Prague
Highlight of today is the Prague Castle. Already had a little glimpse of the Prague streets and the castle yesterday during the night tour.
This morning we followed the local tour guide up into the castle. Witness the changing of guards too.
Prague castle has always been the seat of Czech rulers as well as the official residence of the head of state. Main attractions of the castle include the old royal palace, Basilica of St George, golden lane and the St. Vitus Cathedral.
Vitus Cathedral was completed in 1929 and is visible from all around the city. It's spectacular, baroque silver tomb of St John of Nepomuk, towards the back, contains 2 tonnes of silver in all. Its walls are adorned with glided panels containing polished slabs of semi-precious stones.
We walked all the way from the Prague castle to Charles bridge. Very much different from what we saw yesterday night. There are many people along the 2 sides selling arts and souvenirs.
Charles Bridge was built in the 14th century. In 1357, there were plan to replace the 12th century bridge, which had been washed away by floods in 1342. The new bridge was completed in 1390. Despite occasional flood damage, it withstood wheeled traffic for 500-odd years, until it was made pedestrian-only in the decades after WWII.
At about 1pm, we had our very own VIP cruise on the river. It's a buffet lunch with 2 drinks, a guide and a musician. So ATAS! This is actually an optional side trip. Johnny wanted at least 20 of us to say yes before he is going to book for it. Because he wanted the whole ship to ourselves instead of squeezing together with other tourists. So this cruise is solely just the Chan Brothers group! On the cruise, we get to see the old town and the new town on the 2 banks. And then, we spotted the DANCING HOUSE along the bank! It was designed by the Croatian-Czech architect and was completed in 1996. Saw the picture on the must-see website and was a little disappointed cos this trip don't cover this mah. Well, thanks to the cruise, all of us got to see that special house! About the buffet, Johnny sponsored a very big ham for all of us on board. That was very very nice of him. We took the desserts up to the upper deck to enjoy the breeze. While waiting for the gate to open, another cruise with Croatia ppl were beside us and then, friendly exchanges between the Singaporeans and the Croatians. LOL. Johnny sang and dance for them while they did the same too.
Cruise cost about 45 euro. (worth it!)
After the cruise, Johnny brought us back to the town square for a little shopping. 1 thing that Peisi and I had in common? We don't like shopping. And that is the reason why we choose Eastern europe instead of the Central europe. We walked around searching for... POSTCARDS and stamps! So as we wait for the others to meet up, both of us are busy writing the cards and pasting the stamps so that we can drop it into the postbox on the way back to our hotel.
Saw the astronomical clock in the daylight. The clock's creator was blinded so he could not duplicate the clock elsewhere. Every hour, a crowd gathers to admire the procession of the Apostles and other allegorical figures.
Dinner wasnt that nice at the Peking Chinese Restaurant. All of us expected a Peking Duck but all that was served were other food. Didnt eat much because we had plan to eat our cup noodle back at the hotel! And our big project of boiling the carbonated water into drinkable water.
And the next day, it's to the POLAND land!
Photos:
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