Wander Prague

Current Listening: Dinka-Fairy
Current Location: My apartment, Zizkov

Earlier this week I ventured to to quite possibly one of the most beautiful places I have ever been. Prague Castle. This Bohemian gem was built in 890. Prague Castle is the largest castle complex in the world. Its houses the Czech Crown Jewels and has provided offices for the Kings of Bohemia, Holy Roman Emperors, and the presidenta of Czechoslovakia. The castle was originally built in a Romanesque style but later (14th c.) it was rebuilt in a Gothic style. 

 

Snow covered moat

The trip here started as a class outing for my Prague Art & Architecture course. After the class, I threw on my iPod and spent 2 hours wandering the castle grounds by myself. Completely amazed. The detail and flamboyance expressed in the Basilica of St. Vitus and the Basilica of St. George blew away many of the gems that I have seen through the rest of Europe (Notre Dame, etc). Although the Pyramids of Giza and the Colosseum in Rome were incredible, I felt a different connection here. Maybe it was the fact that I was alone or it was the music that I was listening (Shingo Nakamura). It could have been the 1000 year old history that I was standing on. I don't know. 

Underneath the castle grounds, there is the Old Royal Palace museum. The subterranean galley was filled with relics found throughout the centuries. They had found human remains, pottery, clothing, crowns, jewelry, weapons, etc. I was unable to take any pictures inside.