Picture of Charles Bridge
Caption: P R A G U E #shareyourworld at summer solstice
Picture of Autodrom Most
Caption: So what you do when you are supposed to report on the Most Historic Grand Prix in the north of the Czech Republic?
Picture of Jiráskův most
Caption: Fly in two days early and enjoy Prague around summer solstice!
Caption: With the apartment’s private parking only available from 1pm, the best way to still enjoy the morning after landing at Prague Airport around 8.30am is to drive your rental car to the Palladium shopping mall’s giant underground car park.
Then you take the elevator up, go out and this is what you see...
Video of Municipal House
Picture of The Powder Tower
Picture of Panská
Picture of Na Příkopě
Caption: A short walk takes you from the Powder Tower to the art nouveau façades around the Mucha Museum (well worth a visit) and a bridge of sighs that no tourist seems to care about.
Then it’s onwards to the Wenceslas Square and the market at Havelská.
Picture of Wenceslas Square
Picture of Havelská
Picture of Old Town Square
Caption: Go past the crowd on the Old Town Square and head back towards the Powder Tower for coffee and cake in style at a very special place.
Picture of Municipal House
Caption: If you’re into art nouveau, then this is a great place for lunch. Never mind the grumpy service and the lack of vibrant young people around you - instead simply enjoy the place’s history and art. Obecni dum café
Picture of Municipal House
Picture of Municipal House
Picture of Municipal House
Caption: A great idea for escaping the summer heat is to go up to the top of Petrin hill using the funicular train.
The miniature Eiffel Tower there is the main attraction, along with the astronomical observatory, but you will find a hidden treasure behind a gate that is hard to find - the Kvetnice rose garden.
Picture of Petřín
Picture of Zahrada Květnice
Picture of Zahrada Květnice
Caption: After a beer on a terrace overlooking the city you go back down to finish the afternoon along the banks of the Vltava river, with Gehry’s famous Dancing House as the coda in the midst of frantic evening rush-hour traffic.
Picture of Petřín
Picture of Kampa Island
Picture of Masarykovo nábřeží
Picture of Dancing House
Picture of Park Folimanka
Caption: A brief evening stroll into this strangest of parks (try to find R2D2 there!) is all you will allow yourself...
Picture of Park Folimanka
Caption: ... since you have a plan!
Because of its undisputed beauty, Prague as a tourist attraction has become almost as popular as Amsterdam and Venice. So how do you avoid the crowds when visiting the city’s hotspots?
By beating all those people to them!
Picture of The State Opera
Caption: And that means setting the alarm clock at 4am and taking the tram (which runs all night!) to Vltava river to experience Prague at dawn...
Picture
Caption: 4am?!
Yes, this is summer solstice, the longest day of the year...
Picture of Charles Bridge
Caption: Charles Bridge at dawn...
Picture of Charles Bridge
Picture of Charles Bridge
Picture of Charles Bridge
Video of Charles Bridge
Caption: At 4.30am, a meditative slow walk crossing the bridge to celebrate summer solstice gets underway. An hour later, the pagan ritual is still only halfway.
Other bridge dwellers include partygoers who had stayed up all night, and Asian brides and grooms getting their pictures taken.
Picture of Charles Bridge
Picture of Charles Bridge
Picture of Charles Bridge
Picture of Lennon Wall
Caption: At the other end of the bridge is the Lennon Wall. You and a British girl you’ve just met on the bridge are the only people there.
Picture of Lennon Wall
Caption: Of course you get her to take your picture...
Picture of Nerudova
Picture of Prague Castle
Caption: On top of the hill, the country’s founding father Tomas Masaryk is overlooking the city.
Caption: The gates to Prague Castle open at 6am. You will find no-one there, except that British girl and a handful of cleaning ladies reporting for work.
You even have the Golden Lane for yourself, discounting those very same cleaning ladies....
Picture of Prague Castle
Picture of St. Vitus Cathedral
Picture of Prague Castle
Picture of Prague Castle
Picture of Golden Lane
Video of Golden Lane
Caption: Then it’s back down to earth, and into Prague’s underground with its wonderful station architecture.
You sleep well into the afternoon before walking down to the Vysegrad castle with the cemetery where all the famous Czechs are buried before taking the tram back up to Prague’s big castle where you visit its terraced gardens - another hidden gem.
Picture of Old Castle Stairs
Picture
Picture of Vyšehrad
Picture of Vyšehrad
Picture of Gardens below Prague Castle
Picture of Gardens below Prague Castle
Picture of Letna Park
Caption: Prague, you’ve been amazing!
Letna Park
Caption: Mattijs Diepraam
#places #prague #praha #czechrepublic #city #cityglimpses #storyoftheday #architecture #daytrip
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