Hello Pinmapplers!
Undoubtedly, in Europe we find magnificent corners full of history and stories, cities preserved in time that become open-air museums that we enjoy on visits and walks. We can learn and enjoy a lot in the beautiful European capitals, and this time we are going to explore Prague, capital of the Czech Republic.
It is a city that is geographically located practically in the center of the continent and that is crossed by the Moldava river, which gives it a more romantic air because there is one of the magical points that we cannot miss if we go to this city.
We arrived with rain, but immediately the sky and the city itself began to shine. It is full of beautiful buildings from different periods, medieval, renaissance, gothic, baroque and modernist. Also more modern, although those very elegant facades so well elaborated call my attention more.
And in the Republic Square and in that area we find interesting buildings, such as the Municipal House of Prague (auditorium) a good example of Czech modernist art. A little further on, another charming façade, The House at the Stone Virgin Mary (Storch's House).
But if we look up in this city we will see that there are also towers, the most famous being the Gunpowder Tower that we can already see from different areas of the old part of the city and that gives the entrance to the most iconic bridge of all.
But before, in the Old Town Square, we were ecstatic with the biggest attraction, the Astronomical Clock. It is located in one of the towers of the old town hall building, and there we can delight ourselves, for a long time, looking at all its intricate details, stars, numbers, symbols, signs of the zodiac (before astronomy and astrology formed a united whole that was studied in its whole, understanding all facets in a more comprehensive way), but the entire artistic and functional mechanism at the same time seems magical.
People stay waiting for the bells to ring, but sometimes there is no time if there is almost an hour left... so we look at the square and it seems that there is also something magical there, they are giant soap bubbles that, when shining, produce a funny multicolor effect, and the images and photographs remain different, original and unique.
Also in that area we discovered one of the many fantastic churches, this one with white walls is the Church of Saint Nicholas (Old Town Square), and then we took some of the streets busiest for locals and tourists, Karlova street and others, where we discover curious establishments that seem to have been there for centuries, and other places that we would have liked to visit, just in case they gave us a try, the choco museum!
And we return to the churches, another well-known one, the Týn Church, and we also return to the stylish facades such as the West House (which was the old town hall a long, long time ago and now serves as a tourist office, the prettiest I have ever seen). Again more churches and cathedrals, a historical, artistic and architectural walk, with the Cathedral of St. Clement and the Church of St. Salvator. Many!
Now the statue of Charles IV tells us that we must go to his bridge, no one can forget to walk that bridge that connects the city with the castle area. So we cross the Gunpowder Tower that we mentioned before and we cross a wonderful and romantic bridge, the Charles IV bridge, flanked with imposing statues until we reach the other side.
We cross more streets packed with churches, facades, pointed towers, squares with obelisks, a path that continues for another time...
We visit the Prague Castle, the nerve center of the city, and from there we contemplate the views of the city, where domes of previously seen churches and cathedrals especially stand out and shine on the historic horizon.
And there is much more, if there is time and curiosity there is a Museum of Communism (to remember one of the worst times that we hope will not be repeated again) and there are also more statues from other times as memorial monuments such as the Memorial of the Second Resistance Movement, the statue of Kafka, the famous philosopher who has a presence in the city because he is natural and here his monument and as well another statue, that one of the classical composer Antonín Dvořák (author of "the New World Symphony", one of my favorites and that I remember wearing when I was studying for the degree).
There is another part of the city, the Jewish quarter, well known and interesting to visit. Because once again we find more wonderful buildings like the Jewish Town Hall or one that looks like a synagogue because that's what it says, but it's a restaurant, with an art-deco style full of color and spectacular filigree.
But there are real synagogues, and the most famous is the Spanish synagogue, they named it that way because of the arabesque style of decoration (perhaps imitating the Alhambra, I have looked this up on Wikipedia.
As you can see, it is a city full of art, architecture, history and culture. Each step and each look surprises us and takes us on another journey intime, to a unique vision of some other monument that contains much to discover.
As we leave now with a bright day, we walk through different streets, cross the river again through other bridges, contemplate the beauty of the city from different points and perspectives, and continue to see the beauty and history that stands in one of the most interesting and beautiful capitals of Europe.
