Prague - Day 2

---

The plan was to have a leisurely lunch in the beautiful gardens at Prague Castle. The day started off fine and then was a bit cloudy. We sat down surrounded by the lovely flowers and smells of the lilac trees, and started to eat. And of course it bucketed down - lightning directly over head and thunder. We retreated to the balcony of the summer palace and watched and waited. St Nicholas church in Male Strana (the lesser town) was a must not miss according to Lonely Planet. It’s a Baroque Church - boy had they gone over the top with the Baroque stuff. Lots of gold, and statues. Above was huge painting covering the ceiling, and extending down to the walls - Trompe l’oeil technique - which means that the architectural features of the building are incorporated into the painting so it is hard to decide where the building stops and painting starts.
We wandered down through the tiny streets in the Stare Mesto, surrounded by lots of tourists. Had a coffee in the little square - cost 58 crowns - about $NZ5 - this time. Then wandered into the main square. It was chock a block with tourists, and on the hour they all clustered around the Astronomical Clock, along with us, to watch the display. Lonely Planet says that’s a bit over rated and it is. Certainly not worth waiting half an hour for. The rest of the square was full of interesting buildings - but by then we were getting a bit overdone with Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque buildings, so after wandering off through some more ultra touristy streets, and a quick look at the Art Nouveau Municipal building, we travelled back to the campsite by tram.

---

Photos

St Nicholas Church
Ceiling. Trompe l'oeil. Hard to see the end of the marble pillars and the start of the painting