Finding the Castle

Now, you wouldn't think that finding a castle would be very hard to do, would you? Well, that's where you haven't figured in my astonishing incompetent sense of directions (although I know people who have a worse one, and you know who you are). The problem with finding the Prague Castle was simply that the streets in Prague are wonderfully narrow and winding, so it's easy to lose sight of things. I could clearly see the castle as I crossed the Charles Bridge, but once I passed into the Mala Strana (Lesser Quarter) I would lose sight of it. The Czechs are not big on signage, although better than the Hungarians. After a couple dead-ends I was getting frustrated (and feeling immensely foolish) - this also related to the fact that I had passed the mythic week barrier in my trips when I'm at my worst (usually about a week or a week and a half into my trips I get really annoyed for a day - and then it passes - just mainly momentary trip exhaustion), so I knew the signs and sat down, enjoyed a cafe latte and revisited my map. Aaahhhhh, there it is. Just follow the winding narrow street - ask Winston Churchill - and there are the stairs. Oh, and when you get to the top the St. Vitus Church (which is ungodly huge) is still hidden behind the Kralovsky Palac (the home for kings and presidents then and now) - you can see the spires peeking over the top. Head left and pass through a narrow, essentially unmarked passageway into a courtyard and there you are. Easy.