Melissa's Amusings: Germany Vacation- Brief Wandering in Prague

Before the trip, I had done absolutely no research or knowledge of the places we were going to see. I was depending on the tours to provide me with tidbits of info about the place. However, I did not take into consideration that the combination of my visual sense being overwhelmed with the beautiful surroundings, my 'drive' for picture taking, and my auditory processing disorder would all combine to make whatever I heard thru my earpiece, actually go in one ear and out the other. Similar to when I am in nature, I don't need to have the names and info to enjoy the experience, and afterwards there is a curiosity to find out as much as I can about what I did see and took pictures of. Hence, the enjoyment of the vacation continues by this fact-gathering :-)
So, the morning tour ended at the Old Town Square and we were left to explore and have lunch before we meet up for the afternoon tour.We surveyed the area from where we stood and saw the Goltz-Kinsky Palace, a 1765 baroque building with a pink and white rococo facade. The leader of the communist party of Czechoslovakia gave a speech from this building's balcony announcing the beginning of the communist era. Such a light and cheery building for such dire news!! Today, it holds collections of the National Gallery.

I don't know why, but the facade kind of reminds me of frosting on a cake.

To the right of the Palace is the House of the Stone Bell, a 14th century Gothic building. It is named for the bell that is placed at a corner of the building. Today, music concerts and art exhibits are held here. The two buildings side-by-side definitely make it easy to compare the two different architecture styles!

Barely can see the bell, top of the 1st section at the right corner of the building.

In the last two pictures, if you look closely, you may see some statues/mimes.

They can hold so still that people don't even notice them.

Sometimes people would 'pose' with them and add some money to their 'treasure box'.

Pretty fancy attire--even from the back

The monument dominating the center of the square, is in honor of Jan Hus. He was a Protestant reformer and was burned at the stake in 1415. The chain barrier and garden beds surrounding the monument was placed there to deter people from climbing on the monument.

more pastel color buildings line the square

At a corner of the square is the baroque Church of St. Nicholas. It was built in1735 and hosts classical music concerts.

Horse drawn carriage rides are given around Old Town Prague.

The Church of Our Lady Before Tyn looked intriguing, so we decided to check it out. It looked like it would be pretty easy to get to, right behind the wall of buildings..... We took off to the right expecting to find a little street that would lead to it. Before you know it, we have walked completely around the wall of buildings that surround the entire church without finding an entrance!! Justin and I insisted that there was an entrance, we just needed to try again. We found the passage to the church through the 3rd from the left of the Tyn's School four arches (reminds me of some of the computer/playstation games Justin plays :-). Our tour thru the Church was brief , mainly because there were no photos allowed :-(

In Gothic style, the twin towers has a smaller (left tower) feminine tower and a larger (right tower) masculine tower.

Our next plan was to walk to Wenceslas Square, which was supposed to be right down Melantrichlova Street. That street came to a dead-end, and Wenceslas Square was nowhere in sight. We changed our plans to walk to the Powder Tower which was one of Prague's original 13 city gates. Somehow the streets on the map did not correlate to what we were seeing/walking. So we scratched that adventure. We were getting a bit frustrated by now....next time we need to invest in a very detailed map that will show all the twisting and winding of the streets!!
Geoffrey and I decided this would be a good time for him to do some souvenir shopping at a market we had noticed. Jim and Justin had a nice street scene view while waiting for us.

It ends up that Geoffrey and I had spotted the Havelske Trziste...a market that has been functioning since the 15th century. Both locals and tourists buy from here.

The markets are colorful with fruits and vegetables and souvenirs. I was tempted to get either some decorated eggs or wooden toys, but will save that for next time :-)

A good place to buy some lunch and have a picnic at one of the parks.

We found a wonderful place to relax and have lunch. What could be a better setting than right next to the Moldau River with Lesser Town and St. Vitus Cathedral for a backdrop!

The earlier frustrations are now forgotten as we watch.....

the fashionable boats travel down the Moldau.

This area seems to be popular for quiet relaxation and enjoying the view.

After lunch there was time for a stroll across a nearby bridge.

We had our last views of :

1) the Charles Bridge

2) the constant flow of people on Charles Bridge

3) where we enjoyed lunch--with the Rudolfinum in the background.

Then it was time to cross one more bridge back to our bus.

Jim with tunes of 'The Moldau' dancing in his head

The rest of the pictures are some of the details that caught my eye during our tour and wanderings of Old Town Prague.

I liked the line of insects under the balcony.

A memorial to Jan Palach- a metal copy of the plaster cast of his Death Mask. He set himself on fire as a political protest against the Soviet led invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968.