8th September 2017 published 9th September 2017
After yesterday’s many miles of walking on the free walking tour of Prague and one or three lovely Czech beers, Team Basil decided to take it easy this morning, vowing never to go anywhere near a walking tour again. Until just after 11 am when Sarah suggested I might like to go on the 3 hour Castle Walking Tour in the afternoon.
Today was laundry day; the dogs couldn’t go on the Castle Tour due to various restrictions and the trauma of muzzling them; and Sarah said she wasn’t particularly bothered about looking round Prague Castle. Initially I wasn’t too sure, but the more I thought about how easy it was to get into Prague the more enthusiastic I became.
I left poor old Sarah holding the fort, and set off in plenty of time for the 2.30 tour. The Metro ride was now becoming second nature, and if hadn’t been for the big camera hanging round my neck, I might almost have been a local (not really).
Prague Metro
The meeting point for the tour was in the Old Town and as it transpired my guide for today was the same as yesterday – Karel. I found out during the tour that Karel’s excellent English is partly due to him having spent some time teaching in a primary school in London.
Wallenstein Gardens with the castle and the Cathedral on the hill in the background
The City of Prague, like so many others, is split in two by a river. In the case of Prague the Vitava. Prague Old Town is on one side of the river, while the Castle is on a hill on the opposite bank. Our tour started with a walk over the river and then we looked at one or two sites at the base of Castle Hill, including the hidden and beautiful Wallenstein Gardens.
Wallenstein Gardens
We then took a tram up the hill and queued to get through metal detectors and into the Castle. To call it a castle is a bit of a misnomer. In reality it is a set of fortified walls which enclose a whole town, including palaces, barracks, the Cathedral and a number of smaller streets which were, in the past, occupied by merchants.
Like yesterday our guide was extremely knowledgeable and linked the buildings and the city of Prague together which Czech and European history very expertly. The tour was timed to fit in with the Changing of the Guard, which I have to say was a rather desultory affair, other than the fact that the guards uniforms, which were designed by the same man who created the costumes for the film Amadeus, included compulsory sunglasses. It was more Top Gun than Buckingham Palace!
Top Gun does the Goosestep!
The St. Vitus Cathedral is a huge Gothic affair, which was not finished until the 1920s, although the earliest parts are 600 years old. In explaining about the Cathedral our guide was a little politically incorrect when he tried to do an impersonation of a person with St. Vitus Dance. The interior of the Cathedral is plain but has some magnificent twentieth century stained glass windows, which really illuminated the space.
St. Vitus Cathedral
St. Vitus Cathedral Front
Being set on top of the hill, we were given various opportunities for excellent arial views of Prague Old Town and further afield.
New Town from the Castle
Finally we were taken to a small medieval street, which originally would have been occupied by the merchants and craftsmen of the castle. It was a quaint enough little street, although somewhat spoiled at the moment by building work, but we have seen many more impressive examples in the last seven months. One house in the street had once been rented by Franz Kafka and it was where he wrote, surprise surprise, The Castle!
One of the nice things about undertaking one of these guided tours alone, is that I got talking to other singletons and some couples and we exchanged views about Prague and life generally. Being an English speaking tour there were a wide variety of nationalities present: USA, Canada, India, Israel and Germany to name but four.
The tour did not finish until 6pm, by which time I was tired, to say the least. At the half way point, which is built into the longer tours, the cafe was closed. I trudged wearily back to the nearest metro station and then Sarah brought the dogs to greet me as I walked from our “home” metro station back to the campsite. My iPhone says I have walked ten kilometres and ten kilometres ambling about a city is enough to ensure a good night’s sleep.
Before I headed for the castle, I was looking at where we may go next and I think there are two or three more places in the west of the Czech Republic or Czechia as we are now officially allowed to call it, which are worth a visit. So you will have to wait until the next post to find out where we end up!