We woke up and went downstairs for our complimentary breakfast. It was a lovely buffet which we enjoyed thoroughly. Then having dressed in layers of our warmest clothing, we had expected spring weather not winter, we headed off to the bus and our tour of Prague, the city of 100 spires.
Well there were quite a few people in the lineup that day which helped make part of that 1.8 million. The line moved fairly quickly though and we were through in no time. After gathering again by the pretty wrought iron fence, with the really fun sign on the other side of it, we headed off passing more lovely statues and walked down a little road past more fenced gardens before we came to the castle proper. 
Access to the castle was across a wide bridge over the old Moat which had been converted into a beautiful garden. it was so quiet and magical I just had to get a photo
There were two types of guards at the entrance to the castle. One was for show all dressed up and spit spot shiny boots and dress uniform which we all took our photos with. They did a good job of looking soldierly which I can appreciate being in the military myself at one time. The other guard was the real thing with weapon at the ready and meaning business if you were a bad guy. A definite deterrent to unsavoury characters wishing ill upon the president or the cabinet.
Once inside the castle there was a very large square with a fountain in the centre. at one end of the square we went around the corner and there was a very large church. St Vitus Cathedral actually, with a gold door or window, I guess, in the middle of the front of the church. Very impressive. 
We gathered there and then entered for about twenty minutes. I could have spent a little longer there as it was stunning inside. There were the tombs of quite a few Bohemian kings and Holy Roman Emperors, none of whom I knew who they were. My history of Europe is obviously lacking.
It is a gothic cathedral and the high vaulted ceilings were amazing. the stain glass windows beautiful and there were electric candles to light and say a few prayers for our family and friends which, of course, we did. 
Saint Vitus, who I had never heard of before, is considered the patron saint of actors, comedians, dancers, and epileptics, similar to Genesius of Rome, another patron saint of the same except he also includes lawyers. Vitus is also said to protect against lightning strikes, animal attacks and oversleeping. Well I should tell a few of my friends about this saint as they always oversleep. Historically there is no proof of St Vitus miracles but there is historical evidence of St Genesius. who knows.
After the cathedral we gathered once more in the square and headed off through the castle with our tour guide to see more. It was so cold and we passed a small market with a booth that sold gloves, both Margie and I stopped to quickly buy ourselves each a pair. Not quickly enough it seems as we lost our tour group.
The castle is indeed very large with lots of little laneways and roads and side lanes. we were wearing headphones and thought if we could just get close enough to the tour we could hear them and rejoin them. I heard the tour guide say we are just going down this lane so I said to Margie we have to go down here, only my here was a road and the tour guide here was a sidewalk off between two buildings. so we did not meet the tour but had our own excursion finding the golden lane and a lot more roads and laneways.
No such luck. We went down one road only to come back up the same road and finally see the tour group back in the square where the market was. We were told what a great view of the city we had missed. All we had to do was to go down this little laneway and we could have caught up with them. Well we may not have seen the great view of the city but our hands were warm. 
We left the castle , got back onto our bus and headed into the old town Prague. We passed some very interesting monuments and buildings. The weather was partly sunny but mostly rainy and cold. Our tour guide was very thorough in giving us lots of details about what we saw and the history of Prague and Communism. I do not remember any of it. Overload of the brain. We had now been going for 18 days and our poor brains could only absorb so much. 
The bus dropped us off at a small park across the river from Old town Prague. We were going to walk the rest of the way there. I was glad that the sun had finally come out and that the wind had died down to a light breeze. The walk along the river was very pleasant with occasional glimpses of the Charles bridge in the distance.
We passed a few little canals with lovely buildings nestled right up against them. Wandering through parks with traditional statues was relaxing and we really enjoyed when the sun came out as it was wonderful and warm on our rosy cheeks and pink noses.
Kampa park had some very modern statues. Big naked crawling babies with weird screens for faces. I found out that they were supposed to symbolize that they were unable to reach adulthood, their growth stifled by the totalitarian rule of the communists. Definitely odd and a little creepy, no pun intended, but fun too. Lots of photos taken here by everyone who walked by. 
There were quite a few of us tourists out and about and the closer we got to the bridge it seemed the more there were. Another lovely little park with some wonderful statues. The europeans love their statues. I wish we had more in our parks in Canada. 
The walk continued through some little neighbourhoods with historical value. A lot of the old stone houses here had their family crests on them, some more famous the others. Little markets and food kiosks that smelled really good and we realized that we were starting to get a little peckish ourselves.
We climbed a lovely staircase onto a road which was one end of the famous Charles Bridge, which is according to Wikipedia "an historic bridge that crosses the Vitava river. Its construction started in 1357 under the auspices of King Charles IV, and was finished in the beginning of the 15th century. The bridge replaced the old Judith Bridge built 1158–1172 that had been badly damaged by a flood in 1342.
This new bridge was originally called Stone Bridge or Prague Bridge but has been "Charles Bridge" since 1870. As the only means of crossing the river Vltava until 1841, Charles Bridge was the most important connection between Prague Castle and the city's Old Town and adjacent areas. This "solid-land" connection made Prague important as a trade route between Eastern and Western Europe.
