First Impressions

We took a family holiday last week and enjoyed seeing a bit of Eastern Europe. We started in Prague and found it to be one of the most beautiful cities that we have seen. The architecture was stunning and varied, unlike Paris where all of the buildings seem almost uniform in nature, although they are beautiful, each block looks the same. We just seemed to fall for Prague, the sky reaching spires, the narrow cobblestone streets lined with medieval buildings, the breathtaking bridges criss-crossing the river Vltava, truly more beauty than I have seen in any one city yet.

Here we are at the beginning of our Tour de Prague, crossing under the Powder Tower. This was originally built in the late 15th century as a gateway for trade entering the city. Little G and I ventured to the top and it afforded spectacular views of the city.

We traveled with some dear friends of ours, the Allans, and their precious little girls. I can say without a doubt that G enjoyed being the apple of their eyes. Can you see that smile behind his blushing cheeks?

This is Old Town Square, Staromestske Namesti, historically serving as the heart of the city. This square has more recently seen the drama marking the start of Communist rule in the late 1940s, the protests of its continuing power in the 60s, and its eventual fall in 1989.

During our visit, the square was home to a charming Easter festival with delicious Czech cuisine, music, artists and such. Such a treat to stumble upon!

One corner of the square is taken up by the Old Town Hall, Staromestska Radnice. On the southern facade of this building is the famous Orloj, the astronomical clock. Each hour on the hour Christ and the Twelve Apostles emerge and the skeleton of Death tolls a bell with one hand while holding a sandglass with the other. There are also moving figures symbolizing greed, lust and vanity. This amazing piece of engineering also shows the equinoxes and phases of the moon, not to mention the days of the week and hours of the day.

According to a Prague legend, once the astronomer Master Hanus completed the clock in 1490, the municipality had him blinded so that he could not repeat his achievement elsewhere. Infuriated by this, he groped his way up the tower and ruined the clock mechanism which refused to function for 80 years.

At the opposite end of the square stands the Church of the St Nicholas, Kostel svateho Mikulase. It is a beautiful example of the Baroque period and was actually turned into a warehouse in the late 18th century. It is once again a church for the Czech Hussites.

I love this photo and its layer upon layer of architecture and details. In the background is the Church of Our Lady before Tyn. This has been the main church for this part of the city since the 14th century. I don't think I've ever seen a better example of Gothic work. We commented several times while standing before it how surreal it looked, almost like it belonged on a movie set.

In the foreground is the Pomnik Jana Husa, the Jan Hus Monument. Jan Hus was a Czech Catholic priest and reformer and was burned at the stake for his heretical views on the Church. The people of Bohemia have constantly been under oppressive regimes and Jan Hus has become a symbol of their strength.

We caught this beautiful sunset at the end of our first day in Prague. I loved watching it fall behind the domes and the towers and the spires. A magnificent way to end our first day in this magnificent city!