Possibly the Longest Post in History!

Saturday

Jon and I woke super early (4:30 a.m.) because we planned a mini vacation to Prague. We were so excited about this trip, that it wasn't hard to get moving and get out the door for the five hour drive ahead of us! Really it was a breeze, it was like driving from Oklahoma to Texas.

Once we arrived, I was like a little kid in a candy store. The architecture in this country is unbelievable, mouth dropping. So of course I pulled out my camera and went to town on some picture taking! (You're not alone Valerie!) I take way too many pictures, but it's something I love to do and feel I have a knack for! First we saw the famous astronomical clock that was built in the 1330's. Everyone was crowded around at 1:55 p.m. to wait for the twelve apostles to appear at the strike of 2:00. (Of course this happens at every hour.)


If you look closely you can see two of the twelve
apostles in the windows above the clock.


Everyone cheered after the show was over and continued on their day. It was really neat to see how many people stopped to watch this, the entire area was filled with people.

Next we walked to the Charles Bridge, which was by far my favorite part of Prague. This amazing structure was built in 1357. During the day the bridge is so full of life, with people crossing and taking pictures, vendors selling paintings and photographs, musicians singing and playing instruments; I felt like I was in a Disney movie and we were all going to start singing the same song, lol. Here are several pictures I took of the Charles Bridge.


The people cramming onto the bridge!

A view from the bridge

One of the many statues on the Charles Bridge
People were standing in line to touch this statue.
It is said touching it will bring you good luck.

What a great picture!

Jon standing on the Charles Bridge

Me

A band playing some jazz music

A view of the castle from the bridge.

A view of the river banks


It started getting late, and at this point we realized we hadn't even started looking for our apartment building, much less had we checked in, so we decided it was definitely time to start searching. Finally we found the apartment building and were extremely surprised by how nice it was! The apartment was in the center of downtown and was fully furnished, perfect for the two of us. We couldn't have been happier.

The kitchen

Living area

Original ceilings

Bedroom

Bathroom

And a little nook


We finished unpacking and headed out because I was dying to see everything we could possibly see in one day! We walked through the Jewish Quarter, window shopping at Versace, Gucci, Louis Vuitton, etc. I was interested in seeing the Old Jewish Cemetery. The cemetery has over 12,000 tombstones, and was crammed into this unbelievably tiny space, where the graves are piled on top of each other.

The street with the best shopping!

Ceremonial Hall, a Mortuary House built in 1911.

Since the cemetery was locked we had to search for an opening
along the cement wall to take pictures. I found a small window,
stuck my camera through the hole and caught only these few pictures.





We walked through Wencelas square, found an
Italian restaurant and grabbed some grub.
Jon being silly!

Me waiting on my pasta! I bet you can see in
my eyes how hungry I am at this point.

Pretzels to eat while you wait


After eating the yummy Italian food, I really wanted to get some night shots of the church and the clock tower. Here are the pictures I captured.

Jon in front of the church,
you can see the moon just to the right of the church.










We called it an evening and went back to our apartment to get some rest!

Sunday

I woke up almost every hour through the night because I wanted it so badly to be morning! It was like waiting for Christmas morning, and when the clock hit 6:45 I was shaking Jon to wake up so we could continue our adventure! We got out of bed at 7:00 a.m. and hustled to get ready so we could see Prague first thing in the morning. Luckily we made it out of the apartment around 8:00 and the streets were empty! I wanted to get some good pictures of the Charles Bridge minus 9,000 people!

On the way to the bridge



Amazing!

There are two towers on either side of the bridge,
this was the inside of the tower looking up.

A mural inside of the tower

Another statue; isn't it beautiful!

The empty Charles Bridge

Touching the statue for good luck



A wonderful fall picture I couldn't pass up showing!

Walking on the Charles Bridge

It looks like a little piece of Italy


Jon and walked through the town on the other side of the bridge and made our way to the Castle. Through many winding roads and about 1000 steps we finally made it, all the while singing the Rocky theme song to the top!


Posing for a picture!

Beautiful

Jon being silly

I was trying to be a living statue.

A view from the top

Jon and I at the top of Prague! Very winded and out of breath





Jon with a great view behind him.

The Palace/Castle and church inside the castle walls

The church, almost impossible to take a picture of.
I was sitting on the ground to take this shot.



Jon standing in front of the church




Once we finally reached the top to where the Castle and Church were, we realized we were famished and desperately needed some breakfast. There wasn't much open at this time, but to no surprise trusty McDonald's was open so we grabbed a breakfast sandwich and chowed down. Since my daily morning ritual is to have coffee (and without this I cannot function properly) we got a cafe latte from Starbucks and mosied our way back to the other side of the bridge. Once we reached the other side of the bridge, Jon noticed the tower was open so we thought, why not climb to the top of the tower to see the view.

The steps leading to the top of the tower. I was
getting dizzy climbing these steps it was like walking
in a constant circle all the way to the top.

Frostbitten but happy with my Starbucks

Jon reading a pamphlet about the tower

A gargoyle at the top, and silly Jon peaking over the side.

The view of the bridge from the top



The view

Beautiful Prague.


I had the best adventure to Prague and the most amazing time with my husband! It was a much needed vacation that I won't ever forget! We had such a wonderful time together. Prague is by far my most favorite city in Europe (although I haven't seen many..........yet) I can't wait for our next mini holiday; I can only imagine what other beautiful places I am bound to see!

Since I took over three hundred pictures and was not able to post them all on this blog, I have posted the best ones on my flickr account. If you'd like to see the rest of the photo's CLICK HERE ;)

Happy Monday! Hope everyone has a great week!