A Perambulation around Prague or Prague through a window Thursday 14th Sept.

Getting to Prague is really rather easy. A train ride to Stansted, hop on the plane and in one hour twenty minutes later you are there. An hour twenty! Surely Ryanair have managed to shrink the map of Europe because in that time we should have flown over Holland, all of Germany never mind the North Sea and the rest of the Czech Republic. Time and relative distance in space, that's what the Tardis stood for and I think Mr O'Leary must now be investing in them.

Here you can see the TARDIS that we travelled in. We were accompanied by two Pret sandwiches which were ten times more delicious and half the price of anything available on board, so tip to aspiring Ryanaviators, buy your butties before boarding.

However I digress, after landing we secured our integrated public transport passes which are valid for three days and cost one tenth of £60 each. I have often wondered why every country in the world does public transport better than Britain. Is it because we invented it? (like sewers, they're about knackered too). Without further digression the bus took us to the metro which in turn took us nearly to our front door.

Have a little look inside :

As you can see the flat is mainly bed and nothing wrong with that but you can also see the dining room and kitchen in this shot. The shower room and toilet are just around to the right as you can see below

So now we are well set up to see what attracts over 6 and a half million people.

First thing we encounter next morning is this delightful group of local dancers. It transpires they are clog dancers. Have a close look, shades of Bill Tidy and the Cloggies. There is also a local market here, very different to the tourist markets we will see on the golden tourist trail.

I mentioned the public transport system earlier and now we're boarding  the tram following the one you can see in the next picture.

This takes us down the hill to the riverside then across the bridge to the bottom of the Petrin Hill. We can then ascend to this view point on the funicular (ticket part of the integrated system, of course).

Looking back on the river with the Stare Mesto (old town) on the other side. Next we go up the 62m Eiffel tower lookalike for some of the best panoramic views over Prague, which the following photos show. NB some are zoomed in.

St Vitus Cathedral surrounded by the Hradcany (Prague castle /palace)

The famous Charles Bridge built at the end of the 14th century by Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor to replace the largely destroyed 12th century  Judith Bridge. Pretty well all you can see is a UNESCO world heritage site.
Time for coffee and indulgent cakes whilst we plan the next stage, visiting the Hradcany. Not only is this Prague's most popular attraction but it's also the largest ancient castle in the world at 570ms long and 128ms wide. It's history starts in the 9th century and the builders were still in during our visit. We were lucky enough to witness the changing of the guard (well it happens every hour, so it is a very slick operation) which I have recorded on video.You can't see it yet because I can't upload it. You will have to make do with a still.

You do have to go through security screening at the next gate performed by some cheerful policemen. The enormous St Vitus cathedral dominates the interior space of the third courtyard. This impressive Gothic structure was started in 1344 under the order of Emperor Charles IV. The West front triple doorway was completed only from 1948 to 53 and is  shown below.

Inside there are some impressive stained glass windows by the leading Czech artists of the early 20th century. This one is by Alfons Mucha, more of whom you will hear later.

We wandered gradually down through the castle courtyards with little surprises at every corner.

I really don't know what put the smile on Helen's face, but I notice she's keeping her legs crossed.  Despite the attractions of the Hrad we made our way down to the Charles Bridge.

The busy approach to the bridge.

Things are a bit quieter now that it is about 6pm. But the guide book says the following "Strolling across the Charles Bridge is everybody's favourite Prague activity. However by 9pm it's a 500m long fairground with an army of tourists squeezing through a gauntlet of hawkers and buskers (not to mention the prone beggars), beneath the impassive gaze of the Baroque statues that line the parapets. "

Tourists, statues and St Vitus cathedral in the glowering. Time to take the tram back to the apartment and prepare for dinner. We are heading to the highly recommended and very local (56 paces from our front door) Badjeff's Barbecue. It certainly lived up to its rave reviews, really tasty grub. We each had a rack of ribs with trimmings and a couple of drinks each. The total bill was half of £60.

One or two points of interest in this picture at Badjeffs, firstly the beer Bernard is one of many alcohol free beers available throughout Prague, secondly the white roll on a holder you can see behind the beer is kitchen roll to help you cope with the ribs. What a good idea. 

Finally have a look at the exterior of the apartment building that we are living in.