Big day today!
We had 3 excursions booked.
The Deegs chose (wisely) to skip the first so that they would be ready to enjoy the other two. Wise move!

The first excursion was a walking tour of the old town.
We started with a very quick walk to the main square (so we would get there on the hour to see the astronomical clock do its thing).

Along the way I did manage to catch this statue outside the Opera House.

Spooky but cool.

We did make it to the main square in good time and watched the clock (along with 10,000 of our closest friends).

Dating from the early 1400’s this is the oldest astronomical clock still active. All parts of the clock are driven by one movement. It was involved in a fire during WWII but the pieces were salvaged and a physics professor from the nearby university was eventually able to reconstruct it.

After the clock, things got a bit more reasonably paced. We spent some time in the plaza while our guide discussed the history of Prague and pointed out the many architectural styles in the buildings around the plaza.

Following our time in the square we moved toward the river stopping at a (now unused) community well in a plaza surrounded by several old pharmacies to talk a bit about life in earlier times.
We wended our way thru a series of narrow passages to the Clementinum – an historic complex now housing the national library and an astronomical tower where daily weather readings have been taken and recorded since 1775.

Our next stop was the Charles Bridge.
This famous bridge across the Vltava (Moldau) River was built between the late 14th and 15th centuries on commission by the Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV.
It replaced an older 12th century bridge that was destroyed by a flood in 1342.
The local legend is that Charles laid the first stone himself at 5:31 on 9/7 1357 (1357 9/7 5:31) – the palindrome forming a numerical bridge would lend the actual bridge added strength.
The bridge is lined with 30 statues.
The original statues were carved from sandstone and impossible to clean without damaging them so the originals are being moved to a museum and replaced with copies.
Here are a few examples:

Crossing the bridge we arrived in the Lesser Quarter (so called because it is squeezed between the river and the hill topped by the castle). Though smaller in size the neighborhood was important because of it’s proximity to the castle and became the location of many important residences.
For us it was also a place for a break.
After which we checked out a few notable sites as we wended our way to the bus that took us up the hill to the Prague castle.

Arriving at the castle we checked out a couple of churches and noted, again, the mix of architectural styles.

Then it was time for lunch.
This was the second excursion of the day.
The Deegs joined us and it turned out that we were the only four people from our group that had signed up for it. However there were groups from other Viking ships in town so it was a full event.

Following lunch we moved to one of the reception rooms for a short chamber concert performed by members of the State Opera Orchestra.

Here’s a short sample of their playing.

Following the recital it was out to the balcony for a view of the city laid out before us.

Then they gave us audio guides and turned us loose to view the extensive gallery of paintings and other holdings.

Sadly the Prince wasn’t in town so we didn’t get to meet him.
His history is interesting.
He was born in the US, attended schools there and graduated from Harvard with a degree in European History. After graduation he pursued a career in commercial real estate in Boston. With the fall of the Soviet Union in 1989 he moved to Prague to reclaim the family’s estates, learn Czech, supervise restoration, and manage the significant collections at the family’s remaining 4 castles.

Back at the hotel we rested for a bit before it was back on the bus and off to the final adventure of the day.
The last time we were in Prague we attended this folklore dinner and were anxious for Tim and Diane to experience it.
The event takes place in a converted barn with regional dishes served family style, all to the accompaniment of an instrumental trio, singer, and dancers.

Here are some clips of a few of the pieces to give you a flavor of the entertainment.

Near the end of the last clip there you heard a bit of the Cimbalom – a member of the dulcimer family commonly seen in small music ensembles among the Roma people.
In this next clip he really gets to show off his artistry.

finally it wouldn’t be fair to not include some work by the excellent violinist.

After all that dancing and clapping it was time to head back to the hotel to get a bit of rest before our last day in Europe tomorrow.

Till then…
R