Prague

A city straight out of a Disney movie

By Michael Wilson

January 4^th, 2017

Christmas in the Old Town

It was the week before Christmas and I wanted to find somewhere to visit to get me in the mood for the festive season. I'd heard Prague was great for a Christmas market so I booked the first flights I could and off I went to explore.

I was expecting it to be cold but boy was it cold! Sadly the sky was also very grey, which didn't place the beautiful city in the best light. Luckily though, the markets stay open well into the night and that's when all the lovely lights get turned on. I headed straight for the biggest market in the main town square.

A walk to the castle and St. Vitus Cathedral

The next morning I took a walk through Petřín Park, via the Petřín Tower, on my way to Prague Castle and St. Vitus Cathedral. The Cathedral has some stunning interior with the most exquisite stained glass windows.

Metalmorphosis sculpture of Franz Kafka

After stopping for some lunch and having warmed up inside my next objective was to find the sculpture of Franz Kafka as I had heard it was very cool. I wasn't disappointed. It's a moving structure, which is made up of individual discs which rotate independently. This movement along with the reflective metal makes it an interesting thing to watch. (It's also next to a shopping mall, which gave me another chance to warm up).

The Astronomical Clock and Charles Bridge

Back to the Old Town Square again and this time it was to watch the Prague Astronomical Clock do it's midday dance. At noon, the clock comes to life and huge crowds amass to watch the figures perform.

I was passing through the square to get to the Charles Bridge, which is easily the most popular attraction in Prague. The only time it wasn't packed with people (although it wasn't empty) was the morning I go up at sunrise, hoping to capture it in some interesting light. (Sadly, it was overcast and not very interesting so no photos from that early morning). It was interesting to see some of the statues, which had been claimed as lucky charms, where crowds would wait to rub them.

The beauty of the night

While the overcast days meant the city didn't look as good as ti could have during the day, by night this didn't matter at all. The views of the castle from the river were great and I spent a lot of my evening stood there trying to do them justice.

Sparta Praha and the Metronom

I wanted to see the home of Sparta Praha, the major football team in the city, so the next day it was time for another long walk, this time through Letná park and via the brilliant Metronom, a giant functional metronome overlooking the city. There's something really relaxing about it as you look at the views of Prague.

National Memorial on Vítkov and Žižkov Television Tower

It was time to head east and take in the national war memorial where I was greeted with a huge sculpture as well as panoramic views all over Prague. It was from here I spotted the Žižkov Television Tower, which had to be my favourite building in Prague.

As I got closer to it, I noticed some strange looking things dotted all over it. As I got closer still, I noticed there were faceless babies crawling all over it. There was something strangely brilliant about it and it certainly put a smile on my face.

It's all about the buildings

The stone buildings all over Prague are so ornate. Everywhere you look there's intricate stone work, giving the city a unique character.

A final bit of Christmas

It was time to head home, but not before lapping up a bit more Christmas cheer at another market and topping myself up with some warm alcoholic beverages!