We drove to Prague and reached a Robin Oil service area (where you get free wifi outside the cafe) about 4 pm. It was already nearly dark and there was no point going on to Prague so we stayed for the night. A pretty useless day really. On the 6th, we drove to Prague which we had visited in 2017 with bad memories because a) I lost my credit card b) I pranged the van in an underground car park c) the Castle was closed and d) it was very cold and very wet. It couldn’t be any worse this time round. We found the same underground car park with plenty of spaces, the weather was dry and not too cold, the Castle was open and I didn’t lose my credit card. Plus we got into the Castle for half price being OAPs. We got the cheaper tickets for the Royal Palace, St Vitus’s cathedral, the Basilica and the Golden Lane.
St Vitus’s cathedral is spectacular. It is huge with lots of interesting things like the tomb of St Vitus, who was boiled alive and squirmed about (as you do) giving rise to St Vitus’s Dance, a medical condition. More correctly, the tomb contains his torso. The whereabouts of his other bits aren’t known. There is also the tomb of Good King Wenceslas, famous for looking out on the Feast of Stephen when the snow lay round about, deep and crisp and even. Like a good pizza.
The Royal Palace is basically one big room, and the Basilica was rather sweet but nothing much to say about it. The Golden Lane, on the other hand, was fascinating. A narrow little lane with a terrace row of tiny cottages which were originally used by the staff of the Royal Palace but, from the 18th century to 1952 by various significant people including Franz Kafka and Madam Presova who was a tarot card reader. She predicted the early demise of the Third Reich in 1942 and was tortured to death by the Gestapo. You can also see the Castle’s armoury (now a museum) and its torture chamber with an original iron maiden (a seat with spikes on it) and a strapado device.
We then drove onwards to Germany, crossing the border about 7 pm and, as it was turning misty, decided to bed down for the night at a roadside parking place.
