“Day 2…Prague Castle, St Vitus Cathedral and a couple of escape rooms…🇨🇿”

The agenda for our second full day? Venture to Prague Castle. The sky was a perfect blue today as we strolled in the direction of St Nicholas’ Church. We were going to ride the funicular but the queue was so long we decided to save it for the next day and head up to the castle grounds instead.To reach the castle grounds, we had to climb up several steps. Many, many steps to be precise. The photos don’t do the views behind us justice as you could honestly see for miles!When we finally reached the top there was another Christmas market, a rooftop Starbucks and a collection of historical buildings.The castle grounds were beautiful and the queue was epic. Luckily for us it was beginning to approach lunch time so we decided to get an early lunch then stroll back hoping the queue had died down. We walked down the hill which was HEAVING, but beautifully colourful, and found a cute little Italian cafe. The pizzas were delicious and the chips tasted like scrumptious fish and chip shop chips!Satisfied our stomachs were then full, we headed back up the hill to join the slightly shorter queue.As we got through the queue, that despite the length of it, continually moved forward, we got to security, which I must say was possibly the most lackadaisical security check I’ve ever been through, then we were in. Some parts of the castle you needed tickets for but the majority of it was free entry. The main entrance located on Headčany Square has two huge fighting Titans that make the actual guards look minute!Don’t underestimate how much time you’ll need to explore all the grounds here. There is so much to see, more so if you want to pay the extra for the exhibits!We walked out along the bridge and behind us the stunning spires of St Vitus Cathedral were clearly visible in all their Gothic glory against the more modern yellow and red structure of the castle itself. It is the biggest church in the whole of Czech Republic and construction began in 1344. It took years to build with some parts only just being finished in time for its 1929 consecration. Kings, princes and saints are all buried here.St Vitus Cathedral is beautiful. One of my favourite Gothic masterpieces. The whole grounds of the castle were just spectacular! You had more modern parts against centuries old which provided a nice contrast as we casually strolled around. We had to queue a little while before being able to enter the cathedral, but it was well and truly worth the wait. The interior was stunning and the stained glass windows were just amazing. Some parts again you had to pay for but the free sections have you enough of an insight into this fascinating part of history. No matter which angle the cathedral was looked upon from, it was beautiful. Alex even found a doorway leading us up what felt like 5000 steps (only 287 to be precise), to the tower to look out over the grounds.We were probably only about ten steps in by this point. Round and round and round the staircase went, with people stopping to let others pass. It was by no means easy, however, definitely worth it. We could see all the way out to the river and all the other monuments Prague is known for. It was beautiful. As we were climbing back down we passed the clock tower that houses the biggest bell in the Czech Republic. Prague Castle has so many different areas to it that you do really need a whole day to explore.We ventured towards St George’s Square to the Christmas Market as the smell of bratwurst and donuts filled the air. Here was the Basilica of St George, a beautiful red brick facade which is home to Czech Republic’s most well preserved Romanesque Church. First founded in the 10th Century by the father of St Wenceslas, Vratislav I, who is still buried here.

Further forward found us at Golden Lame and Rosenberg Palace. Golden Lane is home to little, colourful 16th Century cottages and Rosenberg Palace was home to the Rosenberg family during the 16th century. At one point it was renamed “Residence for Noblewomen,” and housed 30 unmarried women at each time!We eventually reached the other end of the castle grounds passing the Lobkowicz Palace which houses 16th century memorabilia. There were more viewpoints looking out over the city here also. We exited the castle and began our walk home. The exit took us out through a cute little vineyard overlooking live music below and back towards the Jewish Quarter. There was another sort of market outside with gifts and churros. Alex had been craving churros for ages so obviously it would have been rude not to get some! The sky had started to darken and drops of water started falling from the sky. Not helpful when you a) need to find a bathroom b) have no change for the bathroom and c) you have to pay to use the toilets in all the restaurants, including McDonald’s!!We found ourselves in Wenceslas Square, which was heaving! The next half hour or so was spent trying to find somewhere that would let us use the bathroom, then sitting down outside a hotel and hoping for the best as we ‘looked over the menu,’ before realising it was expensive so quickly made a dash for it!We wanted to sit outside again and watch the world go by whilst sipping cocktails and wine. It was a Saturday night so it was absolutely chockablock everywhere! We waited in Old Town Square for a seat to open and when one did, we basically got shoulder barged out the way by these four European women who clearly had no regard for anyone other than themselves. Still, we eventually got a seat outside, watched the show above the Astronomical Clock and decided to locate Hooters for dinner.Located bear Wenceslas Square, this little beauty was just what we needed. We ate, and ate a lot! Beer, cocktails and wine flowed freely and that turned into us booking an escape room to do afterwards! Nathan and I had never done an escape room before so it was going to be an experience. First of all though we had to find it! Wenceslas Square was beautiful lit up at night. The Wenceslas monument and the National Museum were two striking features that stood out as we walked towards them. The escape room known as mind maze, was located about a further 20 minute walk away and was literally just a door with a buzzer. Blink and you’d miss it. The smell of marijuana filled the air as we walked in and received our safety briefing. Then it was time to escape ‘The Alchemists Chamber,’ in the next hour. We did need to use clues but eventually we got there and got out just before the hour was up. We loved it that much that we decided to do a second one called ‘Enigma,’ where we were trapped in prison to begin with. Throw in a bit of morse code and we successfully escaped for a second time! They were honestly so much fun and a totally spontaneous idea!! Due to the slightly less appealing area we’d found ourselves in, we decided to get an Uber back to the apartment instead if walking….