Saturday, June 28, 2008

Old Town and Charles Bridge

~We now return to your regularly scheduled blog. Today, I bring you more pictures from Prague. Huh, that rhymed...

^ This is the "Old Town Square" in the heart of Prague's Old Town district (or "Nove Mesto" in Czech). The large statue commemorates Jan Hus, a Catholic reformer who was burned at the stake. The area around the square contains famous churches and concert halls, as well as innumerable souvenir shops.

^ One side of the Square was lined with horse-drawn carriages, ready to take tourists around the city. The horses added to the local color...and the local stench.

^ Here's a closer look at the buildings on the right of the previous picture. As you can see, the buildings are covered in art, with paintings, statues, banners, carvings, etc. The entirety of the Old Town is like a gigantic art museum.

^ As I mentioned earlier, a majority of the buildings in Prague are five or six stories high at most. Only on the outskirts of the city are taller buildings, such as these skyscrapers, being constructed.

^ This impressive fountain sits outside of the National Museum in Prague, which I didn't have time to explore.

^ One of the most iconic sights of Prague is the legendary Charles Bridge, a pedestrian-only crossing that is lined with famous statues. I was able to climb this tower at one end of the bridge for a better look around.

^ By day, Charles Bridge ("Karlov Most" in Czech") teems with tourists, entertainers, and souvenir vendors. Tour boats go up and down the river beneath the bridge. I purchased an illustration of the bridge by night.

^ An example of one of the entertainers on Charles Bridge. This guy had his puppet play the guitar in time to the music.

^ One of the thirty statues that line the bridge. A complete list of the statues can be found here, but not all of them are the originals. I did see some of the originals, which are stored underground in an old fort.

^ A panoramic view of the river, taken from on Charles Bridge. As always, please click on the image for a better look.

~I'll post more Prague pictures later, so stay tuned.

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