Prague is one of the most beautiful cities in Europe. In the world. Fact. However, one of this multifaceted city's unique and maybe less-seen sides is at night. The ancient capital glows with a certain vibrancy and is lit in an absolutely magical way. With blaring intentionality at times and as the result of practiced practicality at others. From the biggest name sites to the most out-of-the-way parks and landmarks, the city offers a plethora of paths. corridors, and streets through which the eager explorer will easily encounter scores of new and interesting perspectives and sides of the city. Many times it is as if you are seeing sites for the first time.
Similarly to how youth is wasted on the young, these nightscapes are often wasted on those with double vision. The crisp brilliance of Prague Castle or St. Vitus cathedral across the Vltava at night (reflecting across the water) is just not the same after an afternoon in the hospoda. Which is why I have taken it up as my hobby. Not the hospoda-hopping, but the Prague night walking. The point of this short post is to convince you (warn you!) to not miss out the chance to do the same when you find yourself in this city.
In the winter it is especially easy to go night-walking, as it gets (in December) dark at almost 16:30. Now (March) it gets dark closer to 18:00, which has been very nice. Often when I go night walking I will simply pick a direction and begin moving that way...finding my way along as I go. This is a great way to lose yourself in the beauty of the city and explore a bit. However, if I do choose a destination, one of my favorite places to go is Vyšehrad, which also happens to be my favorite place to go during the day as well. It is, though, quite impossible to go wrong with Prague at night.
Here are a few photos captured during my nocturnal wanderings. I must apologize for their quality, as I use my phone for all photos and it just doesn't seem to perform quite as well at night.
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Old Town Square...even the number of
tourists dies down a little |
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| Jerusalem Synagogue |
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View from Nusle Most (bridge). You can see Vyšehrad in the distance
on the left side |
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| Vyšehrad |
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| On the grounds at Vyšehrad |
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You just never know what you may
come across...like this gem |
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| Prague Castle |
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One of those things that I'm sure we learned about in some
general safety class: "Don't ever climb a 10 story ladder
supported by little pieces of wood |
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| Vyšehrad |
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| Vyšehrad |
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| Exiting the gate of Vyšehrad |
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| My new neighborhood on Vršovická street |
