This morning we went up to the Prague Castle that was controlled by the Communist Party during the Soviet area… Now it is where the Prime Minister works. High security.

We also went into St. Vitus Cathedral which was immensely crowded despite the $10 entrance fee.

It is famous for the silver tomb of St John of Nepomuk which had so many people around it, it felt like a grunge mosh-pit when trying to take a picture.

This cathedral was also where the famous priest brought Christianity to Bohemia and created the Cryptic alphabet.  I could not remember the full story on this one from our guide.

We also walked around the Lobkowicz Palace where Franz Kafka also lived and wrote some books in the surrounding homes/shops.  This is one of the places where he wrote a book.  I bought a book on Golem which was intriguing.  Stay tuned for that story tomorrow.

The first vineyard was also next to the Palace up on the hill.  We decided to walk down and try the local beer instead.

When walking down, you can see the TV tower off in the distance that was built by the Soviet Union and still in use today.  The locals call it “Breznev’s Finger”.  You can guess how they feel about it.

Moving on to another location not far from the palace…

The real highlight in this area is the Strahov Monastery and libraries associated with the Norbert patron saints and monks.

This is where the most popular craft beer is made in Prague… I think some call it grog though…

But the most interesting aspect is the ancient library of over 250,000 books which we got a private tour of.  A movie was filmed here… In 2002, the League of Extraordinary Gentleman had many scenes here.  Recognize the scene?

A hidden gem in Prague if you ask me.