Highlights of Prague Castle...

In a hill above the city of Prague, lies one of the largest castle grounds in the world. There are beautiful gates covered with scrafitto as we approach the castle. This pattern is called the "Envelope Pattern" (easy!)

Many embassy buildings have their headquarters nearby. 

This is a picture of the President's home which is on the grounds. Lea told us that he really didn't live her but lived in a house located in the beautiful gardens.

We are going through the gates. The guards are very serious and don't move a whisker!

There are many, many buildings within the castle walls. One of them is the beautiful Gothic Church of the Virgin Mary covered with religious art...

...and, if we focus in just a wee bit, we can see that the architects had their carved their pictures in the building, too;-) They want to be sure no one forgot them!

Within the church is an exhibit which shows how the builders have preserved the walls of the original church (built in 882-82) right within the newer building. Amazing!

Ah! Many Mucha stained glass in the nave. The colors are incredible!

Even Mucha, though, wanted a bit of himself saved for posterity! You can see one of his Art Nouveau ladies in the middle of this picture. Look closely! 

Jud wants a funny picture taken of the himself and the guard...then...BAM! The guards pound their rifles to the platform, then point them up in the air. I was terrified. We were warned this would happen if we got too close to the guards! All of a sudden, two black Audi's roll by on the road to the left. It's the President of the Czech Republic! We are only several feet away!

Jud relaxes on the wall after his little scare and I take his picture for the final view of this beautiful site.