Day 40 - Last Day in Prague

After such a big day yesterday we were in no hurry to get started this morning, especially since it meant checking out and humping our gear to storage at the train station. So after a leisurely breakfast and planning what we would do for the day we set off with our gear for the train station, via the post office. The slight detour was necessary because I had a parcel to post, and getting it done turned out to be quite an interesting experience, learning how to deal with the Czech postal system. Though I must say that the inside of the post office was very well decorated with mural covered walls.


After we had deposited our gear at the post office we made our first stop the Museum of Communism. This was a very interesting history of communism in Czechoslovakia from the early 20th century until the velvet revolution in 1989. We felt that more could have been made of the various artefacts on display but overall it was very interesting.

3D Glass Wall

Then we did the "(Not Quite) Royal Walk" which took us from the Powder Gate (that we opted not to climb!) to the Old Town Square. Here we bought some customised postcards from a vending machine in the Old Square Tower building for a couple of special recipients (our Mums). On the way out I noticed a very nice wall made out of 3D glass panels that gave a very interesting effecet.

We had decided on crossing the river to catch the funicular up to Petrin and walk back down through the Petrinske Park. However not far from the Old Town Square we found a delightful little eatery in little courtyard off a quiet street, so we stopped and had a very pleasant (late) lunch.

After crossing the Legii bridge we stumbled across the Memorial to Victims of Communism, considered controversial because it depicts only a male figure.

Inside the Mirror Maze

Moving on from there we caught the funicular to the top – eventually, we accidently discovered that there is a mid-station as well. We decided against climbing the lookout tower for the view, something about the number of towers we have climbed in the last couple of days! However we did decide to enter the mirror maze and really enjoyed it. It is not a maze in the sense of being difficult to navigate (unless you are a toddler who gets carried away in the excitement and decide to run at your own refection!), but the number of different mirror effects that you see along the way is quite interesting.

From there it was a nice (downhill) walk back to the river, initially through the park and later along nice old cobbled streets that host a number of embassies. Near the river we saw the John Lennon Wall, created by the local graffiti artists in memory of John Lennon – though can’t say we found it that impressive.

Crossing the Charles Bridge for one last time we were back in the main shopping street on the way to Old Town Square. Along here we bought a small present that we thought our Sam might appreciate before continuing on to the train station, via the post office (again – because it was the only place we had seen a mail box).

After buying dinner at the train station we used our remaining Czech money – to the last Krona – buying non-perishable supplies at the supermarket. We were rather pleased at our exact accounting!

Apart from walking the length of the platform, the mechanics of catching our train was uneventful, and the train itself left pretty much on time. Our sleeper compartment was marginally bigger than the one I’d shared from Paris to Berlin. This time, since I had a busy day walking around, I made use of the shower at the end of the sleeper carriage before turning in. I must say the shower was pretty good, I’ve had worse in hotel rooms.