We looked at tons of watercolors, pastels, prints, and photographs, before deciding to hike up the hill to see a few more sites at Hradcany Castle (and to look for some particularly pretty glassware we had seen in some stores near the castle).
The castle grounds were much emptier than during New Year's weekend. The tourists seem to have pretty much departed, and we had a lot of the areas to ourselves.
We wanted to concentrate on the insides of the Cathedral (supposedly no photos allowed), the old castle throne room, and the area called "Golden Lane."
Walking around without the crowds, we noticed many details that we had missed earlier, such as the little golden feline with wings sitting over a doorway (I thought it was a dragon).
Tom still didn't like the flag poles!
But the views of the cathedral in the evening, the floors of the old throne room, and the sights outside its thick-glass windows were memorable.
Golden Lane, with its colorful houses-now-shops, was particularly fun, from the medieval glass makers to the art gallery where I bought a wonderful print.
Finally, it was time to call it a day. Our shuttle service was picking us up in front of the American Embassy at 6:30 am (so they wouldn't have to go through the bomb check). Shortly thereafter, we were winging our way back to the "City by the Lake" I call home.
