czech republic: prague in the fall

I don't think you can ever spend enough time in Prague, it's an amazing city. I had a long weekend near the end of October, so I took the chance to spend time with my mom, and see more of the city. 

My flight landed at the airport, and mom was waiting for me there, as she always is. Public transport got us back to her flat, we stayed up talking for a few hours, as we always do. 

The next day we went on a day long road trip with mom's friend and the friend's son. After we came back, we had dinner at the food court in a nearby mall. The food court had a good variety of food at reasonable prices :)

Sunday morning I woke up at what I thought was 0530. When I used the computer to check email and the like, I was reminded that Europe had 'fallen back' the night before. The clocks were back on standard time for the winter season. In other words, I'd woken up at 0430, not 0530. 

I used the computer for a couple hours, (and ate a breakfast of my all time favorite yogurt - found only in Czech Republic) and left the flat just after daylight, near 0730. 

Not surprisingly, there weren't a lot of people or cars out at that hour on a Sunday morning. It was quiet, I loved it. If only I could get myself out of bed that early every time I travel, I could see so much more without other tourists in the way. 

I walked to Wenceslas square, which was mostly empty. I liked the emptiness, I could see the tile on the ground, I've never noticed the patterns before.

While walking the length of the square (more like a long rectangle,) I saw the inside of a gallery, with a beautiful ceiling. By gallery I mean building with shops, not a place where art is displayed. So pretty. 

I walked to the old town center by way of the gunpowder tower. One of these days I want to go up the tower, just because. There are a bunch of towers in Prague, offering various views of the city, it would be fun to see them all, but not in the same visit; that would be way too many tower climbs in a short time. The views are great, but not super different each time.
The streets were still mostly deserted :) I reckon during summer days there are more people around at that hour, but probably still not too many. It's so nice to walk around a beautiful city when it is just waking up. 

The lack of tourists was awesome when I got to the old city square. Much more fun to walk around when you're not avoiding tourists at every turn. Much more fun to take photos without tourists as well :)

I was able to see the astronomical clock without heaps of people, yay! There were a few tourists (most using selfie sticks) but it was still easy to take photos without them. 

I made my way through the streets to get to the Charles bridge, which was still mostly empty. Yay! I did see a couple having engagement photos taken, fun to watch for a while. Are all those photos so posed/fake? A few times they had to wait for others to get out of the shot to get the photo they wanted, their faces told me they were annoyed. I was thinking: hey, you've chosen one of the busiest places in the city, you can't expect everyone to pay attention to you.

Anywho. 

I crossed the bridge, and wandered around the area around the other end of the bridge. Then I came back. I really like walking the Charles bridge when it isn't so crowded. I imagine everyone says that. 

I walked along the river, all the way to the so called Dancing House. That was the intersection where I turned left and walked up the hill. Eventually, I got back to mom's flat. 

A few minutes later Mom's best friend from childhood arrived. (She was on the day trip with us yesterday.) After discussing who was on time and who was late, and what time it was (time change the night before,) we left the flat and started walking. 

This was a week after my birthday, and Mom had decided to take me to a nice birthday lunch. Awesome! Mom had made reservations a week before at a place she'd told me about, but I'd never seen.

The TV tower is semi close to Mom's flat, we were able to walk there easily. On one level of the tower is a restaurant, with fantastic views of the entire city. We had a lovely meal, I'd happily go back. Mom's friend had brought binoculars, we were able to see the city in great detail. 

There is also an observation level in the TV tower, which is where we went after eating. Good fun, good views. Too bad the weather was crappy. Even so, I'd happily go back. During our time in the observation deck, or during lunch, we noticed a small cemetery nearby. If we hadn't had that view (the ability to look down over an area in which there aren't other towers or ways of looking down,) I never would've seen this cemetery. 

After our meal, we decided to check out the cemetery. It turned out to be an old Jewish cemetery, which is no longer in use, but is still watched. I couldn't find it listed anywhere, but there is a sign at the entrance, caps for men to wear when they visit, and an attendant to answer questions. I thought it was beautiful. 

From the cemetery, we took public transport to the city center. Mom wanted to show me another piece of art by David Cerny. This one is Kafka's head. The head is quite large, and made of quite a few 'layers,' each of which is controlled by a computer.  The layers move differently, and allegedly never the same way twice in a row. It's fun to see the 'face' move and change. 

By that point, it was getting dark. We ducked into a nearby bookstore so I could get slightly cheaper postcards, (again pointing out that when you buy postcards in the quantity I do, every price cut makes a difference,) then took public transport back home. Dinner and dessert were at a place near Mom's flat. 

