PRAGUE – time is on our side
Saturday – even though yesterday was a huge day I awake refreshed and ready to tackle another day of sightseeing. We have our ‘delivered to your door’ breakfast of freshly baked rolls and pastries arriving at 8am so we want to be up and ready so that we can get going as soon as we finish eating.
Whilst devouring our morning sustenance, we also pack our cameras, etc, etc and also consult our trusty itinerary which tells us that we will be visiting the Old Town Centre for the majority of the day. So it’s down to catch the tram – the photo above is where we catch the tram looking back down towards our hotel on the other side of the street. The walk is about 200 metres so it is not that very far. 
Our first stop is near the Charles Bridge to see the Winnerova Kasna Fountain.
Walking, walking, walking to try and find the thing we finally arrive only to find – yep – it’s all covered up. You gotta be kidding me right? Nope. We think it is under restoration, what else could it be, only to discover months later that the inconsiderate son of the Mayor tied one on and had the great idea of trying to climb it.
Yep it broke and I think that maybe the son didn’t fare too well also. What a great start to the day. Luckily there are seats in the square so we rest a moment and consult the map for our next visit. There are not many people around at this early hour and it is so nice sitting here in the quiet, cursing the son under our breath. Oh well, at least the council or whatever drew a picture of the fountain on it so we can see what it used to look like. This is Kylie’s photo as I was too angry to waste any energy taking photos.
We now proceed to Havel’s Markets to check out some souvenirs etc. One of the oldest markets in the city, Havel Market dates back to 1232. Originally selling only produce,the market has changed over the years, mainly with tourists in mind and today is no exception. By the time we get there, remember it is only early there are tourists everywhere.
However, the produce stalls are starting to out number the souvenir stalls, which is a good thing as many stalls sell the same tourist crap you can find all over Old Town. Some stalls however offer inexpensive handmade Czech crystal and glass jewelry, tasty spa wafers, decorative birch boxes, local honey and wooden toys. The church you see at the end of the street is the Church of St Nicholas – completed in 1735, it replaced a parish church, mentioned in records dating back as early as 1273.
We investigate these markets and the surrounding shops most thoroughly and come away with a few trinkets – so now it’s on to The House at the Two Golden Bears. We certainly hope it has not gone the way of the Three Ostriches.
HISTORY LESSON : The building was constructed from two earlier houses in 1567 and is one of the oldest houses in Prague. The house has beautiful Renaissance arcades dating from the 16th century and ornate portal with reliefs of two bears, by the court architect Bonifaz Wohlmut.
It is said that the two bears, in the way they are depicted, symbolise the great bear and little bear constellations, or Ursa Major and Ursa Minor. The knights each sit opposite a bear holding a branch in what looks like a symmetric formation. In fact, if you take a closer look you will see that one of them is older and one is younger. The older one has a dried out branch, and the younger one’s is still green. Clearly this is saying something about the cycle of life. It has also long been said since the time of the alchemists that there are passageways leading from this building’s basement to sites all over Prague. But this has never been proven.
We are in luck and find the House with no trouble at all. We also had a proper photo in the DK book so we knew that we had to look above the doors for the bears. Everyone is happy again.
There are just so many interesting houses in this city – every time we turn a corner there is a house with decorative friezes and/or interesting statues. Right next door to an Italian Restaurant is the House of the Minutes – pictured here. It certainly is covered in a lot of images. Apparently it dates from 1611.
Next stop – Church of St James. This is reputedly one of the most beautiful churches in Prague. HISTORY LESSON : The church was built for the Minorites monastery in 1232. It was rebuilt in Gothic style in the 14thcentury and it became a place of funeral ceremonies of Czech kings. When Charles IV. died in 1378, his body was exposed there in a beautiful catafalque, surrounded by 500 candles.
There is no photography allowed in here so I do not have any photos – I don’t want to give the game away but this will change as the trek through Europe progresses. If you check out the website you will discover some interesting stories about this Church concerning Count Vratislav being buried alive and the Mummified Forearm! ooooooooooooo sounds a bit like an Agatha Christie novel.
The day has turned out lovely – blue skies and fine warm weather which makes it great for walking around. We leave St James and head for the Astronomical Clock. As we get closer – the tourist crush become thicker. Apparently everyone wants to see and hear the clock chime 11am and they don’t care who they push out of their way to do it! This entire building is the Old Town Hall.
The clock announces every hour with the wooden figures of apostles with their attributes rotating in the windows above the top dial, while at the same time some of the sculptures begin to move. Death holds its hourglass and beckons to the Turkish man sculpture, which shakes its head in response. There is Vanity portrayed as a man with a mirror and Miserliness as a man with a moneybag, shaking a stick. The other statues, that don´t move are an Astronomer, a Chronicler, a Philosopher and an Angel. When the apostles finish their journey, the golden cockerel in the centre of the windows crows and quivers its wings, the bell rings and the clock chimes the hour.
When this is done a trumpeter in Medieval costume appears at the Viewing Gallery which is located on the very top of the tower above the ‘normal’ clock. He plays a tune from each of the four sides of the gallery and then waves his banner to the crowds below. This is a relatively new tradition but it certainly pleases us and the crowds. If you wish to pay a fee and climb the stairs in the tower you will be able to get great views of Prague, we don’t.
There are a lot of bridal parties arriving to have their photos taken at the clock – how quaint – so it must be a Prague tradition. 
After watching and listening to this incredible mechanism the crowds hurriedly disappear and we are virtually left with only about a dozen or so other souls. There are so many small cafes and restaurants around this area and I suppose at night time there are no toilets so the patrons use the square as the smell of urine in certain sections is really bad – time to move on.
In the centre of the square is this magnificent monument of the reformer Jan Hus (John Huss), one of the most important personalities in Czech history. A hundred years before the Protestant Reformation was started by Martin Luther, Jan Hus was burnt in 1415 as a heretic for reformist ideas.
Everywhere you turn in no matter what city there are people who have been punished for crimes against the Church over the centuries of christianity. But this is not the place or the time to debate those issues.
In one section of the square is a memorial to three Czech ice hockey players who were recently killed in a plane crash. It is a very moving sight – on a stage there are three huge photos of the players who were oh too young with tributes of flowers and condolence books. In an area in front of the stage there are many candles, flowers, hockey sticks, jerseys and red, white and blue ribbons. The area is under guard by several men because in these days and times you never know what type of idiot wants to make a name for themselves.
Heading towards our next place of interest Powder Gate – there are many interesting buildings.
Our next place of interest is Powder Gate also known as Powder Tower but this is not to be confused with the Powder Tower at Prague Castle.
HISTORY LESSON : The Powder Gate can trace its origins back to the 11th century, when the original gate was one of 13 entrances to Prague’s Old Town. This monumental entrance to the Old Town was built in the Gothic style in 1473 and was originally known as New Tower. Used to store gunpowder in the 1600’s (hence the name) its rich sculptural decoration was badly damaged by Prussian forces in 1757. The Neo-Gothic facade seen today dates from 1876.
Before we came on this trip Kylie did a search on just about everything we wanted to see along the way and found an interesting article on ‘How many stairs will it take you to get to the top of – – -‘. She tells us that there are 196 stairs to the top of the Gate but the views are well worth it plus there is an entry fee. I’m not too worried about the entry fee but climbing 196 stairs is a bit off putting to say the least. We decide to give it a miss, take the nominal amount of photos and then head for lunch.
Maybe we might change our mind after lunch and climb the Tower – and then again it’s a good chance that maybe we will not!