Jellbell from Hell: "Prague is so beautiful!"

...was what P and I heard from friends countless times before we even set foot in Prague! What people didn't tell us was how touristy and crowded Prague really is! Everywhere we went, there were hoards and hoards of tourists milling about in every corner of a square, queuing to enter cathedrals, crossing the famous Charles Bridge etc etc! We were able to find some reprieve from the crowd whilst wandering around Mala Strana (Lesser Town) and Kampa island. It was almost impossible to take a decent picture in the Old Town and Prague castle without having some strange looking people appearing in the photos.

We stayed at the lovely Mamaison Riverside Prague. I can't recommend this hotel enough. The rooms were royally furnished and the bed was plush and comfy. Best of all, the service level displayed by the hotel staff was top notch! I posted this pic as P looks like he's posing for MTV...lol.

Prague castle, Mala Strana & Kampa island

This is a touristy looking me at Malostranské Náměstí - the beginning of our short trek up towards Prague castle.

The gothic St Vitus catedral. We wanted to visit but the queue was way too long!

Changing of the guards at Prague castle. The procession was much longer than the one at Buckingham Palace in London. You can see some guards in the windows playing their instruments.

A picturesque view of Mala Strana and St Nicholas church with the green domed roof taken from Strahov Monastery. Mala Strana is also known as Lesser Town, due to its position on the left bank of the Vltava river.

Wandering along the quaint streets of Mala Strana.

John Lennon wall in Mala Strana. The wall was named as such as it was filled with John Lennon-inspired graffiti and pieces of lyrics from Beatles songs. I googled the wall and found some history on it.

"Lennon was a hero to the pacifist youth of Central and Eastern Europe during the totalitarian era. Prior to 1989 when communism ruled, western pop songs were banned by Communist authorities, and especially John Lennon´s songs, because it was praising freedom that didn’t exist here. Some musicians were actually jailed for playing it!

When John Lennon was murdered in 1980 he became a sort of hero to some of the young and his picture was painted on this wall, for whatever reason right here, along with graffiti defying the authorities. Don’t forget that back then the Czech people had few opportunities to express their feelings with their lack of freedom. By doing this, those young activists risked prison for what authorities called “subversive activities against the state”.

But the threat of prison couldn’t keep people from slipping there at night to scrawl graffiti first in the form of Beatles lyrics and odes to Lennon, then they came to paint their own feelings and dreams on the wall.

The Communist police tried repeatedly to whitewash over the portrait and messages of peace but they could never manage to keep the wall clean. On the second day it was again full of poems and flowers with paintings of Lennon. Even the installation of surveillance cameras and the posting of an overnight guard couldn’t stop the opinions from being expressed."

Devil's Stream (Certovka), which separates Mala Strana from Kampa island. It is also known as the 'Venice of Prague' because of the houses that sit on the water's edge.

P and I had a quick snooze on a bench at Kampa island. It was so serene and peaceful. Check out the plastic yellow penguins installation outside the art museum.

View of Charles Bridge and the other side of Prague. Charles Bridge is a famous historical bridge decorated with 30 statues on both sides. It is indeed very impressive but we were put off by the buskers, souvenir kiosks and numerous tourists crossing the bridge.

Another pretty view of Prague.

Old Town square and surrounds

The Old Town Square's most notable sights are the Church of Our Lady before Tyn, the Old Town Hall Tower & Astronomical Clock and the stunning St. Nicholas Church.

St. Nicholas church

Church of Our Lady before Tyn. Our guide pointed out that the 2 spires are not identical - one is bigger than the other, representing masculine dominance in that era.

The medieval astronomical clock below does a little performance on the hour. 4 figures flank the left and right side of the clock. According to our guide, the skeleton says yes to death by nodding its head and 3 other figures shake their head as if to say no to death. The doorways of the clock will also open and the 12 apostles move through it in succession.

There were throngs of tourists witnessing this the 2 times we were there - once on our own accord and the 2nd on a free walking tour of Prague.

Puppets for sale in Old Town.

Wenceslas square, the other main city square and a popular meeting point. The square was named after Saint Wenceslas, duke of Bohemia, who was eventually killed by his brother.

We managed to catch Don Giovanni at the National Marionette theatre. We could not understand the opera as it was performed in, I dunno, Italian? But it was fun watching the puppets perform and we managed to catch the gist of the story at least :)