I was out pretty much all day today (Saturday, 12 August). I did a combination of the Hop-on Hop-off bus (I will explain why in a few minutes), more walking on my own, and also a boat ride on the river. I do link seeing the city from the water, and the pictures don't have (mostly) things like electric lines and people suddenly popping up right in front of the camera.
Two of my main reasons for taking the Hop-on Hop-off bus today were (1) it was supposed to be even hotter!, and (2) to visit Prague Castle.
I hadn't climbed up to Prague Castle yesterday. I could have done so if I had crossed the Charles Bridge. But I'll be honest; I didn't want to do it. It was really hot and sunny. And the Old Castle Steps comprise 121 steps that climb over 230 meters. I was reluctant, to say the least.
The Hop-on Hop-off bus drops one off just by the Castle entrance. That made more sense to me! Those of you who know me best know that I'm most fascinated by the architecture of places, and where nature is part of what I see. So I am including a selection of pictures from just outside and within the castle walls ...
St. Vitus Cathedral ...
And finally, on the walk out and in the Castle Gardens.
My Hop-on Hop-off bus ticket included the 'red line' and the 'blue line'. Oh, and also the boat ride. I got back to Old Town Square a little after 12:30 and decided to grab a quick bite to eat before taking the 1:15 blue line bus. Little did I know, though. Today was the Prague Pride Parade, and it came right through Old Town Square. Thousands and thousands and thousands of people. As always, it was amazing to watch. But it also meant the buses couldn''t get through the streets back to the square. By the time it got to be about 2pm, we were told that no buses would show up to pick us up again for at least another hour - the roads around the area were closed to traffic.
The boat rids, though, was (sort of) accessible just by walking. It would have taken between 5 & 10 minutes under normal circumstances, but took at least double that because we were pretty much walking along with the parade.. Ultimately, I ended up on the 2:30 boat, and got to spend about an hour moving slowly by more beautiful buildings. I made a few notes, but to end this entry, I'm just going to post some final pretty pictures.
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