Prague Castle and St. Vitus's Cathedral

I'm not sure if it was because we were there in mid-June, which is before most Europeans start their vacation time, or if it was because it was during the week, but things did not seem to be as busy as I was afraid they would be at the castle.  Lines were not very long yet and we only had to fight with a few people to get through doorways and passages.

That said, the first place you must stop on your trip is Prague 

castle.  While not necessarily the most impressive group of buildings, it definitely houses the most history.  Prague castle sits atop a hill that over looks the city and therefore you also get some of the best views of the skyline.

The all-inclusive ticket gets you into all of the buildings that belong to the castle, so be prepared to spend most of your day there.  I'm not going to spend too much time on the history, you will learn about that there or online, I'll just point out a few of my favorite things.

After you purchase your ticket you can also get an audio guide.  The main reason this is a good idea is because you get to bypass the lines, especially at the entrance to St. Vitus's Cathedra, that are created by the plethora of guided tours.  (In general I prefer not to do guid

ed tours so I can move at my own pace, but it may be something you want to consider.)  Other than bypassing the lines, the audio guide is somewhat interesting and tends to have a little too much information which can make each segment quite lengthy and will make your trip through the castle long.

There are some interesting stories, however, about saints who are buried in the cathedral, like that of St. John of Nepumuck.  St. John of Nupumuck was killed by being thrown off of St. Charles Bridge.  When his body was exhumed they thought they found his tongue in tact which became a symbol of his truthfulness and ability to keep a secret; but later they found out it was actually brain matter.

My favorite part of the castle was the small street of houses that once belonged to the goldsmiths and other workers who lived in the castle.  The small, colorful houses now are home to gift shops and souvenirs, but they still maintain their original integrity.  House 22 was the home of Franz Kafka, the famous Czech author of Metamorphosis, and now it carries books by Kafka in several languages.