The next morning I was up early again. It's such a habit, and I don't really see a need to change it. I got going around the same time, this time heading straight for the river. I followed the river a ways until going back uphill a little, to find the entrance to an area called Vysehrad.

Way back when, Vysehrad used to be a fortress protecting this entire part of the country. Parts of it still remain, and are pretty easy to visit. I'd never heard of this area before, it was listed in Mom's guidebook to the city, and I was thrilled to find something new to see.
I entered through a big gate that had been made through the walls of the fortress. There was a ticket office, but I couldn't figure out what tickets they were selling, so I skipped the office. As soon as I was completely in the area, I saw all the trees in their autumn glory. Absolutely beautiful, bright yellow. I saw a small church just a little up the road, but it wasn't open.

I followed the road a bit, and eventually came to the entrance to the cemetery. This cemetery is crowded, and according to the signs/guidebooks/info places, full of famous people in Czech/Prague history. It was definitely crowded, with a lot of variety in the grave markers. Most of them were fairly large and ornate, but not all of them. Along the edge of the graveyard was a hall of sorts, with monuments set into the wall. I haven't seen that in a graveyard before, it was unique for me.
Also in the Vysehrad area is a big cathedral. St Peter and Paul. You have to pay to enter, which isn't common in Prague. The lady taking money wasn't thrilled with people trying to peek in through the windows, so they could see the church without paying, she kept telling them to stop. I paid the fee, though I'm still not sure it was worth it. The interior of the church was painted, but the lighting was terrible, so I couldn't see it well, let alone take decent photos.

I really liked the front doors to the church, especially the mosaics above the doors. Really pretty. The treasury area inside was also pretty fantastic. It still amazes me how much money and power used to be concentrated in the Church.
Next to the church was a park area. There were a few statues, and a few trees, but nothing else. A great area for wandering and relaxing. This park was bordered by the walls of the fortress on two sides, and both of those walls offered great views. These views were views of the city I hadn't seen before, and not usually seen on postcards or photos of the city.
Eventually I wandered back down the hill, and made my way back to the old town square, walking along the river. When I got there, I watched the 'parade' that happens when the top of the hour rolls around at the astronomical clock. After watching, I paid to go up the tower. As many times as I've been lucky enough to get to visit Prague, I've never gone up the tower.

There are a couple ways to get to the top, taking stairs and ramps, or an elevator that looks (to me) a bit like a space rocket. I chose the stairs and ramps, and I'm glad I did. As you wind your way up the ramps there are posters on the wall with information on the history of the city and clock. I didn't read all the posters, but I did read a few, especially those related to the more modern history of the clock.
When I got to the top I had to wait a minute to get out, as the entry/exit is a door that lets just one person through at a time. The viewing area at the top is not wide, I would say it's wide enough to fit 1.5 people, so there are constant backups of people. Heaps of the people up there are taking selfies, and everyone up there is taking photos. I skipped the selfies, but took heaps of photos. It was fun to see the old town roofs, and all the towers from churches and everything else around the city. Up close they look big, but not so much when far away.

Then I walked home.
The next morning was my last morning in the city. I hung out with mom for a while, then went for one last walk. Not too far from Mom's place is a national monument, complete with a statue of a guy on a horse.
To get there, I walked down a hill, then took stairs up another hill. It was a long staircase, and straight up, so I was huffing and puffing when I got to the top. This particular hill is very wooded, so I got to see another display of beautiful fall trees.
Zyzka was an important figure in Czech history, before it was Czech history. He was a general in the 14th and 15th centuries. The statue of him on top of the national monument is the 3rd largest in the world, according to wikipedia. It's big, I know that much. There is a museum up there as well, which includes the tomb of the unknown soldier, but I didn't think I had enough time to see the museum.

Plus, it was a Monday, so I'm not sure it was open. The monument used to hold the embalmed body of the first Czech president, during the communist years, He isn't there any longer, as no one thinks too much of him. (Apparently communists all over the world like to embalm the bodies of their leaders,)
As I stood up there, I looked over the other side of the hill and saw a big church nearby. I didn't know anything about the church, but I figured I would take a quick look. I wound my way down that side of the hill and got to the church. It was big, and empty of people, yahoo. The interior was beautiful, I'm glad I got to see it.

At that point I was worried about time, (though it turned out I had plenty,) so I made my way back home. Not too long after, Mom took me to the airport and I went back to Kyiv. 
Another great visit to a great city!