We only had one full day in Prague, and with the afternoon fully encumbered by the food tour, we spent the morning wandering Old Town and then went down to the Charles Bridge for some reconnoitering.
Like the rest of Old Town, the bridge was awash with a sea of humanity. As with the Christmas market, the biggest problem was tour groups of 20 or more people who insisted on staying in tightly packed herds straining to hear as their guides stopped to point out features of the bridge or the city. If I were in charge in Prague, I’d keep down congestion by limiting tour groups to no more than 10 people.
The bridge itself was pretty cool. Construction on it started in 1372 and at either end, it has towers to protect it (as above– with sea of humanity included for perspective!) All along the bridge are various religious statues, though according to Wikipedia they are replicas which replaced the originals starting in 1965. For only being out there for 50 years, they look pretty aged…apparently the originals are in the National Museum. My favorite is the St. John of Nepomuk statue (bottom right, below) because he has an awesome halo and some foliage. Apparently John of Nepomuk was thrown into a river (for reasons unknown?) and whose effigy frequently appears on bridges because he is considered a protector against floods.
The other reason for the bridge’s popularity is that it offers an obstructed view of the Prague castle and cathedral. We went up to the cathedral in the nighttime (so no pictures), but we were impressed with all of its gargoyles and nasty adornments meant to keep evil spirits out.
All in all, Prague was a worthwhile stop on our Christmas Market adventure. One day is certainly not enough time to scratch the surface, so when we go back we have much exploring to do (starting with the cathedral!)
