I'm feeling much better today and Peter thinks he is! This morning is a visit to the world listed Prague Castle. It is on the hill overlooking Prague. Castles were built for the Emperors, those that were ruling and they were always built on the highest part of the city. The castle area is referred to as the 'Old City' of Prague. After a wander around the exterior of the castle area, we would then walk 3 kms down the hill, stroll over Charles Bridge, enjoy walking the narrow cobbled streets, and finish where Ivo had taken us on our 'Prague Orientation Walk' the night before.

We were introduced to our guide Helena when we hopped on the bus at 8.45am. Helena is Ivo's Mum, so now we have met all members of the family. Helena was lovely and ensured we were where we needed to be at whatever time. Like 10 minutes before the changing of the guard, with our toes touching the white line, so no one else would be able to get in front of our group.

We can't believe how many people are walking these historic streets. It is also an extra busy weekend as the gay community are celebrating 'Prague Pride'. I thought the 'Pride' bit may have had something to do with the communism display in the centre of the city. How wrong I was! 

Our visit to the 'Old City' of Prague was really lovely, with lots of statues and interesting buildings to photograph. From there we walked down the narrow cobbled street to Charles Bridge and then back to the hotel, clicking all the way! Some of the highlights were:

Prague Castle:  This castle is the largest ancient castle in the world. The main gate has been constructed in remembrance of the empress Maria Theresa. We are still being told stories of Maria Theresa. The entrance gate is a part of Rococo railing which comes from the period of the reign of the empress Maria Theresa. Above the main gateway a partly gold-coated wrought arch with a royal crown at the top can be seen. Sides of the gate are formed by bulky square columns bearing sculptures of fighting giants from 1768. 
 
St. Vitus Cathedral at Prague Castle:  The history of St Vitus Cathedral is almost as old as Prague Castle itself. The first sanctuary on the place of present St Vitus Cathedral was built by Wenceslas I, Duke of Bohemia, in 926-30 as the third church built at Prague Castle. The founder Wenceslas is entombed here along with the tombs of many Bohemian Kings and Holy Roman Emperors. The cathedral is under the ownership of the Czech Government and the Cathedral is where the Bohemian Crown Jewels are kept. The Jewels are exhibited only to mark special occasions. Exhibitions can take place only at the Prague Castle. In the 20th century there were nine such moments in history. The main entrance to the cathedral is named the 'Golden Portal'. A large mosaic above the entrance was made in a Bohemian glass factory with the assistance of Italian artists. Jesus is surrounded by angels and the kneeling Czech patrons – St Prokop, St Zikmund and St Vitus on the left and St Wenceslas, St Ludmila and St Vojtech on the right. The mosaic covers an area of 82 square meters. The theme of the whole mosaic is the 'Last Judgement' as the end of life on earth. Another spectacular part of St. Vitus Cathedral is the Rose Window. It is spectacular not only from the outside, but especially from the inside.  

Saint George's Basilica:  This is the oldest surviving church building within Prague Castle. It is dedicated to Saint George. The Baroque façade dates from the late 17th century. A Gothic style chapel dedicated to Ludmila of Bohemia holds the tomb of the saint. The shrines of two other saints of Bohemia are also in the basilica.

Statue of Charles IV:   Charles IV is the Holy Roman Emperor and King of Bohemia and his statue is situated at the Knights of the Cross Square at the front of Charles Bridge. It is one of the most important Neo-Gothic statues in Central Europe. Charles is often referred to 'Pater patriae' (father of the country) and was an important personality of the medieval Europe. He made Prague the capital of the Holy Roman Empire and he had many buildings built in the city. He also founded the oldest university in Central Europe – the Charles University – in 1348. Many places and buildings in Prague and in the whole country bear his name: the Charles Bridge, the Charles Square, and others. His monument was made on the occasion of the 500th anniversary of the Charles University in 1848. The Monument is about 4 metres high and it stands on a pedestal of the same height. Charles IV has a sword in one hand and a foundation charter of the university in the other hand.  

Charles Bridge:  The bridge is 621 metres (2,037 ft) long and nearly 10 metres (33 ft) wide, and it follows the example of the Stone Bridge in Regensburg. It was built as a bow bridge with 16 arches shielded by ice guards, crossing the Vltava River in Prague. It is protected by three bridge towers, two of them on the Lesser Quarter side and the third one on the Old Town side. The Old Town Bridge Tower is often considered to be one of the most astonishing civil gothic-style buildings in the world. The bridge is decorated by a continuous alley of 30 statues, most of them baroque-style, originally erected around 1700 but now all replaced by replicas.

