Left the hotel and headed towards Prague Castle which one of the other big attractions. To reach the Castle you cross the Vltava River and we elected to walk across on the Charles Bridge. Along each side of the walk-way are big statues of various saints, including St. Peter, John the Baptist and St. Wenscelaus, etc. The original statues are now in the National Museum due to deterioration from pollution, but their stand-in replacements look just as ancient due to discoloration from the elements. The Bridge is lined with all kinds of vendors selling art, etc.
Prague Castle is a hugh fortess-like enclave, it contains within its walls the church of St. Vitus, which is another Gothic style church. Started in 926, it was not fully completed until 1929 --- a 1000 year project. It contains the burial crypt of St. Wenceslaus. Typical of Gothic stuctures it has the very high nave with vaulted arches and employs the use of the flying arches to stabilize the exterior walls. In many ways the Castle grounds reminded us of the Tower of London with it many interior builds, etc.
Weather today is cool --- high 50's / low 60's --- enough so that a jacket is needed.
We are schedule to take a dinner river cruise tonight on the Vltava River which runs through Prague. We move on tomorrow to western Bohemia, so this blog will not likely get updated for several days.
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