Prague - Curiouser and curiouser...

Our adventure took an interesting turn when we entered the Czech Republic in order to visit the city of Prague. Believed to have been founded in 880, Prague Castle sits high on a hill above the city and is the largest castle complex that we have visited. I think the crowds in Prague were the largest that that we have encountered as well.

The view from the castle walls show a vast sea of terracotta tiles. I was amazed by the scale of the city, which features an old town with narrow cobbled streets and ancient buildings, as well as a new town with all the western trappings that you can imagine.

The enormous St Vitus Cathedral is an architectural masterpiece in the Gothic style and located within the castle complex.

Many of my photographs of Prague show only half of the buildings, because of the sheer size of the structures. The interior of the cathedral was breath-taking.

We have seen stained glass windows before, but never this many, nor of this size. It was difficult to choose one as an example for this blog.

The richness and variation of the architectural styles kept us shaking our heads in amazement.

 Before the communist regime, Prague was a cultural hub, frequented by prominent Europeans from the musical and visual arts. Many of the buildings are decorated in styles that we have seen in France, Germany and Austria.

 Wenceslas Square is situated in the 'new town.' It is famous as a gathering place for the Czech people in good times and in bad. It has been the scene of many demonstrations and protests as well as celebrations. It was hard to imagine that the street was once filled with Russian tanks and Nazi soldiers.

Prague has many museums and art galleries and we found this interesting installation tucked away in a lane near the the Communist Museum, which is located between a 24 hour casino and a MacDonalds. The irony is not lost on anyone!