More Malastrana and Ghost Tours

Thursday, 10/14, after class I was off to spend more time in Malastrana ("Lesser Town"). Remember Jon and Elissa, the recent college grads that we met in Munich? Well, they're continuing their 4 month Eurotrip and arrived in Prague the other day. They made plans with Laura and I to get together, and we figured we'd show them around Malastrana.

On the way over, I saw a dance show of some sorts on Narodni

We met at the Ujezd tram stop and there are a bunch of things in that area. There is a Communist monument, Petrin Hill (I hadn't yet been there), the Lennon Wall, and the love lock bridge. Petrin Hill is a small version of Paris's Eiffel Tower. The Observation Tower was built in 1891 for the Jubilee Exhibition. The tower is 60 m tall and sits atop of Petrin Hill, which is 318 m high. You can walk a half an hour up the hill or you can take the funicular up the hill from Ujezd street. To get up the tower there are 299 steps to reach the top or an elevator you can take. There is also rose gardens and a glass maze at the top of the hill, along with great views.

 Communist monument

Petrin Observation Tower

 The rose garden

The view from the funicular up the hill

After showing Jon and Elissa the Lennon Wall and the Love Lock bridge (I'll leave out pictures of these places since I've already posted them in other entries), we walked to Old Town Square on the other side of the Vtlava River via the Charles Bridge. We walked into the Church of Our Lady Before Tyn and afterward said our good byes. It was nice to return the favor to them after they had taken us around Munich as well as to catch up on their travels.

Next up for me, a ghost tour. NYU's student council had arranged a ghost tour for us, on a first to sign up basis. The 60 minute walking tour featured around 10 stories focusing on unsolved mysteries, legends, and paranormal activity covering the area surrounding Old Town Square with its many hidden, winding streets. Unfortunately, instead of seeing any ghosts (ha), the only thing I discovered is that Prague has gotten very cold! I realized, while freezing my fingers off, that it's already time to take out my winter coat. I did not capture any orbs on my camera, but here is a picture of the Tyn Church at night. My camera does Prague injustice, because it does not capture it's full beauty. I'm still not sure whether I think the city is prettier in the daytime or nighttime!

Tyn Church, (Týnský Chrám)