Prague at last. Been a long time on the list and it was finally time to visit. Added bonus, it would be Christmas market time in the famous Old Town Square. Slight hiccup on arrival where our apartment was not located next to the Square and was in fact over the bridge (and up 4 flights of stair that nearly killed us each time we went up).
Old Town Square, the historic square in, where else, the Old Town. It's located between Wenceslas Square and Charles Bridge, the aforementioned bridge that we got to know very well as our apartment was on "that side".
Our first visit to the square was on our walking tour, so we got to learn about some of the beautiful buildings, including the Gothic Church of Our Lady before Týn, (main church of this part of the city since the 14th century). The Baroque St. Nicholas Church is another church located in the square, as well as the Old Town Hall. There are plenty of other lovely old buildings many of them which now house souvenir shops and restaurants.
Over the next few days, we found ourselves walking through, around and in Old Town Square several times. Each time we'd emerge with 47 photos of buildings we couldn't identify, (except those 2 churches) and on one occasion, a deep emotional connection to a man playing the Titanic theme on a saxophone. I consider buying a CD even though I haven't owned a CD player since 2017. One moment you’re walking confidently along, the next you’ve joined a tour group, listening in to a language you don't know and are appearing in at least 3 medieval themed wedding photos.
And then there were the Christmas markets. Proudly taking centre stage was one of the prettiest Christmas trees I've ever seen. It features in approximately 80% of my photos. Sausages, mulled wine, cheesy stuff, chimney cakes and all the other Christmas goodies were there too. Up on the stage, cute kids sang carols, whilst proud parents videoed them.
Of course, no visit is complete without the pigeons. These aren’t ordinary pigeons; these are highly trained snack‑recovery professionals. They operate in coordinated gangs with the precision of a military drill team. Drop a crumb of chimney cake and they materialize instantly, like feathery food‑seeking ninjas. One of them stared at me with such intensity I briefly wondered if I owed it money. The ones with a mangled foot get me every time.
That’s the magic of the place.
P.S. I did not mention "the clock" as this deserves a little post all of its own.
Add comment
Comments