We showed up at the main entrance to the castle and ran into a Harley Davidson gathering.  Hundreds of hogs lined up next to the castle gates and the full-uniformed guard – what a weird thing.  The castle gates are topped with replicas of 18^th-century statues of Fighting Giants.  And yes, the knife glints in the sun giving the scene a sense of pure evil.

St. Vitus’s Cathedral looms beyond the second courtyard.  The exterior boasts an amazing rose window, huge Gothic spires, a bevy of flying buttresses, a Renaissance bell tower, ingenious gutter spouts disguised as gargoyles and the Golden Portal along the south side of the edifice.  It was packed with people and we waited a while before being let in, but the patience paid off.

Beyond the cathedral is the Royal Palace, St. George’s Convent (houses the National Gallery’s Czech art) and its Romanesque Basilica, picturesque Golden Lane, Lobkowicz Palace (home of the Monuments of the Nation’s Past Museum) and the South Gardens.

Further exploration of the neighborhood will reveal the National Gallery’s European Collection at the Sternberg Palace, relics at the Loreto, the Museum of Military History at the Schwarzenberg Palace with its sgraffitoed façade and inspiration at the Strahov Monastery.  Although we didn’t visit the Monastery’s famous library, we did take advantage of the food and libations at Peklo (literally means ‘hell’) in the catacombs of the monastery.