Prague

Positioned high atop a hill, overlooking sprawling Prague, is the Castle complex.  (I promise this is the last castle.)  The castle history dates back to the 9th century and has been used by Kings of Bohemia, Holy Roman Emperors, and presidents of Czechoslovakia and the Czech Republic.

It's a huge complex, complete with guards.

Although just the statues on the gate would be enough to keep me out.

Here's a piece of the courtyard.

The massive Cathedral of St. Vitus lies within the palace grounds.  We almost were deafened by the bells.

It's said you can't visit Prague and not walk across the Charles Bridge and obviously everyone agreed.

Construction began on the bridge in 1357 and it was the only bridge connecting the castle side of the river with the main part of town until 1841.  It has beautiful sandstone statues along the length which have turned dark and hard to photograph over the years.

Over in Old Town, is the equally famous Prague Astronomical Clock.

The upper part of the clock, consisting of a mechanical clock and astronomical dial, dates back to 1410.  The lower part, a calendar dial, was added about 1490.  It's the third oldest astronomical clock in the world and the oldest still working.  It puts on an hourly show with moving figures in the windows at the top and 'Death', represented by the skeleton on the right side of the clock.

After the show, I notice this 'knight' with a cell phone and umbrella.  What's up with that?

We used our free time to wander around, taking in the modern and bustling city.

This actually concludes our 12-day Cruisetour with Viking River Cruises.  From Paris to Prague (named the Cities of Lights tour), it was truly a once-in-a-lifetime trip.  We had two days in Paris, eight on the boat, and two in Prague.  Everything was wonderfully organized with a good ratio of guided tours and free time.  I wondered how we would handle all the scheduling after years of going and doing what we want, but we adjusted well.  Maybe too well.  We found ourselves wondering what to do during our free time in the various towns, maybe because we're not shoppers.  In fact I wondered if the customs official would believe that all we bought were two maps.  We would recommend this trip and Viking highly.  About the only thing I would add is 'bring clothes hangers.'