"Have fun stormin' the castle"

 …. and we did.

We took the advice of Rick Steves to arrive at the Castle by 9:00AM.  Lenka also recommended we arrive to the Charles Bridge and castle early to avoid larger crowds.  We left the hotel promptly at 8:00AM and took a walk up the river to the Bridge.  (Thanks to Lenka for showing us how to get there)

We could count the number of people on the Charles Bridge as we crossed.

coming back we could hardly move.

But, back to the castle . . .

Entrance to the Castle

We couldn't believe the incredible size of the castle grounds.  There are three different palaces, a gothic cathedral, a tower with torture chambers, narrow streets with shops that have doors 4 feet high and even more that we just didn't have time to see in one visit.

St. Vitus

The cathedral (St. Vitus) is simply breathtaking in it's scope and size and is a must see in the castle. The original gothic portion of the cathedral was built in the 1300s, but the nave (which looks gothic) was actually built much more recently and has beautiful stained glass windows.  One of the windows was designed in the Arts Nouveau style in 1931 by Alfons Mucha.  

Organ pipes

Art Nouveau Window

 We continued to walk through the grounds and here are some photos:

Basilica and Convent of St. George

Basilica and Convent of St. George

Church of St. Nicholas, Baroque Period.  A quick stop after "storming' the castle"

Church of St. Nicholas

Church of St. Nicholas

This church was quite different from the gothic cathedral in the castle.  Less stained glass, but utter decadence as was typical of the Baroque period.  After the church we decided to look again for a tea place that Rick Steves raved about in his guide.  We finally found it and it was worth the walk.  Great relaxing atmosphere and perfectly brewed Matcha!