wandering the old town in prague

Finally I made it to and through Prague! I stuck to exploring the "old town" area of the city as it was within walking distance of my hostel...walking distance, but still a ways actually. I didn't seek out a walking tour, so most of the info about the city I have came from the map I grabbed from my hostel. The architecture was fantastic, the Charles Bridge beautiful, and I managed to escape the famously successful pickpockets of the city! Prague also has the distinction of being the first - and I think only - stop along my trip where I know absolutely zero of the local language. And let me tell you, Czech doesn't seem easy to pick up. Luckily I am fluent in gesturing and it's been extremely helpful here! Here are some highlights...

The celestial clock that's in the main square. Not sure exactly how it works, but it was really neat. There was lots of miniatures being sold at the market I visited also.

The Charles bridge - one of the oldest in Europe.

The view across the river to the castle. And yes, I walked across the Charles bridge, up a bunch of hills, through lots of tiny streets to get to that castle. In addition, my hostel was probably 1 1/2-2 miles back behind me the other direction from where this photo was taken. This is why I am so walked out after Prague!

Here is the view from the castle looking back at Prague.

Looking out at the people boating on the river. Looked like fun!

And finally (for Jen) my dinner - salmon pasta and a huge glass of red wine. All for 270kc (the Czech Republic still has their own currency)....which is about $14 USD. I've been living on baguettes and cookies since having that lovely meal.

Tomorrow it's off to Vienna, Austria. Hoping that the people at the Wien (local spelling for Vienna) train station are nicer than here in Prague. I tried to make a reservation for several upcoming trains that require them but the lady at the ticket office got mad that I didn't know the train numbers. I figured I could find them online, but no luck so far! Wish I could go back to Barcelona Sants station - their information people were the best.