The bridge is very long and very wide, following the example of the Stone Bridge in Regensberg, (we were there) it was built as a bow bridge with 16 arches and is protected by three bridge towers, two on the lesser Quarter side and one on the Old Town side, the Old Bridge Tower. The ceiling of the Old Bridge tower is very pretty inside with saints and angels all over.
The bridge is decorated by a continuous alley of 30 saintly statues and statuaries, most of them baroque-style, originally erected around 1700 but now all replaced by replicas.
The plaque on the statue of John of Nepomuk has been polished to a shine by countless people having touched it over the centuries. Touching the stars and the falling priest on the plaque is supposed to bring good luck and ensure your return to Prague. However, a lot of people also touch the shiny dog and woman (the Queen) so we touched both.
We walked the bridge with the crowds and over the mighty Vitava river to Old Town. There were plenty of artists selling their wares. The paintings of many different scenes of Prague, mostly Old town and the bridge, were very good but we could not linger to see them all as our tour guide kept us hopping.
After the bridge and Old Town Bridge Tower comes a square with a magnificent statue of King Charles IV. The Square also grants tourists like us a lovely view of the river looking back at the bridge we just crossed. 
On one side of the square is a museum and on the wall is a mathematical formula inspired by the palindromic number 135797531 (the bridge and bridge tower were built on July 9, 1357 at 5:31 a.m.), the bridge was constructed as part of the Old Town bridge tower. at first I was a little mystified by the number but figured that I would look it up when I got home.
We then managed the crossing of the very busy, but not very wide, street as a group and we were in Old town.
Old town Prague is a wonderful honeycomb of narrow streets and laneways with tall buildings and small courtyards, all crisscrossing back and forth and chock-a-block full of little shops, restaurants, cafes and businesses.
Lots of quirky little things like cows in courtyards and trees which mark the very centre of Prague. I am sure the there were apartments in there as well but could not swear to it. I would get totally lost in there. The tour guide took us on an adventure I could not repeat, even if I tried. 
We wound through tunnels between buildings into streets that a gave us peek-a-boo glimpses of very tall towers and famous old clocks. Finally we arrived at a large square. Old Town Square which is surrounded by shops and restaurants, a busy market in the middle full of lots of different kiosks selling all kinds of wares and the famous astronomical clocktower 
Our tour guide told us to be back at the clock tower for noon to see the workings of the astronomical clock work, so we had about 35 minutes to spare and decided to find a place to have something warm to drink while we waited. 
The square was lovely with so many spires on buildings it helped to create a magical feeling. We settled on a restaurant right by the clock tower and each ordered hot chocolate and a scrumptious pastry to share. There were heaters going and they gave us blankets to use as well. Did I mention that it was still cold especially in the shade of all the old cold stone buildings. 
We enjoyed that hot chocolate and pastry so much in our warm blankets. Then it was time for the clock. We exited to get a better view. Wikipedia says" The clock was first installed in 1410, making it the third-oldest astronomical clock in the world and the oldest clock still operating." Legend has it that the town did not want for any other town to have a better clock made by the clock maker who made this one so they blinded him. He went mad according to the legend, took his revenge, sabotaging the clock by killing himself in it. Gruesome or what. It was a marvel to behold though, with all the little moving parts, roosters, skeletons, sailors and priests drummers and violins. very cool. 
A nice browse through the market for a souvenir. Easter was still big and so lots of easter things about. We wandered through the market to the other side of the square. It started to rain like crazy again and so we took refuge in a small park with giant Easter eggs and more booths selling sausages, which did not interest either of us but there was cover so we lingered there browsing the merchandise. 
There was a stage set up by a tree that had Easter eggs hanging in it. We spent about an hour just wandering and admiring the wares and decorations in the shops picking up a few souvenirs here and there. 
The cobblestones were interesting too. In one place there must have been five different style of cobble stone. 
We were to meet the bus at 3 to go back to the hotel on the open side of the square and thought it might be best to find a washroom before we went to wait until the appointed time. We wandered with a purpose and in one of the buildings on the opposite side of the square we had success.
The sun came out again but we were ready to go back to the hotel and get changed into something dry and warm. The bus came right on time and trip back did not take that long so we were getting into dry clothes in our room and looking happily at our souvenirs in no time flat. 
After a lovely dinner we decided to go for the evening excursion of Prague. We were a small group in a mini van. we would our way out of the hotel and through the streets of Prague to our first stop of the evening. A Monastery which still made beer to help support itself. 
The Guide told us many interesting things but again , brain overload does not permit me to recall any of it. We wandered down a laneway past the restaurant/pub and came to a great garden with a great view of the city and the castle and the bridges. It was just lovely. We were close to the radio tower which I think we could see from our hotel room so if we ever needed to find the monastery again we could. I sprinkled Mom and Dad there in the garden with the great view, I think they would have liked that.
