First full day in the capital of the Czech Republic! Hopped on the tram to head toward Charles Bridge again. Ok, we hopped on A tram but not THE tram. For the record don’t trust Jay to read tram numbers from a distance. After a slight side trip to a random neighborhood we made our way to the right tram. Along the way we noticed a road that was cordoned off by police officers. There was a tent set up behind them so it looked like a festival was about to happen. Fun later maybe??
Our walk to Prague Castle started with a walk across the Charles Bridge, constructed in 1357. The bridge sits on 16 piles, each of which has a massive statue at the top. Artists and jewelers line the bridge to pedal their goods and there are a few street musicians along the way as well. After crossing the bridge we were on Mala Strana, a charming street in Prague known for shops and restaurants. We slowly wound our way through/up the streets (up because we were at a constant incline leading up to the castle) to the steps leading up to the castle area.
Charles Bridge
Old Town side of the bridge
The Bridge
Lessor Town Side of the Bridge
Mala Strana from the Bridge Gate House
The outside of the castle was cordoned off and monitored by police and at the exit of the palace was the palace guards (barely saw the end of the changing of the guards). We walked around the square and decided that, due to the long line, we could skip the inside of Prague Castle. We noticed a couple of vehicles with “Press” on the side setting up camp in the middle of the square. We asked the police what was happening (thinking maybe it was the lighting of the mayor’s Christmas tree?) and they said there was going to be a demonstration. If you’ve never experienced a strike or a demonstration in European countries, it’s interesting because they are scheduled (one year the baggage handlers at an airport were on scheduled strike from 1 pm – 3 pm).
After heading down the steps, we decided to step into St. Nicholas Church for a quick look. Yet another spectacular European church! The Bohemian Baroque architecture was dark but so stunning. In addition to walking through entire sanctuary we climbed the stairs to the balcony thus got a bird’s eye view of the area.
After that, we found a charming little restaurant for lunch just off of Mala Strana, and then headed back over Charles Bridge. We went directly to Old Town, got to the Astronomical Clock a couple of minutes before two therefore we got to see the top of the hour spectacular. Tried to enter Church of Our Lady before Tyn but the church is closed for two hours in the afternoon. Got to peek through the back doors which, considering photography isn’t allowed, was just fine for us.
And of course, a Beer Bike…. As long as you peddle, you get all the beer you want through a tube. ????
We could hear drums and saw flags in the distance, so we figured we must have missed a parade of some sort. A stage was being set up in the main square of Old Town so again, must be some kind of festival or something going on!
Heading back to the tram stop, we again hear drums ahead. We catch up to find a parade of sorts, with men in weird masks playing fifes and drums. Can’t read Czech so we really didn’t know what was going on.
Once back to our hotel, we asked them what was going on in Prague. Turns out that November 17th is the Day of Struggle for Freedom and Democracy. It commemorates two very important events in Czech history – in 1939 there was a student demonstration against the Nazis.
Lives were lost and thousands ended up in concentration camps at that time. In 1989 there was a demonstration against the Communist government which led to the Velvet Revolution (collapse of Communism in Czechoslovakia and breakup of Czech and Slovakia).
For the past 6 years, Nov. 17 has become “the” day to protest. The marching drummers were staging a political protest of sorts. The demonstration at Prague Castle was a protest against the Prime Minister of Czech, who many believe is super corrupt/embezzled from the government. So now it all makes sense – TV cameras, police all over, cordoned off areas. Thankfully we missed all of the mess from these demonstrations!!
Tomorrow – yet another adventure we cannot wait to share!