Charles Bridge, Jewish Quarter, & Cafe Louvre

Here are some of the things I noted my last day in Prague - first, a breakdown of the bridge I had been walking over all week - Charles Bridge. 

This is the bridge entrance on the Mala Strana side (Mala Strana means roughly "lesser quarter"...a very historic area of prague)

 and here are a few of the 30 sculptures that line the sides of this bridge. 

One in particular, the statue of St. John of Nepomuk, is actually really interesting.

Allegedly, St. John of Nepomunk was the confessor to the Queen of Bohemia. The King of Bohemia, King Wenceslas IV, was suspicious that his wife was cheating on him with a secret lover. Assuming that she would have confessed this sin to the priest, he demanded that St. John tell him what his wife had confessed. St. John refused to betray the sanctity of confession, so the king had his cronies throw St. John over St. Charles Bridge...here is a painting of the act.

 

At the base of the statue, there are two brass panels that visitors to Prague touch for good luck and to return to Prague...the shine is from all the hands that have touched the panels (I touched them too!!)

From here, I walked up into the hills near the castle for a view of the city.

There was a church and monastery up here - really interesting to see.

and the view was unbeatable! 

Next...off to the Jewish Quarter. 

Hello Franz Kafka!

One of my favorite writers...and if you haven't read any of him, start now! 

This monument to Kafka was right around the corner from the Old Jewish Cemetery. 

Pretty crazy. 

This is Wenceslas Square, a "downtown" of sorts with shops/restaurants/etc and around the corner from Old Town Square. Right on the side of the square is Grand Hotel Europa, the place where Kafka held his first public reading! He read The Judgement. 

 While we're on Kafka, I also made a point to go get a coffee at Cafe Louvre. Established in 1902, Cafe Louvre was a haven for pre-war writers, intellectuals, and scholars...it was a "temple of caffeine, creativity, and conversation" according to this BBC article on Prague coffee houses and boasts among its guests Karel Capek, Franz Kafka, and even Albert Einstein, who would come here while he had a professorship in Prague. 

^literally the best blueberry pie and espresso I think I've ever had. 

Finally, I stumbled across this nteresting monument near Wenceslas Square...its King Wenceslas himself on an upside down horse. The work is by David Černý, a contemporary artist who makes headlines for his provocative sculptures. Read about him here or here if you're interested! 

 and that just about wraps up Prague! Wonderful city - albeit with a strange and creepy side - but so much history (it was one of the only major European cities to escape WWII bombings) and I would go back in a heartbeat.