May 23 Friday (Occasional Shower)

We took tram #23 (I think) to go to the Prague Castle. You’d need to walk about ten minutes before reaching the destination. Though we made a little detour and visited The Loreto first. Since no photography is allowed inside the monastery, I couldn’t show you the collection of sacral objects and the Diamond Monstrance adorned with diamonds.

Our next stop was the Prague Castle, the dominant feature of the city and its biggest attraction. There’re several tourist spots within the castle complex. The most crowded (you’ve to queue for half an hour or more) is the St Vitus Cathedral especially after the government successfully coerced the church into waiving the entrance fee. Photography is allowed inside the cathedral but not the next three, the Old Royal Palace, St George’s Basilica and the St George’s Convent. Then we visited the Golden Lane, the lane with tiny houses of the former castle gunmen runs along the north wall above the Deer Moat. We made a brief stop (nothing much to see) at the Daliborka Tower which used to be a prison and a dungeon. We then proceeded to the South Gardens to enjoy the panoramic view of Prague.

After leaving the castle we strolled downhill and enjoyed our afternoon tea @ Café Louvre, an elegant, spacious and airy Art Nouveau café on Národná, established in 1902 and visited by such customers as Kafka, Čapek, Einstein. Total cost for three pastries and drinks amounted to Kč300 or around US$19; highly recommended.

Then we crossed the Vltava and back to the old town. And we went to dinner @ the Kogo Ristorante & Wine Bar. It’s a higher end restaurant and quite popular. Since we didn’t make advance booking, we were seated at the wine bar area though the food and cost (Kč1,438 or US$92 plus) are the same.