Day 10 - Escaping the ghosts in Prague

We reached Prague at 9am and from Praha Hlavni Nadr Station, took tram No9 to Mustek and walk down to Havelska road.

This is the view of New Town

We opted for Pension Tara which have one of the most beautiful room among the hostel we have stayed. It is also really spacious, have a small table, kettle and private bathroom. This is where most of us had our first Maggi Mee through out the trip. Imagine that! I brought a stock of food with me, and only started to fully utilize them from Day 9! Apparently it is not that hard to get Halal food in Europe. :) I keep telling the girls "I am not going to take all these food back to Malaysia. Better eat them now!" :P

Pink some more!

Then we head downstairs to wander around the market which is right in front of the hostel.

Perfect place to buy souvenier
A fridge magnet/keychain will cost ~60CZK

It is here that we discovered Prague is actually also famous as a ghost city. Most of the shops sell ghost puppets that give a hysterical laugh once you make some movements at it.

Next, we walk to the underground station and take the metro to Malostranska.

It is quite hard to find Prague Castle from the metro station. We had to ask a few people to get there. One of them is this guy. Aida and i were trying to decipher the map when he suddenly stop and ask if we need any help. We asked for Prague Castle, and he led us out of the subway and pointed the direction. I know it's actually not good to accept help from strangers, but he seem like a nice person and he told us that the reason he asked is because we look like his friend who was from Malaysia. So, he wanted to help. ;)

A ha! Prazsky Hrad == Prague Castle

It's actually quite a walk and we could take the tram to another stop, but we did not know it. :P

Found it!

Guards

Aida & I with the landscape of Prague Castle as our background

Prague Castle is one of the biggest castles in the world (according to Guinness Book of Records the biggest ancient castle) at about 570 meters in length and an average of about 130 meters wide. (credit)

We were greeted by St Vitus Cathedral

It was the home of Emperor Charles IV and his four wives in the 1600’s and is still occupied to this day. The Castle is like a maze connecting several buildings, cathedrals and courtyards. The crypts in the castle are still open today for those willing to go in the deep, dark, and dusty lower levels where the ghosts of the wives are said to bicker amongst themselves in the night time.

(Credit)

St George's Convent

Guards doing the round walk

Another Cathedral, i guess.

Next, after successfully asking for directions, we headed to Charles Bridge by taking tram no18 to Karlovy Lazne. The view here is really spectacular! Feels like watching a fairy tale in real life. :)

Prague Castle from afar.

After that, we walk up and pass some souvenier shops before we board the tram back to Mustek for the last stop at the famous Astronomical Clock somewhere in the Old Town.

However, we walk at the wrong way which is right the opposite way towards the New Town!

But as most travellers would say, when ever you get lost, you might discover something! We landed in the Wenceslas Square which is a huge boulevard, lined up by shops, albeit high or low end. As we walk, we noticed that Lady Gaga is really likeable here as most of the stores were playing "Ro Ro Ro Ma Ma Ma...Ga Ga Ooo La La". The song stuck in my head until now. :(

At last, we walk back and turns out the Astronomical Clock is just around the hostel! :P So, what's so interesting about this clock?

Wiki says....It is is composed of three main components: the astronomical dial, representing the position of the Sun and Moon in the sky and displaying various astronomical details; "The Walk of the Apostles", a clockwork hourly show of figures of the Apostles and other moving sculptures; and a calendar dial with medallions representing the months. The oldest part, the mechanical clock and astronomical dial, dates back to 1410. More detail, get it from Wiki yeah. :P (Credit)

THE clock

The surrounding of the Old Town Hall is magnificent as well.

I think this is a Cathedral

Does this picture remind you of Disneyland?

If you notice, we did not stop much for food, but instead we bought it from the stalls. I did take a few photos, but somehow i lost it. :( Anyway, i had vegetarian falafel which is very nice for the cost of 59CZK and then had creamy baked potato for 19CZK.

To sum it up, i do believe that Prague is really a beautiful city. :)

Transportation: TBD
Hostel: The stairs might kill you, but overall it is a nice room. :)

Food: CZK 78