May 2018 European Trip, Part Two –After a quick flight we landed in the beautiful city of Prague, the capital city of the Czech Republic. (In a previous post, I recapped our trip to Krakow. You can find that post here.) I’d seen many pictures of Prague’s red tile roofs, but it is even more extraordinary to see them in person.
From the airport we headed straight to the Aria Hotel. While only a five-minute walk from the Charles Bridge, the Aria Hotel is located just down the street from the US embassy, away from all the hustle and bustle of the tourist below. Being music junkies, Adam and I loved the musical theme of the hotel. Each room is dedicated to a musician and musical artworks are found throughout the hotel. I’m also a sucker for a hotel that stocks its room with good products and the Molton Brown bottles were a pleasant surprise
While the hotel, looks fairly average from the street, gorgeous gardens are a hidden gem located on the opposite side of the property.
Once settled, we joined the throngs of tourist headed down to the Charles Bridge on our way to the Old Town Square. This part of the journey can feel a bit overwhelming. There streets are lined with stores and cafes and often this leads to backups along the route. But with a little bit of patience and determination, you make it beyond the tight quarters into the square. Similar to what we discovered in Krakow, the square was a great place to grab a quick beer or bite while deciding what landmark to tackle first.
We started with the St. Nicholas Church in Old Town . This 18th century Baroque style church is beautiful on the inside and worth a stop.
During our visit, the Prague Astronomical clock was being renovated. Adam and I were a bit amused at the number of people who took video of a video playing demonstrating how the clock operates.
We did climb the Old Town Hall Tower and the views of the square were more than worth it! (The tower also has an elevator for those who don’t want or are unable to walk to the top.)
Upon wrapping up our tour of the tower, we stopped in the Black Angel Bar in U prince Hotel. It’s located in the basement of the hotel and lets off a secretive vibe. The cocktail menu is unique and even peaked the interest of my beer loving husband. No pictures to prove it however as photography is not allowed adding to the mystic of the location.
The weather Gods continued to bless us as we had a perfect evening to enjoy dinner on the rooftop of our hotel at the CODA Restaurant. It was fun to sip a glass of wine while overlooking all of what we’d seen in Day One while looking forward to sights we were scheduled to see on Day Two.
After dinner we ventured down the road and we stopped in the perfect little nook of a wine bar, U Stare Studny Wine Bar.
After a glass, we head back up to the street and headed over to J.J. Murphy’s Irish Pub. I was honestly feeling a little tired and ready to call it a night, but J.J.’s quickly changed my mind. Some people were locals; some were tourist, but everyone was friendly, and it felt like a neighborhood pub we’d visited many times before. If Ireland taught me anything, it is never underestimate the fun to be had in an Irish Pub!
The next morning, we set out to see the Prague Castle. We started our adventure by walking through the beautiful Gardens below Prague Castle before heading up the hill.
Castle is a bit of a misnomer; I would call it more of a compound. There are numerous palaces and a few churches/cathedrals to explore in this UNESCO World Heritage site that dates back to as early as the 10th century. We started with a tour of Lobkowicz Palace. While the building itself has an impressive history, the art collection was what really drew my attention. It is listed as the largest privately-owned art collection in the Czech Republic.
Pay special attention in the Music Archive Room where you can see works from Handel, Mozart and Beethoven!
With as many gorgeous cathedrals as there are to see in Europe, you would think they would begin to blend together but I’m always in awe with each new one I visit. St. Vitus Cathedral was no exception; the stained glass was incredible.
While not as grand in stature, St. George’s Basilica was more than worth the stop when learning the basilica was founded in 920!
After finishing our Palace tour, we walked over to the Lennon Wall. I loved the idea of seeing the wall and knowing it is constantly changing with new designs and artwork. The version of the wall you see is specific to just that visit.
For our last meal in Prague, we visited Restaurant Mlynec. I really liked the overall vibe to the restaurant and it was a delicious end to our stay! On our way back to the hotel we took the opportunity to swing by J.J. Murphy’s one last time before retiring for the night to pack for our next stop, Lake Como!
Postcards To Mabel 