Prague!

Oh, Prague. I was so excited but also nervous to return. My time there in 2006 was wonderful and I totally fell in love with it. Part of me was nervous that going back would be meh, that I wouldn't like it as much. I was very excited for Mister Melancholy to see it--I hoped he would love it. 

I needn't have worried. We got a cab to our hotel/apartment, and even though it was nighttime and I couldn't see much, I was glued to the window, thrilled. 

After we dropped off our bags, I dragged him out to walk to the Charles Bridge so he could start seeing Prague right away. I was all a-twitter and excited, and I even remembered how to get there! It was just as magical as I remembered. Oh my.

Our first stop our first morning was of course Old Town Square. I remembered how to get there too, and it made me just as happy as it had six years before. I mean really, how could it not?

 We read about the Charles Bridge Tower, and I vaguely remembered reading about it on my last trip and not finding it. Well, there's only the one tower (you can see it in the nighttime photo above), and there was a guy in an olden-tyme uniform standing near a doorway. No sign or arrow or name or anything. I asked if this was the tower exhibit and sure enough it was! We went up a couple sets of spiral stairs and came to an exhibit room. There was a big map of the EU on the floor, and two sets of mannequins representing different kinds of people in the old kingdom, and two suits of armor ready for photographing!

The best part, though, was the views! Looking back toward the city was this enchanting sea of red tile rooftops:

And on the other side, you can see the swarm of tourists on the bridge and the part of town across the river as well as the Castle. There's another set of stairs and you end up on the roof, looking out open viewpoints with information about the bridge and other parts of Prague history. Gorgeous.  

St Vitus Cathedral (inside Prague Castle). The Castle complex was the only "museum" that we did in Prague.

Subway walls

We took the train out of downtown to Vysehrad, the 11th century fortress. As you can see, the fortifications are still evident! No invaders here.

 

View of Prague Castle from one of the Vysehrad lookouts

 

Doors of Sts. Peter and Paul church at Vysehrad

If you're wearing a fedora, you can play the piano from Big.

Train that we caught with five minutes to spare to Vienna

In short, Prague is gorgeous. We both loved it. You must go.