Clementinum Observatory:  In 1752 the first regular meteorological measurement was initiated and it has been continuing until now. The year 1775 is considered as the beginning of comprehensive succession. 'Mannheim clocks' functioned as regular temperature measurement, according to which weather behaviour was noted always at 7 am,7 pm and 9 pm. That is also why an average temperature is nowadays counted as the sum of temperatures of these hours – temperature at 9 pm is included twice and then divided by four. Weather station Clementinum is the oldest weather observation and is considered unique in the whole of Central Europe.

Prague Astronomical Clock on the Old Town Hall:  This is in the Old Town Square. Every hour, hundreds of tourists from all over the world with cameras at the ready gather in front of the Old Town Hall to enjoy a fascinating mechanical performance which in the Middle Ages was considered one of the wonders of the world. The Prague Astronomical Clock, which for 600 years has been one of the greatest treasures of the city, still amazes people with its procession of Apostles, moving statues and visualization of time like no other instrument in the world.  

Old Town Hall:  The most famous building on the Old Town Square is the fourteenth-century Old Town Hall. Its Gothic tower, built in 1364, is one of the most recognisable buildings in Prague.

The Church of Our Lady before Týn:   This church has been the main church of this part of the city since the 14th century and it is in 'Old Town Square'. The church's towers are 80 metres high and can be seen from all over Prague.

Wenceslas Square:  This is at the top of the main street in Prague. The south end of Na príkope meets Wenceslas Square. The 750-metre long and 60-metre wide boulevard was first laid out over 600 years ago in the Charles IV period, when it was used as a horse market. Since then the square has been a regular parade ground for every kind of person, organisation or political party known in the Czech Republic. The street can, and has before, comfortably held 400,000 people. In the upper part of the boulevard is the statue of St. Wenceslas on his horse. In the square are Memorial Plagues to Jan Palach and Jan Zajic, who were both killed in 1969. Jan Palach (11 August 1948 – 19 January 1969) was a Czech student of history and political economy at Charles University in Prague. He committed self-immolation as a political protest against the end of the Prague Spring resulting from the 1968 invasion of Czechoslovakia by the Warsaw Pact armies. In August 1968, the Soviet Union invaded Czechoslovakia to crush the liberalising reforms of Alexander Dubcek's government, during what was known as the Prague Spring. In 1969 Jan Zajic took part in a hunger strike and a commemoration ceremony by students for Jan Palach near the statue of Saint Wenceslas in Prague.  On the day of the twenty-first anniversary of the Communist takeover (25 February 1969), he travelled to Prague accompanied by three other students. His intention was to warn the public against the forthcoming political 'normalisation' of the country. He had several letters challenging the people to fight against the Warsaw Pact's military occupation of Czechoslovakia. Around 1:30 in the afternoon he walked into the passageway of the building at No. 39 on Wenceslas Square and ignited his chemical-soaked clothes. He was unable to run out of the door, and collapsed and died in the hallway. The police prohibited his burial in Prague because they feared demonstrations, such as the ones that followed the burial of Jan Palach. He was later buried in his hometown of Vítkov.  After the Velvet Revolution, a bronze cross was set into the ground in front of the National Museum in Wenceslas Square to honour both Palach and Zajíc. After researching this information, we now more fully comprehend what Ivo was referring to on Friday night, when he said it was good that the display was in the main street of Prague and today's generation needed to more fully informed of the happenings of 1968, which lead to Czechoslovakia remaining controlled until 1989.

We had a rest after purchasing something for lunch. The Dr had suggested we should try to take it easy for a bit. By 4.00pm we had had enough of the hotel room and the air conditioning, so we went for a walk. We were just in time to see the last of the 'Prague Pride' parade coming down the street, with plenty of cops walking and driving behind.  

At 7.00pm we put the glad rags on again for another 'Farewell Dinner'. This definitely will be the last for this tour with APT. It was in the dining room of the Raddison Blu Hotel, where we are staying. Lovely hotel and lovely to have a bit more space in our room after being on the ship for two weeks. Especially the bathroom. It is a great location as well. The dinner was a pretty tame affair compared to our farewell dinners in Canada, but the meal and service was nice.