Have you been to Prague? If you had, then you must have visited Charles Bridge or Karluv Most. If you haven't visited Prague, then you must visit this beautiful bridge. If you have been to Prague but have not visited Charles Bridge, then you have not been to Prague. It is that symbolic! It is like when you gone to Rome and you did not visit the Colloseum or Vatican City but did not visited the St. Peter's Church! More history and details of this bridge from Wikipedia here. If I have to name 5 of the most beautiful bridges I have visited, this would take a spot there. Do note that this bridge is always packed with tourists even to the wee hours of the night. Tips: The secret is to go there early in the morning and you will get most of the bridge to yourself. When it is packed, it is reasonably safe too unless for petty pickpockets, so be vigilant.
There are two sides to the bridge (duh?) and if you crossed from the castle side, there is a nice little cafe on your right after you crossed the road. It is called Art Cafe and is a sanctuary for a nice cuppa and some good pasta, away from the crowd that frequent the bridge and the pedestrian crossing. This cafe is hidden in a nice little square of the Mansfeldsky Palace and entrance is free! Depending on the schedule/day, there is also a live ochestra concert on the second floor of the museum. The concert that I attended was at 730PM and you will have to buy the concert tickets at an afforadable price of Kc400/500/800 (that is €14 ~ €34) for each category of seats with the most expensive being the front seats. I will update more on this concert in another posting.
On the other side of the bridge i.e. ending on the Prague Castle side, there is a playground beside the Kampa Park Restaurant and it is a wonderful place to make your kids happy. Travellers with children, this is a must go.
You can either complete the whole of Charles Bridge and turn right from there, there are signboards showing you the direction towards the Kampa Restaurant/Park OR you could exit Charles Bridge on the first staircase that you see on the right-hand side of the bridge. Once you descend the staircase, get your children some Trdelnik or Donut Ice Cream, which is like the fad food that can only be found in Prague at the moment (entrepreneurs, you may want to bring this to your country and make a quick buck!). It is really a cinnamon roll that was baked on open fire and has a hollow centre to be filled with ice cream. You will see a stall selling this immediately upon your descend of the staircase. Once you have got the Trdelnik, from where you are standing, look for a tunnel on the other side of the bridge and the playground can be accessed from an alley on the right after the tunnel. OK, for those completing the whole bridge, you may also want the Trdelnik for your children. Fret not! Once you turn right at the end of the bridge, you will be faced with two options to head to Kampa Park viz. 1) The main road; or 2) the alley along the bridge. Take the alley along the bridge and immediately at the corner, you will see a small shop selling pastries and they have some wicked Trdelnik. If you need a toilet, you can always go to the Kampa restaurant but remember to buy something or have a cup of coffee or something before heading to the playground.
Tips: Photographers, take note of the Kampa playground as it gives you wonderful view of the Charles Bridge during dusk.
From the Kampa Park Restaurant playground, you can head down south to the Kampa Park where you will find Lichtenstein Palace, the Crawling Baby statue and the Kampa Museum. It is a wonderful walk in the park, literally. You can also walk along the canal and you will find the Yellow Penguin art display on the Vltava River near to the Kampa Museum. Life-saver information alert! There is a public toilet beside the Kampa Museum. You are welcome.
Some photos of the day are shown below. Stay tune for the next post for information and photos of our coverage of Prague Castle and Live Ochestra concert at the Mansfeldsky Palace!
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