Another Outing...Paris?

Friday was so beautiful we decided to get a little bit away from the city and take a walk/hike up Petrin Hill. Just across the river and opposite the hill where the castle sits, it feels like you're in another world away from the busy, noisy city. The view from the top is said to be one of the best views of the city. It definitely was in our opinion. Starting at the bottom of the hill, we decided to skip the funicular ride and burn off the morning's cinnamon rolls. The walk was described by several websites as only mildly strenuous for someone in good health. Only mildly. Half way up, we passed the track for the funicular and stopped to stare regretfully as it wizzed past us full of non-calorie-burning, non-sweaty people. At the top of the hill is Petrin Tower, built in the late 1800's as a smaller version of the Eiffel Tower in Paris. The tower itself is only 60 m (196 ft) tall, but since it sits on the hill, the height is actually about the same as the Eiffel tower. We could have climbed the 299 steps to the observation deck at the top of the tower but we just couldn't bring ourselves to after already climbing 318 m (1043 ft) just to get to the top of the hill. Maybe another day...



The view of Petrin Tower from the castle area.



Petrin Tower after a 30 minute hike (or a 5 minute funicular ride).



The view of the city, the Vlata River, and the funicular track.



The castle from Petrin Hill.



Running from the bottom of the hill all the way to the top is the Hunger Wall, built in the late 1300s to give starving citizens work in exchange for food.



We walked down a different side of the hill than we came up, then walked up another hill toward the castle area. This is taken from the top of the second hill. So many hills!! And yes, I am a little sore, mainly in the rump area.




Another long-arm shot.

And to toot our own horn, we walked back down the second hill toward Charles Bridge, passing several ice cream shops and cukrarnas (sweet shops - pronounced sukrarna) and didn't stop for anything! What will power! Then we split a Milka candy bar when we got home...
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------



The cinnamon rolls that made me decide we needed some exercise. Yes, they're from scratch. And yes, they took forever (to be fair, I was cooking dinner at the same time). And yes, they're better than the canned ones. At least according to my husband, who knows better than to say otherwise.