Once upon a time in Prague...

As some of you may or may not know, Ben came to Prague on a spur-of-the-moment trip this past week. Although he was only able to stay for a couple of days, we made the best of it! We got a nice hotel room right on the edge of Old Town. This meant even more walking, but we got a more local feel in this area.
I wasn't able to get into town until late Tuesday night because I worked all day. Luckily, this gave Ben some time to rest up and case out the area. When I got there we walked around town and had a nice dinner at a restaurant near the river. We got a little lost in the city and checked out a couple more bars/pubs but decided to call it an early night.
On Wednesday we got the whole Prague experience! We woke up early and had the typical European continental breakfast (fully stocked with hot dogs, eggs, rice, vegetables, lunch meat, etc.). Then we set out to find a tour guide to show us around Prague. We found a rather inexpensive 4 hour (which turned into 5) walking tour with a native Czech speaker (the tour was in English, kind of). Our tour group was small and we clicked well together; mostly we bonded over not being able to understand our guide. At any rate, we saw all the sites and figured out where we wanted to go back to on our own. After a quick nap, we went out for the night and enjoyed everything that Prague had to offer ;)
Thursday was a little more slow moving, but we made it back over to the castle and took a more in-depth tour of it. We spent the rest of the day exploring the city on our own. We capped off our night with dessert at a nice restaurant by the Astronomical Clock.
I can't even begin to explain what a wonderful time that Ben and I had together. Having someone to tour the city with was amazing and I can't wait to do it again, somewhere else, really soon!!

Prague Castle at night from the Charles Bridge

Old Town Square

Powder Tower

Powder Tower close-up

This is the shopping district located in the Jewish Quarter. Ben and I looked in the windows and thought "hopefully, some day..."

Clock is the Jewish Quarter. The top clock is normal (moves clockwise), but the clock on the bottom is the Jewish Clock (moves counterclockwise).

Prague Castle as seen from the Charles Bridge during the day. The river is filled with ferry boats and kayakers. We had absolutely wonderful weather the whole time we were there!

Looking out over the Vltava River (literally translated means Advice River).

Ben and I on the Charles Bridge :) The bridge is over 500 yards long and is one of the best sights in Prague, in my opinion.

There are 30-something statues along the Charles Bridge. This brass relief marks the spot where St. John of Nepomuk (the national saint of the Czech people) was tossed off the bridge into the river. It is believed that if you touch the brass relief you can make a wish, but you only get to make that wish once in your lifetime.

The other side of the statue is a brass relief of a dog that is supposed to symbolize friendship.

It's said that if you touch both sides at once you will get pregnant. (We each only touched one side, just to be safe!)

Partial view of Prague from the castle grounds.

St. Vitus Cathedral is located inside the Prague Castle. It is huge! My camera died when we toured the inside, but Ben was able to get some good pictures.

The balcony where the Prime Minister of the Czech Republic makes many of his speeches. 

A good night out!

View from the Tower about the Astronomical Clock. You can see the castle in the distance if you look closely.

Ben and me enjoying the views and fresh air after a long night :)

One of my favorite pictures! Taken from a park in the Little Quarter along the river. You can see the Charles Bridge and the bridge tower.

Lennon Wall: When John Lennon died in 1980 this wall was spontaneously spray painted as a memorial. Although the authorities painted over the wall each day, the spray painting would appear again at night. In 1989 once the Czechs gained their independence this wall was looked at as a symbol freedom.

Last night in Prague. This picture was taken in Old Town Square. You can see the Astronomical Clock on your left and the Tyn Church behind us.

PS If you are having trouble posting a comment, I would recommend trying a different browser (I know that Google Chrome works and Internet Explorer doesn't). I also changed some other settings, so hopefully it will be easier for everyone now :)