Prague: Petrin Tower and the Castle

Lots of photos in this post!  Remember to click on any photo to see it full screen.

On our first full day in Prague, we made our way towards the Petrin Tower and Castle first, stopping at Cafe Savoy to eat (see my first post about good eats in Prague).

The walk by the Danube River was really pretty.

We took the Funicular to the foot of the Petrin Tower, a mini replica of the Eiffel Tower.

Jim, Sarah, Drew, and I rode the elevator to the top of the tower because we didn't think Drew could climb all 300 stairs.  I would not do that again...although it was roughly only a 1 minute ride, the elevator was like a small box for only 5 people with no windows.  {Shudder!}  The view from the tower was pretty:

...but we could feel the tower slightly swaying in the breeze and after our huge breakfast, this was not a good feeling and we quickly made our way down again.  I would tell other visitors to Prague to visit Petrin Tower if they had time, but I would not put it at the top of my list.  The park surrounding the tower was nice, however, and it felt good to walk there in the shade.  Ted, Jim, and Drew visited the Mirror Maze and got a real kick out of it.

After that, we walked to the Castle, stopping at the Strahov Monastery for a drink on our way.

Next stop: Prague Castle!  The walk there was charming.

The front of the castle reminded us of Buckingham Palace.


St. Vitus' Cathedral behind the castle is truly stunning.

The stained glass windows are made up of tiny pieces of glass.  They reminded us of a mosaic.  The light at midday really illuminated the windows so the fiery oranges, reds, and gorgeous purples shone.

The views surrounding the castle and on the walk back down to the city were really beautiful too.

Ted and Jim carried our BOB stroller with William in it down a ton of stairs outside the castle.  Thanks, guys!  It was way too hot and humid to wear the baby in the Ergo that day.  We found that Prague was not very stroller friendly, or perhaps we just did not know where the more stroller friendly routes were.  (A stroller friendly guidebook of Prague--that's what we needed!)  Speaking of not being stroller/kid friendly, I only found one diaper changing table the whole weekend we were in Prague!  Luckily I could change William outside on the grass when needed, but what do parents do in winter? This was in contrast to Germany, where the changing stations are easy to find and kind of fancy/deluxe, if you can call a place where you clean butts fancy. :)

After seeing the castle, it was already mid-afternoon and we decided to go back to the hotel and rest there for a few hours during the hottest point of the day and head back out at dinnertime.