Day 170 - Prague Castle and the Charles Bridge

The Prague Castle is probably one of the biggest tourist draws in all Prague. I must admit, I didn't have a clue what there really was to see in this city when I decided I would visit the city, but I got many suggestions from CSers to take a visit here. According to the Guinness Book of World Records, it is the biggest ancient castle in the world.

We took the metro to the area and climbed some steps to the side of the castle since it is located on a hill overlooking the rest of the city. The entire castle grounds included St. Vitus Cathedral along with some museums and administrative buildings. We walked around, opting out of buying any entrance tickets since they had so many options for different parts of the castle, and the wikitravel guide noted that most of what is beautiful are the surrounding castle grounds and the cathedral, which was free to enter! 

Afterwards, we headed down to the Lesser Area (area surrounding the castle) and stopped by John Lennon Wall, which is a constantly changing wall of graffiti that symbolized the defiance and protest against the communistic government. Afterwards, we walked across the Charles Bridge, where the street is lined with musicians, street vendors, and beggars, along with various classic religious statues.

We stopped by a bunch of other famous sights including the National Theatre, the Philharmonic, and the Jewish Cemetery where Franz Kafka is buried, but didn't stay to explore inside. At night, we headed to another Czech restaurant where we had a sampler of 8 different types of beer, along with Roast Pork with Bohemian dumplings (which are practically included in every meal!)

St. Vitus Cathedral

View from the Prague Castle

John Lennon Wall

Charles Bridge

Beer Sampler

Roast Pork with Bohemian Dumplings