Ryan slept fitfully as so often happens on these long journeys. He finally got up around 4:00 a.m. and was out the door forty-five minutes later to see what the dawning light of day might add to his photos of Prague. Fortunately, I was blissfully unaware of all this and didn’t wake up until he returned to our room at 6:00 (thank you medicinal sleep aid!). You’ll see that his early outing and the morning light proved to be fortunate from the beautiful pictures he took.

The Charles Bridge in the foreground, with morning light gilding Prague’s beautiful architecture.
This daybreak photo also shows Prague’s staggering overlays of rooftops, spires, and domes.

After an early breakfast we left to explore Prague before the heat became too unbearable. It was forecast to hit 100F today, and it did! But, at this time of day, it was comfortably in the upper 70s. Our destination was to cross the famous Charles Bridge (pedestrian only) and wander the narrow cobblestone streets of Old Town. It proved to be every bit as charming as we had heard. A bonus for being out so early on a Sunday was that there weren’t the crowds that would ply these streets only a few hours later.

Public urination becomes art here. These guys twist their bods and change the arcs of their streams as they continually relieve themselves.
The Charles Bridge, named for King Charles IV who was in power when construction began in 1357, was the only way to cross what is now referred to as the Vltava River until 1841.
With the Malá Strana behind us, we cross the Charles Bridge headed to the Old Town.
But first a sun-in-the-eyes photo opp…
… and another. This one has Prague Castle in the background.
In Old Town, the Old Town Hall has a giant astronomical clock that is round and can be seen under the arch on the towered building.
The detail on this giant calendar cum clock is incredible.
A cobbled arched pathway leading to more of Old Town
This section of town has a myriad of passages leading to always-enchanting scenes.
An open air market amid the ancient architecture
Just waiting for Ryan’s camera.
Many of the buildings in this section of town are adorned with frescoes or mosaics.
And there’s no shortage of statuary.
It’s a photographer’s wonderland.
Reflections of Old Town didn’t disappoint as we headed back towards our hotel.

We returned to our hotel to have some lunch in the air conditioned comfort of our room. Then we spent the next few hours napping (still jet lagged!), playing Cribbage, and having a glass of wine before dinner.

For dinner, we walked about fifteen minutes away to a residential neighborhood where we had heard there were good restaurants off the tourist track. We found a wonderful Mediterranean place with good, fresh, cool, food that was perfect for a hot evening. It was fun to see Czech families from the area out for a meal and feel like we were the only Americans there. Tomorrow is supposed to have some rain but start cooling off dramatically. I think we will be just fine with that.

Dinner at Café Pointa ends the day.