Friday, July 31, 2009

Prague

This post is overdue for almost a month. Mrs Bum has been busy lolling around lately hence the delay. Nevertheless, she managed to squeeze out some time to blog amidst her hectic schedule.

I had an early birthday celebration in Czech Republic. Why Czech Republic? You may ask. There are several reasons to my choice. First, Mister Busy aka the hubby only had 10 days of leave. Besides going on a birthday trip, we wanted to head home to be with our loves ones as well. So we had to chose a destination where the main tourist sites could be covered within 4 to 5 days. Second, considering we had chosen to stay in a 5 stars boutique hotel in an excellent location plus flying by British Airways and not some budget airline, it was a bargain. Third, for the obvious reason that Prague is the perfect destination for a romantic getaway (but some would beg to differ I'm sure).

Prague is a gem. The stroll along Vltava River in the evening is especially unforgettable. I marvelled at the elegance and exquisiteness of the architecture and was deeply enchanted by the magical view of Prague Castle. I like the stroll across Charles Bridge too. It's kind of romantic but you have to visit it in the late evening or at dawn when there're less tourists. Another of my favourite place is the Old Town Square. It's such a lively place with so many activities going on, you could sit all day at the sidewalk cafe just to people watch or simply soak up the atmosphere.

Enough said. I'll let the pictures tell the story.

I was dazzled by the beautiful architecture as the hubby and I took a leisure stroll along the Vltava River.

Powder Tower in Old Town.

Tyn Church with its distinctive twin Gothic steeples.

The atmospheric Old Town Square which comes alive with its many on-going activities and throng of tourists.

Clock Tower of the Old Town Hall where the astronomical clock entertains tourists on the hour with its parade of apostles and a bell-ringing skeleton.

Wenceslas Square (Top left pic) dominated by the statue of St Wenceslas on horseback (Bottom 2 pics). At the back of the statue, stood the iconic National Museum (Top right pic).

The hill-top Prague Castle.

The impressive St Vitus Cathedral.

The Golden Lane - A 16th century tradesmen's quarter of tiny houses built within the castle complex. The tiny houses are now transformed into souvenir shops.

Sculptures found in Kampa Park (top right corner) and Prague Castle courtyard and garden (remaining pics).

The hubby and I thoroughly enjoyed the delicious food served by this restaurant called Kogo. We had our dinner there the first night and went back again the next day.
On the second night, we watched a play called "Aspects of Alice". We saw a long queue at the ticketing counter when we walked past the theatre. We thought since it was such a long queue, the play must be good. Besides, it was a mime performance - a language we all understood. So we bought tickets to the play. It was a brilliant performance and we were shocked by the last scene. We didn't expect an innocent storyline to have such a provocative act.

The famous and elegant Charles Bridge which is graced by 30 statues dating from the 18th century.

We were told that all our wishes would come true if we were to touch this particular statue at the Charles Bridge. We did and so did the many hopeful tourists.

The Charles Bridge is lined with jewellery stalls, portrait artists and street performers.
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Like 2 mischievous teenagers, we goofed around, laughed and (secretly) made fun of our tour guide. Thank you for the beautiful memories. I can still feel it. Love is in the air and it lingers on...