Coucou! (Otherwise known as "Hey there!" in French slang.) Today marks the last day of our scavenger hunt! But don't worry it was possibly the most iconic! Without further adiue, let's get to it: ENVELOPE 6: Here we walked down the steps on the left hand side of the Charles Bridge onto Kampa Island where we found the oval shaped "square“ known as Na Kampě. Across the arm of the river called Čertovka (the Devil’s Brook) into Velkopřevorské náměstí (Grand Prior Square), where the French Embassy is located in a lavish Baroque palace. But most importantly.... to the right is the John Lennon Wall! This area has been kept alive by the graffiti artists as a shrine and has seen many confrontations between police and artists before the Velvet Revolution (when back then to express yourself on a wall was an act of defiance and free thinking). Envelope 10: This part of the Malá Strana is made up of winding roads and curving buildings. We got lost more than once (but that isn't hard nor all that inconvenient when everything looks interesting). We made our way to Chrám svatého Mikuláše (St. Nicholas’ Cathedral), which looms out of Malostranské Náměstí (Lesser Town Square). Built by a Jesuit order during the years 1673 and 1755, it has lavish Baroque, and Rococo styles and a Baroque organ with 2500 pipes that was even played by Mozart. Moving onwards and upwards (quite literally climbing the city), we located the Nerudovà (Neruda Street), so named for the novelist Jan Neruda who wrote "Prague Tales“ celebrating the lives of ordinary people in Malá Strana. At the upper end, Nerudovà widens out into almost another square with houses built into a cliff-like slope that leads all the way to the castle (insert excitement here). ENVELOPE 9: The road leading up the castle *pause for dramatic effect because this is an actual caste we're talking about* turns sharply right onto a slope (we mean slope) called Ke Hradu. At the top of the hill we found another breathtaking view (it honestly never gets old) of Praha - oh and not to mention a conveniently located Starbucks. We aren't addicted at all! ***Fun Fact: By going to every major scenic landmark we followed (with a few stops) the ancient pathway taken by the Bohemian Kings throughout the 15th Century on their way to coronation in Saint Vitus’ Cathedral! In the 10th century, Wenceslas had first built the rotunda on this site and he was buried here as well. Later, the church was replaced with a Romanesque basilica, but that was reconstructed to make Charles IV’s more luxurious version in 1344. The Royal Way (the term now used) began at the old Royal Palace (now the Obecni Dům), then continued through the arch of Prasná brána, down Celetná, and into Staroměstské náměstí. The Royal procession would continue on through Malé Náměstí (the Little Square) down Karlova (Charles Street), across Karlův Most (Charles Bridge), through Malá Strana (the Lesser Town), around Chrám svatého Mikuláše (Saint Nicholas’ Church), continuing up Nerudová Street, then finally turning up and into Pražský Hrad, later coined the Hradčany, or “Bohemian Acropolis.“ So, we finally made it to Pražský Hrad (Prague Castle)! History and a touch of magic, what more could we have asked for? ENVELOPE 11: Once we exhausted ourselves on all the hidden gems in the castle, we headed out to the road called U Prašného mostu to find the Royal Gardens. Breathtaking in colour (because who doesn't love a Czech autumn valley?) and much larger than we anticipated, we finally found ourselves at the end of the scavenger hunt. Three days later and we, two coffee deprived and slightly awestruck Canadians, had conquered Old Town Prague. Except we're certainly coming back tomorrow (and maybe the day after that). But that's a wrap for today! See you soon, folks! -Jen Quote of the post: “Part of me suspects that I'm a loser, and the other part of me thinks I'm God Almighty.” - John Lennon
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |