After another in a long (and growing) line of leisurely breakfasts, we dressed and headed out for the day. We had several objectives: dry run the public transport for returning to the train station Friday morning, visit Wenceslas Square, find the Mysak pastry shop, and head up to the Prague Castle. Located on the other side of the river the castle is one of the tourist high points, literally and figuratively.
So, we walked around the corner from our apartment and waited for the no. 9 tram to take us directly to the station. The tram system really dominates public transport in central Prague and very few busses are to be found. While the underground metro is useful for traversing long distances in the city, it's the tramway that holds the key to getting around downtown easily and quickly.
Also, it is free for anyone over 65! All trams, busses and the metro. FREE. And we learned that only by chance when we stopped by a nearby tourist office to ask about day pass fares.
After some confusion on our part as to where exactly to stand, the Nine arrived. We boarded and in less than 10 minutes were at the stop near the train station. It was a 5-minute walk to get inside. While there we thought to do some reconnaissance on the platform system and location.
For our return from the station we wanted to check to see if the metro might work better for us on Friday (the short answer is no.) We followed the escalator down to the C line took it one stop (Muzeum) to the A line. Since we were heading to the castle we remained on the A which took us across the river and (sort of) close to our objective.
waiting for the no. 9 tram
v
on the metro, switching from lines C to A
waiting for the A train
Our maps were a bit unclear as to which stop was the best for getting to the Prague Castle and so we found ourselves in a quiet residential neighborhood some distance from our objective. Even though the walk was uphill the weather was sunny and warm and the walk took us through a lovely area where even the tram tracks were lined with trees (see photo below, the tracks are to the right).
We soon found the entrance to the castle. Once inside the location we were confronted by a small challenge of finding exactly where we were to get tickets. Once that problem was solved we were again confronted by the (now old) issue of what did we want to see since there were a variety of ticket bundles.
We opted for the so-called "Castle Circuit" and off we went.
looking back to the entrance; we would return this way to a nearby tram stop
inner courtyard
Saint Vitus cathedral
how many have stood right there looking up century after century?
the tomb of Jano Nepomuckeho, I have no idea who he is but the sculpture is incredible
back outside close to the cathedral
From the church it was a short walk to the palace.
the large audience hall
the chapel where Saint Ludmilla, patron saint of Bohemia, is buried
the area called the Gold Lane, where many of the local workers lived
Leaving the castle we retraced our steps and near the exit picked up the no. 22 tram going back across the river close to home. We got off relatively close to our another objective for the day: Wenceslas Square.
Sloping down from the square was a small cluster of food stands selling mostly tasty looking sausages, peppers, potatoes and other goodies to grab on the go.
good King Wenceslas himself with the National Museum in the background - note the Ukrainian banner
mushrooms with peppers
According to my pastry shop guide (AKA the French Tarte) the pastry shop she was keen on visiting was on a street just off the square. So off we went down one of the main streets bordering the square
After a few minutes walk we found the pastry shop Mysak. We settled in for awhile. I had a glass of crisp white wine and Susie had a cappuccino with a tasting of three small pastries: a lemon tart, glazed choux bun, and an interesting chocolate cake ball. They were tasty indeed. (Susie will have a post up soon on Mysak.)
lemon tart
choux bun
the chocolate thing
After returning home and taking care of a few chores we went back out in the evening for supper. Again we went next door but this time in the opposite direction from Pilsnerka Narodni. We popped into the Pho Bar. Susie had chicken curry with rice and I had shrimp fried rice; we each had an order of spring rolls. The food was fresh and so very tasty.
Tomorrow is our last day in Prague and we plan to play it by ear, so to speak. Stay tuned!
A leisurely breakfast at home before getting ready for our hop-on/hop-off tour of the attractions beyond the city center. It took us about 20 minutes to walk up to the meeting point at Karlsplatz where we exchanged our mobile tickets for paper ones and boarded the bus.
There were few other riders this morning so we had most of the upper deck to ourselves. We plugged our headphones into the audioguide jacks on the seatbacks in front of us and off we went. On our way to our first stop, the Nymphenburg Palace we had the opportunity to hear about several interesting features of Munich's history as we whizzed down the Nymphenburgstrasse passed the Löwenbräukeller, home of the eponymous beer.
Arriving at the Nymphenburg Palace, we hopped off (hopping is required) and strolled over to the entrance to the palace, once the summer home of the ruling Wittelsbach family.
At the entrance we were stopped by a staff member who asked if I was wearing an FFP2 mask (the equivalent of our KN95) under my cloth mask and I said no. "You can't go in," she replied matter-of-factly. (I recalled later that the filter in my fabric mask is in fact a PM2.5 which might have worked.) Anyway, almost immediately a woman walking by whipped out a fresh mask and handed it to me. Problem solved from the kindness of a stranger!
Once inside we got our tickets and headed upstairs to the palace. My primary objective here was to see the Gallery of Beauties, a collection of 36 19th century portraits of the most beautiful women in the region. Painted by Joseph Steiler over a period of over 20 years and collected by Ludwig I of Bavaria, they are indeed stunning images of young women from all classes of society.
Ludwig was keen on the women being beautiful in both body and spirit and also required the images to be as accurate a rendering of the subject as possible.
Once back on the bus we headed for our second stop of the day: BMW Welt (world).
Located across from the Olympic Park (1972 games where Mark Spitz won his 7 gold medals) this complex of futuristic buildings includes the company's HQ (in the building that looks like four cylinders), a museum and our objective - BMW Welt.
BMW Welt
the HQ is in the far distance
Walking into the building one is struck by how everything floats and flows together. We strolled among the various car models, amazed that they were all unlocked and people climbing in and out of them, getting the feel I suppose for what it would like to own one of these. Except for the Rolls-Royce display, that is. It was all look and don't touch.
The electric car area was fascinating and we loved seeing so many Mini Coopers!
The second level consisted primarily of the BMW motorcycle displays and there were certainly plenty of people up there playing on the bikes. You could also see the showroom as well and, if I recall correctly this is where you would pick up your new BMW.
We opted for lunch here before walking back to the bus stop.
Rolls Royce Cullinan
the new electric I series
note the batteries in the floor of the car
our favorite stop, the Mini!
the showroom, from the upper level
We just made it to the next bus and found this one had the roof open. A bit chilly to be sure but we weren't on it long before we arrived at the English Garden stop next to the Siegestor.
Siegestor, tor is gate
After a short walk from the bus stop we found ourselves in this incredible green space. The so-called English Garden is a large collection of lakes and streams set among a green space some three miles long much of which parallels the Isar River.
We strolled up one of the many meandering paths to the Chinese Tower (the one landmark we had come across somewhere) where there was a band playing amidst a large biergarten packed with folks drinking and eating.
the Chinese Tower
From the biergarten we made our way back roughly in the direction from which we came and walked up to the the temple-like Monopteros for a lovely view of the park and the old town in the distance.
Returning to the Siegestor stop we waited for the next bus which seemed forever to arrive. But the day had turned nice so it was pleasant to just sit and take in the sun.
We left the bus at a starting point different from where we began the day and felt a bit turned around. But we asked directions and soon found our way back to Karlsplatz and home. After dropping a few things off we headed back out to the Aroma Kaffeebar to get our afternoon hot beverage.
Then on to Edeka to pick up a few groceries and back home before dinner.
I had made reservations at a nearby Vietnamese restaurant, Jack Glockenbach. The food was incredibly good (the best spring rolls we've ever eaten) and the service was equally so.
filet of beef with betel leaf and rice noodles with a cucumber salad
curried chicken and rice
The end of another wonderful day in southern Bavaria.
