One day every year the legendary Pražký Hrad is opened up to the public and visitors are given free access to roam about the innards of the fortress...in a selective, supervised, and specific way, of course. The day this year was yesterday, April 24th, and I was lucky enough to be able to sneak in. What looked to be quite the daunting line, in effect turning quite a few potential wanderers away, actually moved very quickly and we were passing through entryway metal detectors within 15 minutes. This may still seem largely unimpressive to some readers and still like quite the wait, but for those of you who have ever been to Prague and tried to cross the Charles Bridge during midday when the weather is nice, you know why a mere quarter of an hour is an impressive feat! The point is during at least 4/5 of the year the tourists in Prague's Old Town, Charles Bridge, and castle make the fruit flies present on a week-old banana sitting on a porch in southern Mississippi look lazy.
Long story short, we were able to swat our way into the castle to take a peek at the secrets held within. We were able to see many areas that are not normally open to the public, including the Rothmayer Hall (another famous Czech architect), the Spanish Hall, the Throne Room, the Hapsburg Drawing Room, and the Rudolph galleries and rooms on the southern wing of the New Palace. I must say that I am glad to have done it and to be able to say that I have been inside the castle. The vast majority of the 'tour' proved the rooms to be very stark and less maintained than one might expect. However, other areas/sections of the castle are more permanently open to the public (at a price) and as a result these might be the areas that are more heavily renovated, furnished, and kept up. Not to take TOO much away from the sections seen...it was undoubtedly a house fit for a king!
 |
| Queuing up like peasants... |
 |
| Security, security, security |
 |
| Entrance chamber |
 |
| Rothmayer Hall |
 |
| Entering the Spanish Hall |
 |
| A view of Prague from the south gardens |
