Today started off with waking up at 8:30am. It was glorious to sleep in and even better since I took a Unisom the night before (the heat continues to bother me and I wake up more times during the night because I’m so hot). I decided to do the Castle today since 2 of my roommates told me the view from there was amazing. The castle is 1.5 miles away from my hostel so I knew it was going to take a long time to get there. The castle also sits on top of a hill so there was lots of climbing up to the castle. By the time I got there at 10:41am, I was sweaty and in need of shade. There is no shade at the top of the castle but I still managed to find a table and chairs to sit at and eat my picnic lunch of salami, cheese, bread, grapes and chips. A wasp also managed to find my table and chairs but I safely shooed him away without getting stung.
In the photo above, to the left of and behind the dome and tower, you can see the Zizkov Television Tower. The tower itself is interesting as it was built during the Communist-Era and was supposedly built to block or jam communications from the West during the country’s communist occupation. It certainly stands out among the quaint rooftops and church domes.
The castle itself is alright. I felt nauseous as I was walking through and the throngs of crowds made me feel sicker. I think I’m just tired of the amount of people that seem to be everywhere I go. I’m also tired of the heat and not having easy access to air conditioning or a swimming pool. I know, I know. I could have planned my life crisis during off season but I really wanted 6 months of summer. I may have just been too greedy in what I asked for. I did not have an enjoyable time at the Castle but at least I got my exercise in for the day just getting there and back. Here is a similar view from higher up in the castle.
Tonight is a lazy evening in because I’m packing and heading to Cesky Krumlov tomorrow. I’m told it will be much like Bruges in that everything closes at 5pm and all the day tourists leave for the day so I’ll have the nighttime to breathe and take in my surroundings. I’m hoping it’s a little cooler there since I see Prague is going to have another heatwave with weather in the 90s next week. That’s just crazy.
There She Goes... 