Old Town Hall Tower...

Dating to the 14th century, the Old Town Hall Tower was nearly 230 feet (70 meters) tall. 

There was an elevator, but we opted to walk up to the viewing platform. Rather than hundreds of stairs, it was an easy walk up the sloped walkways. 

The views were incredible.

 

Old Town Hall and Astronomical Clock...

The Prague Astronomical Clock dates back to 1410, making it the third oldest astronomical clock in the world and the oldest still in service.

We stood masked within a small crowd to wait for the hourly show of moving Apostles figures and a skeleton that represents Death that strikes the time. 

Old Town Square was quite colorful. 

Like most European main squares, it also was full of restaurants for tourists.

Old Town Hall was established in 1338 and was expanded over the years by buying the surrounding houses. The eastern wing was destroyed on May 8, 1945, during the Prague Uprising and was never rebuilt. Although I didn’t manage to find out when Old Town Hall stopped being used, the current city hall was built in 1911. 

We bought a ticket to visit the historic halls...

…and the Chapel of the Virgin Mary. Built in 1381, the chapel was used for a service before each town council meeting.

The coolest part of the chapel was seeing the inner working of the Prague Astronomical Clock as the Apostles (made in 1791) marched past the clock’s windows.

The golden crowing rooster was added in 1866.

 

Czech Food...

We happened upon a riverfront bar next to these funny penguins (with not such a funny message warning against the dangers of climate change and plastic consumption—they are made of recycled bottles) while in search for a cocktail that first afternoon.

We didn’t know that pineapple carpaccio existed, but apparently it does and was very pretty. 

After our failed attempt to have a vegan dinner, we happened upon the R. Jelinek Original Czech Distillery. The onsite museum was already closed, but luckily the tasting bar was still open.

Our dinner was definitely not vegan with lots of cheese and local liquor.

Afterwards we met up with Reinhardt and Inga for a drink. When we got back to the hotel at 12:30 a.m., our plan to go to sleep didn’t last long. I read on the Eurohash Facebook group that some hashers were at a bar less than two minutes from our hotel, so we headed back out. A few beers later and we volunteered to bring the very drunk Eurohash organizer back to our room to sleep on the couch. 

The following day we had lunch at a rooftop bar...

…and dinner at a yummy vegetarian restaurant.

 

Prague Castle...

After crossing the Charles Bridge, we headed to the vegan restaurant that I’d reserved after both girls made recommendations...

…but we were greeted with this sign: For technical reasons closed.

We headed higher up the hill in search of an alternative.

We failed to find somewhere to eat or drink, but we saw some very nice views.

At the top of the hill we could enter the grounds of Prague Castle, the largest ancient castle in the world and the official office of the President of the Czech Republic. 

Construction of the Gothic St. Vitus Cathedral began in 1344 and wasn’t completed until 1929.

St. George’s Basilica, founded in 920, is the oldest surviving church within Prague Castle.

Golden Lane, named for the goldsmiths that lived there in the 17th century, was built in the 16th century to house castle guards. Now it mostly houses souvenir shops. 

This was the view as we exited from the lower castle grounds...

…and the view looking back up to the castle.

 

Charles Bridge...

One of the most iconic sights in Prague is the Charles Bridge, a medieval stone arch bridge built in 1402. It was the only bridge connecting Prague Castle and the Old Town until 1841. 

It wasn’t too crowded early that week. 

The bridge is decorated with 30 statues, all replicas of the original ones from 1700.

The view from the bridge...

…of the bridge itself...

…and the Old Town Bridge Tower.