Then back onto into the van where we were dropped off at the Old tower Bridge square. There were lots of people milling around but I have to admit that I really like old town at night. The stone and lights make it seem magical. Everything seems to have more character, and they already have a lot of character in the daytime. We saw the castle across the river and it was beautiful all lit up with the bridge and hills before it. Yes Prague at night is gorgeous. 
Our destination in old town was to see the clock at night. Winding our way through the narrow streets in the daytime was confusing , at night we just followed our guide and watched our footing. Walking on the cobblestone streets was a little hazardous and scary. Margie and I both were the slow walkers anyway but the darkness made us even slower. No point in twisting an ankle on our second to last night of the trip. Chris, one of the ladies from the ship had a cane as she had already twisted her knee so was being just as careful. 
We came to the Old Town Square and it was beautiful. I loved the buildings with the spires and the architecture of all the buildings surrounding the square. another word for magical would be nice but that is what is was, magical.
Even though our guide earlier in the day had tried to explain the clock and how to tell time on it I found it to be very confusing so looked it up on google when I got home and Bigboytravel.com says this about how to read the clock:
The Astronomical Dial is the time telling part of the clock and was built in 1410. It shows position of the Sun and Moon in the sky with a mechanical clock in the center of it.
The first thing to examine is the stationary background of the Astronomical Dial which pins you the observer standing in Prague right in the center of an Earthly map. Surrounding the Earth are colored rings that represent the current sun light with the bottom dark circle being night time the orange to the left being day break the grey to the left being sunrise, the blue on the top being daytime, the grey on the right being sunset, the orange on the right being twilight, working your way be to night time. These colored rings for the daylight move throughout the year as the days grow longer and shorter.
On the edges the of the Astronomical Dial the ring of Roman Numerals show the Modern 24 Hour Clock we are used to today set to Central European Time. Follow the Golden Hand to see the current time on the standard 24 hour clock. Outside of the standard Roman Numerals is another ring with Schwabacher Numerals showing Ancient Bohemian Time that went off Italian hours. In Italian hours they still used a 24 hour day, but the day ended and reset officially at sunset. Throughout the year the the ring of Schwabacher Numerals rotates to keep the end of the day lined up with sunset which can be anywhere from 4-8pm during the year using modern hours. Easiest way to think of it is that Sunset is 0 hours and each hour is the time after Sunset.
When using the ancient Czech time it is important to know that while they changed when the day ended based on the length of daylight, the day light and night time hours were always divided up into 12 parts each regardless. Because the length of the day time changes throughout the year they used an odd system called Unequal Hours or Planetary Hours where the length of the 12 daytime and 12 night time hours themselves changed in to keep 12 night hours and 12 day hours. The position of the Gold Sun on the Golden Hand in relation to the Golden Arch Lines on the background will tell you what time it is based on Unequal Hours. Notice how the Arch Lines on the top of the clock have the numbers 1-12 on them going from Sunrise on the left to Sunset on the right? The Gold Sun moves up and down the Golden Hand throughout the year to narrower or wider spots in the Golden Arch Lines showing the Unequal hours are longer or shorter.
The Moon along the Zodiac Ring spins around the clock representing its orbit around the Earth and it also has both a black and white half that rotate to show the current cycle of the Moon. The Zodiac Ring moves so the sun goes across it counterclockwise marking the current position in the Zodiac year.
The small Golden Star shows the position of the vernal equinox and measures Siderial Time based on its positions in relation to the Roman Numerals on the outer ring.
The relation of all the celestial items are a little weird today as when the clock was built most people believe that everything revolved around the Earth on an ecliptic plane and it wasn’t until the 1500s that it was discovered we are in a solar system going around the our sun. Remember from stop 3 that it was right here in Old Town Prague where another Astronomical break through happened in 1619 when Kepler came up with his Laws of Planetary Motion.
Calendar Dial added in 1870. The center has the crest of Old Town Prague surrounded by the 12 Zodiac symbols of pre-2012 lining up with the days they fall on laying on the outer ring with has marks for each day of the year. The Dial rotates keeping the current day on the top.
The Walk of the Apostles, animated statues added in the 1600s, Apostle statues added in 1865, statues come alive hourly, the skeleton statue representing Death is our favorite as it appears to be striking along with the hourly bells.
From left to right in the photographs, the first is Vanity, represented by a figure admiring himself in a mirror. Next, the miser holding a bag of gold represents greed or usury. Across the clock stands Death, a skeleton that strikes the time upon the hour. Finally, the Turk tells pleasure and entertainment.So you can see why I was little confused. The clock was so much more impressive at night, all lit up, and it seemed like there was more detail than in the daytime. It went for longer than at noon as it was 8 or 9 o'clock and the moving parts moved longer. The rooster crowed , the skeleton rang his bell. all the characters did something which seemed to be more noticeable at night. The crowds of tourists watching were much smaller crowds than were there during the day although it was still crowded.
We made it safe and sound back to the pick up spot for the van and spent some time in the pool having a nice relaxing swim with a few other guests before we finally hit the sack. Tomorrow we were on our own and had lots of plans to see the town.
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