The next leg of my journey was planned by train. I was booked on Regiojet which was to leave Vienna at 10.39 am & pull into Prague by 14.42 pm.& as I’ve mentioned earlier, all this research was done on http://seat61.com. The train offered a variety of wines, beers & other spirits besides a range of eats. Of course my ‘experience’ wouldn’t have been complete without sampling the same 🙂

From the main train station of Prague called the Hlavni Nadrazi I was to take the metro to the station nearest to my hostel Prague Tyn which was just a few hundred metres away from the Old Town Square, the hub of all action there.

Old Town Square

By 3.45 pm I had reached the Old Town Square. I had unknowingly, for more than one reason, made a good selection of the hostel! The place was abuzz with activity. There was an Easter market in progress at the location!

Old Town Square is an historic square in the Old Town quarter of Prague, the capital of the Czech Republic. It is located between Wenceslas Square and Charles Bridge.

I took in the surroundings for a while & then walked around the festivities to my hostel. After a quick break for freshening up I was back on the street. Here are a few images of the scene.

Prague Orloj is a medieval astronomical clock mounted on the Old Town Hall. The clock was first installed in 1410, making it the third-oldest astronomical clock in the world and the oldest one still in operation.

The square features buildings belonging to various architectural styles, including the Gothic Church of Our Lady before Týn, which has been the main church of this part of the city since the 14th century. Its characteristic towers are 80 m high.

It had been my desire to rent a bicycle or an electric scooter to tour the surroundings without putting excessive strain on the legs & I found the latter at a shop near my hostel. At $50.00 for 2 hours it seemed steep but what the heck! 🙂

It took a little time & some surprised & scared glances from other tourists getting used to the sudden acceleration & braking but I was soon on my way.

I intended to bike across the Charles Bridge, have a look across & then take a side lane back to the main street & hopefully find my way back to the Old Town Square without getting lost.

Charles Bridge is a historic bridge that crosses the Vltava river in Prague, Czech Republic. Its construction started in 1357 under the auspices of King Charles IV, and finished in the beginning of the 15th century. Charles Bridge was the most important connection between Prague Castle and the city’s Old Town and adjacent areas. 

The bridge is decorated by a continuous alley of 30 statues and statuaries, most of them baroque-style, originally erected around 1700 but now all replaced by replicas.

Pushing my bike through the happy evening crowd on the bridge, stopping for a picture or two at the artistic statues I reached the other end which has two towers including the Mala Strana Bridge Tower leading further up to the Prague Castle.

I cycled past the Franz Kafka Museum, sighing in dismay at having to miss seeing this important sight due to paucity of time, a shop selling Shakespeare related stuff & climbed on to the Manesuv Bridge (a road & tramway bridge unlike the Charles Bridge which is open only to pedestrians). The view of Charles Bridge & the Vltava River from here was enchanting!

Passing along some more monuments & admiring the beautiful sights I returned to the Old Town Square, deposited the bicycle & retired to the hostel. Post dinner I stepped out again to have a look at the carnival that was still abuzz with excitement. A street performance of the local Czech dance caught my attention.

It was past midnight. The heart not wanting to, the brain dragged my body back to the hostel for some rest for tomorrow promised to be another action-packed day.