Prague is often called the Golden City of One Hundred Spires, a fitting name coined by writer Josef Hormayer during the 19th century. A mathematician, Bernard Bolzano counted 103 while in recent times, the towers and spires are estimated to be more than 500! Whatever the number may be, it does not alter anything about the beautiful and charming city.

There’s a saying that Hitler was a fan of its beautiful architecture and wanted it to be Nazi’s art capital. Not sure how true that is, but Prague is among the few cities which had largely escaped from bombing during World War II. Thank goodness for that and Prague is now the top 10 most-visited City in Europe, people flocked in from all over to admire her beauty.

Arriving at Prague from Vienna after a rather comfortable five hours ride, I could hardly contain my excitement upon stepping out the train.

Prague Old Town Square

The medieval Old Town Square (Staroměstské náměstí) of Czech Republic’s capital is one amazing place to be. It is a joy to stand in the square and is surrounded by gorgeous ancient buildings and churches. The magical Bohemian atmosphere and the nice blend of different architectural styles are extremely captivating.

Especially The charming Church of Lady before Tyn (Chrám Matky Boží před Týnem) is truly iconic.

a a fu shou a a fu shou yap so so sorry so so so
Moderato yo Andantino yo Portamento yo Fortissimo yo

Then for some reason, the song of Jolin Tsai’s 布拉格广场 kept ringing in my ears.

我就站在布拉格黄昏的广场, 在许愿池投下了希望
那群白鸽背对着夕阳, 那画面太美我不敢看
布拉格的广场无人的走廊, 我一个人跳着舞旋转

Great song with nice rhythm although technically rather misleading lyrics for 3 reasons;
1. The mentioned Prague Square is better known as Old Town Square or 老城广场.
2. There is no wishing well anywhere around the square, save your coins.
3. The square is anything but empty…there are tourists everywhere.

It does get very, very crowded with waves and waves of tourists. But still worth it for that nice Eastern Europe charm and visuals which what the Old Town Square offers.

Old Town Hall Tower and Astronomical Clock

The famous Astronomical Clock in Prague has been running since 1410. And it is definitely the main draw of its Old Town Square. There’s a saying that the craftsman was blinded after completion by those commissioned the job to prevent him from building any similar or more sophisticated clock for others. Damn, I hope that’s not real!

There are 2 dials which the upper one tells the time and the lower one tells the month. To learn more about its functionality, check out the explanation at Wikipedia. A note of caution that there are reported cases of pickpockets since everybody tends to stare hard at the clock. So beware!

The oldest functional Astronomical clock in Prague has an hourly performance which showcases the Walk of the Apostles while the Skeleton of death tolls the bell.

After the mechanical show, we bought the tickets and ascend the Old Town Hall Tower. It’s surprisingly easy to get to the top by taking a lift to the 3rd floor, followed by changing to a smaller but futuristic-looking lift all the way to the top.

This is the magical surrounding view which greeted us at the tower top. NICE!!

There are many nice looking buildings around the Old Town Square, notably the Gothic Powder Tower.

The St. Nicholas Church next to Jan Hus Memorial.

And many other interesting ones which caught my eyes.

My favourite will be Church of Lady before Tyn which looks stunningly gorgeous regardless of time and angle.

Dinner at Kolkovna

Kolkovna is a traditional Czech restaurant or perhaps more of a Gastro-pub-kind since they are more well-known for serving the great Pilsner Urquell beer. But it would be a mistake not to taste the food here as my experience go, the cuisine is just as good. Reasonably priced food with nice atmosphere makes us coming back here twice. Our favourites are the Half Duck, Pork Knuckle and more beer, please!!

There’s a nice statue near to the branch at V Kolkovne.

STAY: Design Hotel Josef Prague review

Design Hotel Josef Prague is one ultra-modern hotel designed by Czech architect Eva Jiřičná around the corner from Old Town Square. I personally like the minimalist theme approach where things are kept clean and simple with plenty of subtle neutral tones, which continued into the rooms. The room isn’t big in size but is very comfortable. I really like the contrasting orange accent. The polite staffs are eager to provide information and service too! This is my hotel of choice when I return to Prague.

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What are your thoughts about Prague? Leave a comment and share it with me.

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