St. Vitus, Prague
This post is not winning any headline contests. Per yesterday’s entry on Prague, I wanted to post a few additional photos of the St. Vitus cathedral, located up on the big castle hill in Prague.
But first, who is St. Vitus? According to Wikipedia, he is a Christian saint from Sicily (nice!), and is also considered the patron saint of actors, comedians, dancers, and … uhhh … epileptics. According to Wiki, “He is also said to protect against lightning strikes, animal attacks and oversleeping, and is the patron saint of Bohemia.”
So, Bohemia … now we’re getting somewhere.
This is the most important church in Prague, designed in Gothic style (living in Europe has definitely improved my architectural vocabulary), and is by and far one of my favorite churches in Europe. I think right now, my favorite cathedral is still St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome, but that’s kind of like saying your favorite food is chocolate cake. It’s just obvious (at least to me). Maybe at some point I’ll be more creative.
The present-day church is located where three holy buildings have historically been constructed for the dancing saint — with the founding of the current church, pictured below, in 1344. So, it’s wicked old, making it even more awesome.
Here are some more outdoor and indoor pics, including some from our climb to the top (others included in last Prague post).
Bratislava: A nice little Eastern European day trip
Jeff and I went to Bratislava on a whim (sort of), and I’m glad we did. It’s just about an hour train ride from Vienna, and here’s a fun fact: Bratislava, Slovakia, and Vienna, Austria, are the two closest national capitals in the world (source: my husband, probably dictating from a Rick Steves book).
I loved the city. It’s small and walkable, mostly recovered from its communist past, with its wear and tear a bit more evident on a lot of buildings compared to its more “posh” neighbors. But, I like that because it feels a little bit more real to me. The city is not touristy, it is cheap (we paid about 40 Euros per night for our bed and breakfast), it is colorful (both the buildings and the apparent art scene), and the food is really good. Needless to say, I would recommend this as a day trip. I’m sure it’s even more beautiful in the summer with a blue sky, green trees, and an active main square. Plus, it sounds like even during the heavier tourist season, it’s still not a major destination — so it may offer a nice break from all the camera-toting crazies.
As an aside, what is with tourists using iPads as cameras? The pictures are terrible! And PS, you look ridiculous.
Regardless, here’s a really good blog post from our favorite travel writer about the city. Worth a read: Blooming Bratislava.
And here are a few (well, several) pics from our day there.