

KAFKA

Also, No. 22 was once occupied by Franz Kafka for a time. He found the small isolated space a good place to write. It is now a small bookshop dedicated to Kafka where it seemed appropriate for me to acquire something; A Country Doctor, which is a collection of short stories. Perfect for vacation reading.

ST. VITUS CATHEDRAL

These European cathedrals are amazing and this is a good one, but maybe the last for this trip? The most unique and interesting thing to see in this one was the silver tomb of St. John of Nepomuk. The silver sarcophagus weighs a whopping 1600 kilograms of pure silver. Kind of over the top, but I feel there may be some good photos in the real camera to find when I get home and look more carefully. iPhone photos below.

AND MORE PHOTOS

EAU DE VIE - CZECH STYLE

After an excellent dinner we spent with Lorenzo and Corina, we tried the Czech version of eau de vie, commonly found in France. This was made from apricot and was quite tasty. When I asked the waiter about it and determined I knew what I was ordering he says, you don't need that fancy one on the menu, I'll bring you something. Good call, it was great. Don't ask what it was called though. We pretty much gave up trying to even pronounce any words, let alone spell them. The waiter then brought out a Czech digestive made from honey (Yvette correctly identified it when the waiter asked if we knew). After pouring us a 2nd helping he simply left the bottle on the table, maybe to test us?