Stepping Inside a Disney Movie and Religious Beer - Day Fourteen

Today's mission was to go to the palace and the St. Vitus cathedral overlooking the city. We walked up the West side of the river and took the funicular to the top of the hill. After a little walk around the path at the top we passed the Eiffel Tower. Um, yeah, an Eiffel Tower replica, because that's necessary. Needless to say, we didn't stop for any photos there and made our way to the monastery. But we did get some nice views of non-Eiffel Tower knockoffs.

While up in the Old Town Tower yesterday we overheard a group of Americans pointing at the monastery and talking about the library located there. One girl gleefully chirped, "It's like BEAUTY AND THE BEAST," and then definitively stated, "We're going there." Sold. Even though she wasn't talking to us in any way, shape, or form.

Monastery exterior

And, turns out, her comparison to BEAUTY AND THE BEAST was spot on. The library was magnificent, complete with a ladder on wheels. Even on a cloudy day light poured in through the windows in the Philosophy room.

I think at least one of the animators must have visited here at some point.

Has there ever been a library this beautiful?

The Theological room wasn't quite as spectacular, but it was still impressive.

Yes, you have to pay an extra fee to be able to take photos. Is it annoying? Perhaps. Is it worth it? Hells yes. We took many, many photos. But as always with photos, they don't ever fully capture the magic. This library is a must-see.

After the library, we took a stroll across the way to the brewery and restaurant. We got a seat inside where it was warm, but there's lots of seating outside for nicer weather. We ordered a cheese plate, a lager, and a dark beer.

The beer was more expensive than the beer we'd been drinking so far (beer is amazingly affordable), but this beer was well worth the cost. Like in Belgium, the monks know what they're doing when it comes to beer. These beers were right up there with the best Belgian beers. Religious beer is always the best.

They were so good we ordered another small one each.  So, so good. 3 small beers + 1 large beer + cheese plate + tip = 350 Kr.

Buzzed from the strength of the monastery beer, we continued walking up towards St. Vitus. On the way, we decided to get lunch. We ducked into U Zavesenyho Cafe which had an interesting decor. Lots of paintings, a piano, and female jazz singers on the radio.

The food did not disappoint. Pasta with three cheese was a decadent mac and cheese.

Goose pate with raisins was served with cranberry sauce. The sweetness was great. I'm definitely going to add raisins the next time I make chicken liver pate, and I'll probably serve it with cranberry sauce since the flavors went together so well.

Also had "devil toast" which was meh, just chilli on bread, so I'm not showing a photo. But overall, this place had good food, inexpensive, and a fun atmosphere. I would definitely recommend for anyone looking for a place to eat near St. Vitus.





After lunch, we finally made it St. Vitus at the top of the hill.

Gothic with darkness staining the steeples, with the most vibrant stained glass inside.

Impossibly tall arches. There's just nothing like those gothic European cathedrals.

Outside, we walked down Golden Lane, a street filled with teeny-tiny houses that people who worked at the palace once lived in. For example: a seamstress, a healer, a goldsmith, and soldiers. They have the rooms made up to replicate what they would've looked like back in the day, so it's an interesting time travel.

In the mid 20th century, writers rented out the houses for inspiration. Franz Kafka wrote one of his books there. My favorite space was where a famous fortune teller one lived. But, alas, I snapped no photo. This is one of the other houses.

After Golden Lane, we walked back down the hill, hitting some more great views of Prague along the way, this time from the other side of the river.

At the bottom of the hill, we went to the Vrtba Gardens. Hubs explored and took photos. I parked myself on a nice bench and journaled.

The John Lennon wall was nearby with its colors popping everywhere.

From there we went to the little island just south of the Charles Bridge. I'm sure it would have been a lovely stroll through the quiet green park, but the temperature was dropping and it started to rain.

We crossed back over the river and hunted for a place to eat dinner. On a Friday night, everywhere was packed. We ended up at Kmotra, a wood-fired pizzeria. It gets the award for "best restaurant logo" for this trip.

We had the Praha, as it seemed appropriate. Brie, tomatoes, and green olives. Good stuff.

We also had 2 large Stramopramen 12's. But it wasn't the unfiltered. Grrr. You have to get 12 unfiltered. It's very important for your beer enjoyment. Pizza + 2 beers + tiramisu + tip = 300 kr.

Lucky for us, when we left the restaurant the rain had left, too.

View during the walk back to the hotel.