Little Quarter

The interior is of the Church of St. Nicholas is a great find.  Don’t miss the golden cherubs on the pulpit, the main altar and the Statues of the Church Fathers to the left of it, the dome fresco and the Baroque organ upstairs.  We were able to walk upstairs where works of art are displayed, but we had more fun enjoying the expansive church from a different perspective.

Also of interest near the square is Schönborn Palace (now the American Embassy) and the Wallenstein Palace and Gardens.  The gardens house a grotesquery that imitates the walls of a limestone cave covered in stalactites.

We refreshed ourselves around the corner at St. Thomas’s – the beer hall in the cellar of the medieval monastery, not the church.  The interior is filled with animal rugs and hunting trophies.  We were almost ripped off by the waiter here, so pay attention.

To the south we explored the uniquely-shaped Maltese Square with a sculpture of St. John the Baptist, the Church of Our Lady beneath the Chain and the Grand Priory Square with a mural of John Lennon.  Right next to the square is the Grand Priory Mill with a functioning water wheel in the Devil’s Stream, or Čertovka.

Kampa Island is just across the bridge.  The island is idyllic, leafy and quiet – it provides a nice respite from the heat and the crowds.  We sat on the banks of the Vltava next to the Lichenstein Palace looking toward Old Town.

When you are ready to hit the Castle District, head back to the Little Quarter Square and take Nerudova Street to the Prague Castle.