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Although the outlook of the hotel may seem a bit dated and less classy, the buffet spread was definitely awesome. They even have spaghetti and fried rice in the morning something which is not a norm in Europe. There are also different varieties of cheese and butter.
Briefly, our itinerary for the day would include the visit to the Prague Castle Area, St Charles Bridge and the Old Town. The day started off as usual by picking up the local guide and off we went to our first location. On our way to the Prague Castle, the tour guide gave us a heads up that we would be exploring Prague on foot for at least 5 hours. Yay.... time to burn off some calories so it was fine by me but it was not be so welcoming for the elderly.
The weather was actually pretty fine with a lot of sunshine hence it wasn't that cold (ie about 2 to 4 degrees celcious) although we were in the middle of winter. When I planned for the trip, I thought it would all be covered by snow..... It turned out that I was pretty wrong.
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Our first glimpse of Prague Old City..Enroute to Prague castle area.
Our group entered the castle area via the north west entrance. St. Vitus Cathedral can be seen up high on the hill though at that point in time, I did not know much about it.
Took the opportunity for photo session with the palace guards.
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| Entrance flocked with tourists.
Finally we reached the main gate and the place was just swarmed with tourists. It was kind of different as compared to where we were just a moment ago where we took picture with the palace guards which was pretty quiet.
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Just past the gates, we reached a place where we can enjoy a beautiful view of Prague city. The orange colour tiles on most of the roof of the buildings really brightens up my day.
I finally realised why many tourists congregated here. Most were waiting for the march by palace guards. Our tour group had our itinerary planned out so all we need to do is to go with the flow and enjoy... Honestly the march was a bit dull and I think one won't miss much if he / she decides to skip it.
After the march, we proceeded to St Vitus Cathedral. So what is so special about this cathedral other than it is more than 670 years old? This cathedral probably is the only one you can find tombs of kings and emperors in the past. It is a very historic site and much to learn from the relics there.
The interior looks so magnificent.
After the visit to the Cathedral, we walked towards the Golden Lane, a display of how people of in the medieval times lived. Again....lots of people.
After the Golden Lane, its the end of our tour Prague castle. We continued our walk down the hill towards the old town via the Charles Bridge.
I really admire the scenic view of the city...
After about 20 minutes walk, we reached one of the most romantic pedestrian bridge in the country called Charles Bridge.
A view good enough for a post card.
We were given some time to take some pictures and then continue our walk towards the old town.
In fact, we were already at the old town once we crossed the bridge but it was another 500m away to the old town square. What we do once we arrived?
LUNCH TIME! We had lunch at a restaurant Kamenny Stul which located right at the centre of old town. We were so hungry from our long walk this morning and were looking for a nice and hearty meal.
We had roast duck served with potatoes and cooked beetroot. As usual, lunch is accompanied with soup, a glass of wine and dessert. The dish looks pretty simple but it was actually quite delicious. The beetroot tasted a bit sweet and sour and goes well with the duck when eaten together.
We had a window seat overlooking the old town square.
After lunch, we were given free and easy time to explore the old town until dinner time. We did not have any particularly itinerary hence we just stroll along the streets at a leisurely manner. Look out for specialty shops selling local beauty products like handmade soaps which make good souvenirs. Two shops that we visited were Manufaktura and Botanicus. Wifey was able to spent about 30 minutes in one while I continue to stroll the streets.
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| Prague Astronomical Clock |
Soon enough it was dark and it was dinner time. We were going to have Chinese food for the first time :). It was obvious that most of us were already craving for our staple food.
The dinner was pretty simple much like home cook food and probable will not even make it to the B rating restaurants in Malaysia. Yet, we enjoyed quite much simply because we miss our home food.
To be continued....
