chocolatebuddha » Archives » Prague : Alone with the City

Today both of us decided to go separate ways.

It had been three nights already in Prague and yet there is a difficulty to pull myself away. Originally the plan was to head out for a day trip to the Czech countryside but I pulled out of it last night. The Better Half is now in Plzen, the hometown of Pilsner Urquell – the best Pilsner around.

Petrin Hill is located right at our apartment’s doorstep. A funicular takes you up with the view of Prague shrinking as it climbs. When you step out of the station, a large rose garden greets you in full bloom, thanks to loads of sunshine.

Climbing 299 steps up the tower, modeled after the Eiffel tower in Paris but much shorter, will offer a full bird’s eye view of this wonderful city and the bends of the Vltava river. Exactly what I was searching for on my last day in Prague: as I strolled back down the hill along a curvy path, there was not a single person in sight – it was just the city and I.

I restricted myself to exploring only the Hradcany and Mala Strana districts, on the side of the river where the castle is located, with purpose and decidedly not to pull out the map and to just follow where my feet leads me to. These hilly areas are a maze of narrow and windy cobblestone paths, where pretty houses nestled closely to each other with their own unique colours, windows and doors. Most of the time, I was the only person on these quiet lanes accompanied occasionally by household sounds sneaking out through the windows that were left ajar.

The turns and lanes that I took brought me to the bright white and yellow painted Loreta church, where carved angels guard the church doors. And just in time to hear 27 bells ring to mark 2pm. According to the map guide, these bells had been ringing every hour since 1495.

As the pleasant stroll continued, unknowingly I arrived at the castle’s entrance where we watched the change of guards two days ago, except today the grounds were rather peaceful and devoid of crowds. The castle deserved a second chance, I thought. By the time I left the castle, I had climbed another 287 steps up the gothic St Vitus Cathedral for another aerial view of Prague.

To finally rest from 4 hours of walking and the 586 steps, I sat on the lawn to finish my book at the gardens behind our apartment while watching fathers play with their babies, lovers basking in the sun and dogs frolicking on the grass.

It has been a beautiful day.