Aaahaa in Praha :))

Prague, the capital of Czech Republic is locally called as Praha. I like Praha better than Prague since it rhymes with Sneha, Neha and Aaahaa :)) We spent 3 days in Prague and loved every bit of it.

Czech Republic being an "Eastern European" country, I expected some differences compared to other EU countries. While Praha is 100% like any other EU city, the real shock came during the train ride from Vienna to Praha.  Once we entered Czech, all the smaller, village train stations looked pretty bad with broken platforms and rusty roofs. These stations looked like they were hit during World War II and were never repaired afterwards.

The two places we really enjoyed in Praha are the Charles Bridge and the Old Town Square. Both these places are always throbbing with people and have plenty of action going on. From our apartment, we were able to walk to both these places within 10 minutes.

Charles Bridge:
The Charles Bridge, completed in 15th century spans the Vltava river and connects the Prague castle with the old town.  It is a very unique bridge with 2 towers on either end and series of religious statues adorning the sides of the bridge.What makes the bridge come alive is the vendors selling jewels, painters painting the scene, caricature artists, musicians playing live music and of course crazy tourists from all over the world taking fotos ;).

Charles Bridge

Vendors, artists, musicians and beautiful tourists :))   @Charles Bridge

Live Jazz  @ Charles Bridge

Old Town Square:
The Old Town Square dates back to the 12th century and definitely, the liveliest place in Praha. The massive square is surrounded by historic buildings and a maze of narrow lanes and side streets with a large number of restaurants. Wherever people go in Praha, I think they show up in Old Town Square for dinner. The square was always packed with people during our multiple evening visits.

Tyn Church @Old Town Square

Old Town Square

Old Town Square

Astronomical Clock:
With my interest in Astronomy, before we visit any place, I always do some research (aka Googling) and find out if any astronomy related buildings or paintings are there. Once we finalized Praha as one of the places, I was keen on checking out the Astronomy Clock in Praha's Old Town Square. This clock was installed in 1410 and displays amazing astronomical details.

A huge crowd of tourists waiting near the Astronomical Clock @ Old Town Square....why? Read below :))

Note the clock has a 24 hr. dial. The top greenish color represents the day and the bottom orange represents night.
Two arms show the position of Sun and the Moon in the current Zodiac sign (inner dial).
Other lines represent the Twilight time, Sun set time and Sun rise time.
Each one of the lines and colors mean something astronomically.
Time is shown by a golden hand (just under the Sun in this foto).

At the top of ever hour, the two trap doors above the dials open.
A huge crowd gathers near the clock to watch the procession of Jesus Christ and his 12 Apostles.
This is an experience definitely not to be missed :))

For all the astronomical details this clock displays, checkout: Praha Astronomical Clock

Praha Castle:

At the entrance of the Praha Castle.

Stained Glass Window @ St Vitus Cathedral inside Praha Castle