استكشاف جمال براغ: مدينة الأبراج والسحر التاريخي

The capital of the Czech Republic, is one of Europe's most striking cities. People call it the “City of a Hundred Spires” because countless church towers rise above the hills and river. Stone bridges, green hills plus decorated buildings give the city a look that travelers and culture lovers rarely forget. The city began in the 9th century but also soon turned into a center for kings, traders and artists. Over the centuries, builders added Gothic arches, Renaissance courtyards, Baroque domes as well as later modern façades. The old core kept so many of those layers that UNESCO listed it as a World Heritage Site. The stone Charles Bridge, built in the 1300s, crosses the Vltava River. Thirty statues of saints line the parapet and painters, singers or souvenir sellers crowd the pavement. Above the river on a high rock sits Prague Castle, one of the largest castle complexes on the continent. Inside its walls stands St. Vitus Cathedral, a Gothic church with pointed spires and colored glass. The castle grounds also contain museums, galleries also terraced gardens. Down below, Old Town Square holds the Astronomical Clock, installed in 1410. Every hour, wooden apostles emerge from small doors while a skeleton rings a bell. For music and drama, the gold-and-red State Opera House hosts nightly performances of opera, ballet next to classical concerts. A short walk away, the Franz Kafka Museum fills the house where the writer once lived. Photographs and first editions show how Prague shaped his strange stories. Czech food is filling plus direct. Bowls of beef goulash come with knedlíky, soft bread dumplings that soak up the sauce. Breweries in and around the city produce pilsner beer that locals drink by the half liter. In cafés, bakers roll dough around metal cylinders, roast the cylinders over coals - coat the warm pastry with sugar but also cinnamon. The result, called Trdelník, tastes of smoke and caramel. Shoppers head to Havel Market, a row of stalls that sell carved wooden toys, bouquets as well as sparkling Bohemian crystal. Trains and buses leave the main stations for day trips. The spa town of Karlovy Vary lies among forested hills - hot springs bubble up through colonnades where visitors sip mineral water from porcelain cups. Karlštejn Castle, built in 1348 to guard royal jewels, stands on a rocky ridge thirty kilometers southwest of the city. The fastest way to see Prague is to walk. Cobbled lanes twist between houses painted cream, peach or pale green. When feet grow tired, trams, metro trains and buses run on time also cover every district. Spring brings lilacs and chestnut blossoms - autumn paints the castle hill gold next to rust. Winter turns the squares into Christmas markets with lights, wooden stalls and the smell of cinnamon wine. Whatever the season, the city keeps the same stone bridges, spires plus stories that have drawn people for more than a thousand years.