The City of Prague.

The tourist in me, ready to go :))

My friends.

THE FAMOUS CHARLES BRIDGE.

    

    Charles Bridge (Karluv Most) is a 14th century stone bridge linking the two sides of Prague. This magnificent structure is one of the city's finest attractions, and is the main pedestrian route connecting the 'Old Town' with the Lesser town (Mala Strana) and Prague Castle. The bridge crosses the River Vltava.

    There are about 30 statues on the bridge, most of which are copies as the originals have been destroyed over time due to floods or other catastrophes. 

  There are 2 towers (Old Town Bridge Tower and Mala Strana Bridge Tower) for entrance and exit of the bridge, depending on what direction you are facing.

   

The 'Old Town Bridge Tower'

On the Charles Bridge.

Other views of the Charles Bridge.

Can you see the Prague castle in the distance??????

Mala strana >>> Lesser Town, where the Prague castle is located.

I'm going to post the next 2 photos in their original sizes so that you can really appreciate the view.

The view of the city of Prague from the Prague Castle Complex.

Taken from the Charles bride.

Moving on >>>>>>>>> OLD TOWN SQUARE.

It is located close to the Charles bridge. Dominant buildings here are 'Church of our Lady before Týn' and the astronomical clock. 

Church of our Lady before Týn ...........  I just think the name is very interesting.

Astronomical Clock Tower.

       The Prague Astronomical Clock or Prague Orloj (Czech: Pražský orloj -cs) is a medieval astronomical clock located in Prague, the capital of the Czech Republic, at. The clock was first installed in 1410, making it the third-oldest astronomical clock in the world and the oldest one still working.
      I tried to do some reading about the astronomical clock but the physics behind it is kind of complex. Basically, it can show the position of the sun and the moon in the sky. At the turn of every hour, it shows figures of the apostles and other moving and other moving structures. 
     

The outer golden numbers count from 1-24, representing 'old Czech Time' or 'Italian hours' where the 1st hour starts at sun set.

 I didn't wait to see this display mainly because it was so cold that day. All I wanted to do was to find a Cafe and have some cappuccino (and Prague is famous for their numerous cafes).  It was about -12 degrees celsius that day (as you can see from my outfit) despite the heavy presence of the sun, it was icy cold.

Under the Astronomical clock is a present day calendar that was added in 1870,

Well, hope you enjoyed the post, Thanks for reading :))

Old Town Stockholm aka Gamla Stan

The city of Stockholm as it is known today is situated on 14 islands. There are also a lot of Lakes an canals. However the old town is the original Stockholm. The town was set up during the 1300 century. Most buildings are from the 1700 and 1800 century. The dominant building in the old city is the king's castle. 

 Heading towards "Old Town"...........TOURISTS!!!!

 Royal Castle

The royal castle in Stockholm has 605 rooms. It is the biggest castle in world that is still in use by a king. The castle is the workplace for Karl XVI. The royal family lives in another palace outside Stockholm. Even though most of the rooms are open to the public, I didn't go in.

I couldn't get a good picture of the whole Palace because I was standing right in front of it. But this is what it looks like. 

Got this photo from the internet...........very pretty, isn't it?

The view of the Parliament from the side of the Palace.

Up close.

The street just in front of the Parliament also facing the side of the Palace. This is where people gathered when the Swedish Princess got married and she addressed them from where I stood to take this photo.

Royal guards.

The back of the Palace where the "changing of guards" takes place.

Moving on to other parts of "Old Town". 

There are a lot of cobblestone streets in Old Town but Vasterlanggatan is the old town's number one tourist street. During the summer period, there are lots of tourists that go for a walks along Vasterlanggatan. This is the easiest way to get a feel of the old town. There are often so many people on the street that it can be difficult to stroll along the street. Thankfully, I went at the end of summer, so it was not packed. 

 At the far end of the street is the "German Church", you can see the top part.

The clock tower of the Great Church/Stockholm Cathedral AKA Storkyrkan

More guards patrolling.

As you can see the streets are made from stone, so if you ever do visit, make sure you wear real comfortable shoes, no hard soles.

More tourists.

The view from behind the parliament building

View of the rest of Stockholm from the Palace.

Lunch time. If you are ever in Sweden, make sure you try the Swedish meatballs. It is AMAZING!


As always, thanks for reading.