BPV (6) - Prague

We left our hotel at 8:45am, walking to the Republic Square to meet our local guide also named Jana. Jana must be a popular girl name in Czech, because later today we had another guide named Jana at the Municipal House.

1. Our Prague local guide waiting for us at the Republic Square. She took us all over the Old Town and Jewish Quarter.

2. Republic Square.

3. Republic Square.

4. Powder Gate, one of the original city gates that separate the Old Town from the New Town.

5. Týn Church in the distance.

6. Basilica of St. James.

7. Basilica of St. James.

8. Basilica of St. James.

9. Basilica of St. James.

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12. Spanish Synagogue. We didn't have time to go in the synagogue on our walking tour, but I came back later in the afternoon to see it on my free time. It was beautiful inside.

13. Spanish Synagogue.

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16. Pinkas Synagogue which commemorates about 78,000 Czech Jewish victims of the Holocaust.

17. The Old Jewish Cemetery in Prague is the largest Jewish cemetery in Europe. It was in use from the first half of 15th century till 1786. Due to lack of space, new layer of soil was added on existing graves, causing there are as many as twelve layers at some places.

18. The Old Jewish Cemetery.

19. The Old Jewish Cemetery.

20. Next to the exit of the Old Jewish Cemetery are Klausen Synagogue and Jewish Ceremonial Hall. We didn't have time to go into them on our walking tour, and I forgot to come back here later.

21. Jewish Town Hall.

22. Star of David relief on Jewish Town Hall.

23. Walking pass Maisel Synagogue. I did remember to come back here later.

24. Old Town Square.

25. Old Town Square.

26. Old Town Square.

27. Astronomical clock next to the Old Town Square.

28. Astronomical clock next to the Old Town Square.

29. Hard Rock Cafe not far from the Astronomical clock.

30. Wenceslas Square.

31. Statue of King Wenceslas Riding a Dead Horse in Lucerna Palace at the Wenceslas Square.

32. Walking through the Franciscan Garden.

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34. Cafe Louvre where Bill Clinton played the saxophone during a Prague stay.

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The walking tour finally ended around 1pm. We had a quick group lunch and gathered again at the Municipal House at 2:30pm for a guided tour there.

36. A quick look of the Charles Bridge near our lunch place.

37. Municipal House guided tour.

After the Municipal House guided tour, Jana bought Mucha Museum tickets for whoever wanted to go to spend our free time. So I went to the Mucha Museum, and then Maisel Synagogue and Spanish Synagogue, before going back to the Old Town Square, to wait for the Astronomical clock show: Every hour on the hour, the figures around and above the clock move.

38. Mucha Museum.

39. Maisel Synagogue.

40. Spanish Synagogue.

41. Spanish Synagogue.

42. Tourists waiting for the Astronomical Clock show.

(To be continued)