King of the Castle

A few comments about the Jewish Quarter from yesterday.  The Jewish Museum holds many displays and many artifacts which illustrate Jewish culture in Europe for the past few thousand years.  That these artifacts are assembled here is because the Nazis "acquired" them for their proposed Musuem of the Extinct Jewish race.  I find it quite incongruous that a Hugo Boss store is located directly across from the Jewish Cemetary.  (He produced the uniforms for the SS, brown shirts and the Hitler youth.). 

Today was Castle day.   Starting off with the Prague grind, a staircase of over 200 stairs leading up to the castle.  Prague Castle is considered the largest in the world. 

  

Passing through the ornate and guarded gates we got our tickets and proceeded to St Vitus, the highlight of Prague Castle.  Stunning!

Construction began in 1344 and with many interruptions by little things like wars, it was not completed until 1929.  This is the Czech state church and contains many aspects of Czech history through the centuries.  It is where Czech Kings were crowned and where the Czech Crown Jewels are kept.   Completing our tour of the church we ambled through the Great Hall and down the Golden Way.  The Golden Way contains many preserved quarters and shops from an alchemist workshop to a torture chamber.  Winding up our tour of Prague Castle we managed to catch a changing of the guard ceremony at the main gate.  

Next stop Strahov Monastery which holds two points of interest to Judy and I - a baroque library and a brewery.  As it was well past noon our first stop was the brewery.  The brothers started brewing in the 1500's but I opted for some newer suds.   The lovely summer red ale was perfect to wash down one of the best schnitzel we have ever had.   

Across the street to the monastery library.  These baroque libraries are filled literally to the ceilings with 10th to the 15th century books and are heartbreakingly beautiful.

In the rain we took a back route (no tourists) down the hill and home.  After a brief rest we snuck around the corner for yummy crepes.  Last stop, the Lennon wall, a seemingly non-descript wall where someone painted a picture of John Lennon as a protest against oppressive Communism.   The police quickly painted over it but the next day it was back.  This cycle continued until the Czechs gained their freedom.  The original "Give Peace a Chance" and "Imagine" have long been covered over by graffiti but the wall still stands for a symbol of hope and freedom for the Czevh people.