To continue with Prague, as I was saying, both sides of the river are amazing. The other side of the river from the Old Town is the Prague Castle side. The district on this side is situated of a big hill, with the giant prague castle sitting on top. Prague Castle is supposedly the biggest unified castle complex in the world (interesting title...) and I believe this. It is not just a castle; the complex has a cathedral, convent, palace, prison, royal gardens, and a cool little street called the Golden Lane, where various famous people (notably Franz Kafka) have lived in its tiny, dollhouse-like cottages. Like the Jewish quarter, you can buy a pass to Prague castle that will give you admission to almost all of these landmarks. Kyle and I spent a whole half day here, and could have spent the whole day if we'd had enough energy, there was so much to see. You can see the changing of the guards every hour, and we were lucky enough to see the noon changing, which has a parade and fanfare. We also saw the lower part of the royal palace, which has been converted into a museum of the history of the castle. The most interesting part of the history of all the monuments in prague for me is the most recent history under communism, and then the rebuilding after that. So many buildings -- the castle included -- were completely closed for several whole decades in the 20th century, and many (like the castle and also the old town square) have only been renovated, restored, and reopened in the past several years. Also on this side of the river is the Little Town (Mala Strana) which is the district at the foot of the castle. It is incredibly picturesque and typical-looking of Prague. As a result, it is what is often filmed in movies and commercials that are set in the area, because it is so beautiful. Laura (my wonderful roommate!)actually lived in this district, in the literal shadow of prague castle. Not only that, she lived on Nerudova, the main artery of the little town. She gave us directions, and we were able to see her apartment. Connecting Little Town to Old Town on the other side of the river is the Charles bridge (Karluv Most), a giant, ancient pedestrian-only bridge. It is constantly full of caricature artists, street performers, and tourists. There is a bronze plate on one wall of the bridge that you have to rub for good luck, which can be identified by the ever-present line of other tourists who also want to rub it for good luck. The bridge is lined by these huge dark statues, and from any overlook of the city you can identify it by these statues and the hoards of people. I could go on for much longer -- Prague was a wonderful, fascinating city! We really had a great time. Tomorrow we leave for an overnight trip to Rothenburg, a little medieval bavarian town. It will be my last trip because I leave Regensburg on wednesday, and get back home on thursday.
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