In the middle of the castle complex is a rather large cathedral.

The facade was decorated with glittering mosaics.

As well as beautiful masonary and metal work.

Goes to show that the Bohemian royalty back in the day (around 16th and 17th Centuries) were a pretty wealthy lot. These days, the Czech people have largely found their feet after the Communist era, but travelling from Germany into the Czech Republic, one can see that things aren’t so well-kempt. The Czechs still have some ways to go until the reach the affluence of their old western cousins.

In the end, there were simply too many people around the castle, and after a speedy walk-through, we ventured back down the hill to the elegant squares.

I heard from other travellers that Prague is often like this, and actually gets worse during the summer. Perhaps next time I should go in winter when the crowds are away?

We are visiting Prague Castle on the other side of the river. It’s where the royal family once lived and where parliament sits. But to get to the castle you had to climb to the top of the hill.

There were quite a few steps and a view of old and new Prague from the top.

There were also some interesting statues.

And lots more wonderful masonary work inside. This one seems to be of St George slaying the dragon.

We’ve come north to Central Europe, and the cosmopolitan city of Prague. We arrived in the middle of an unseasonal spring day – 27C! We stayed in the old quarter, and as you can see, it’s filled with many elegant historical buildings.

You can also see that Prague, at least the old town, is filled to the brim with traffic. And tourists.

Which was a shame, since it is a picturesque city with a lot of history, for Good King Wenceslas to the Bohemians and now as the capital of the Czech Republic. We’ll explore a little bit more in my next post, but for now I’ll leave you with a view of the castle, the river, and the Charles Bridge.