Sunday was a memorable day! We started with a taxi to the castle complex. Prague Castle is one of the largest old castle complexes in Europe that was built as a fortification (Versailles from this trip, the Schonnbrunn Palace from last year, and Caserta from our first trip were all built as palaces with extensive but poorly defended grounds). We went first to the Royal Gardens by Anne’s Summer Palace, then went into the complex. There was a line for the Cathedral of St Vitus that went all the way to the back of the cathedral, so we did not go in.
The castle tour would have surely shown us the room of the infamous Defenestration of Prague, but, having been to the Sistine Chapel and the Mona Lisa, the line was such that I decided against the delay in favor of more in-depth exploration of the old city. If we ever return on a slow day, maybe in November, I may reconsider.... or not because we had so much fun exploring the rest of the grounds and down into the old city, especially the encounter with the alchemist and the dragon Ourobouros!
While still inside the castle grounds, we got lunch at an old traditional casual restaurant called Vikarka (ca. 1347). They have lots of interesting Czech classics! We had Pickled Hermelin Cheese with red onion & walnuts (lower photo), potato chips with cheddar cheese sauce, fried cheese with fries and tartar sauce, and a Czech assortment plate of smoked pork, pork shoulder, kraut, red cabbage, duck leg, bread dumpling and meal dumpling, and a sausage, along with a Vikariats unfiltered dark house beer. None of the food was awesome, but it was a nice look into just how different Czech traditional cuisine is from what we're used to.
We headed north away from the cathedral and toward the exit from the castle complex. While still in the complex we found some touristy little shops, but nothing memorable. Then I heard and was bewitched by an old street harp musician from whom I bought a CD that I still listen to. A little further on, but still inside the castle complex, we found Peter the painter, from whom I bought a couple of Becherovka cups and a painted cover from a fish-tin - these featured very crowded and whimsical city scenes, all of which included a tiny caricature of himself as an enthusiastic observer.
Upon exiting the castle complex we turned the corner and started down the long hill into town. We had a great view over the city before descending into the steep, crowded streets, shopping along the way: jewelers, trdlo vendors, a marionette shop (Prague is also known for fine and whimsical puppets), and much much more, including the usual souvenir shops, all of which were very proudly Prague-centric.
While Lorna and Melissa enjoyed trdlo filled with ice cream and strawberries, I explored the beautiful church of St Kajetan, across the street.
In the middle ages and renaissance, Prague was home to some of the world's most renowned alchemists, including John Dee and Edward Kelly. Melissa explored the Museum of Alchemists and Magicians of Old Prague (up 60 rickety stairs!) in the old lab of alchemist Edward Kelley, while across the courtyard Lorna and I waited at the bizarre and flamboyant Kellyxir, where we had bubbling elixir drinks with dry ice, served in old-style flasks. The walls of the bar were covered all over with alchemical diagrams and text, none of which we could read.
Eventually Melissa joined us and she had one of the place's flagship showpiece cocktails: The Breath of the Dragon Ourobouros, a bubbling broth of Cointreau and Orange Juice over dry ice, topped with flaming Absinthe and sprinkled with sparks of burning cinnamon. We also had Czech honey cake and baked Camembert.
By then it had started to drizzle, but we were having too much fun in this fascinating area, so we kept walking down the hill to the Senate Gardens. It's a beautiful, serene space full of orderly boxwood hedges and statues of scenes from classical mythology. There had been tulips, but they had gone by and been cut. Then we got a Bolt (like a Czech Uber or Lyft) to the Charles Bridge. It was really raining before we finished and I was drenched.
On the other side we found some more gorgeous glass at Caesar Crystal and almost bought some things, but we got our senses back in time. I think being cold and wet made me more impervious to that "shopper's high" that was still gripping Lorna and Melissa.
Then we made it back to the hotel and a final dinner at Tony's Cafe and Bar; in the morning we'd be boarding a train to Dresden, Germany!