The first masonry in Prague dates to 885 AD, and the city flourished as an Imperial city under the Roman Emporer Charles IV during 1346 to 1378. Prague became an archbshopric in 1344, the same year construction of the Gothic Saint Vitus Cathedral (on top of the hill) was begun.It was then the 3rd largest city in Europe. After Charles IV died in 1378, Prague experienced varying degrees of turmoil but continued to strenghten both in achitectural growth and as a merchant city for the next 2 centuries. The Bohemian aristocracy rebelled after the 1617 election of Ferdinand as King of Bohemia, and in 1618 Protestants led by Count Thurn bribed their way into the the Prague Castle and threw 2 of the King's Regents and a Secretary out of the 3rd floor window. This ignited the 30 years War between Protestants and Catholics. This War, as well as the associated famine and disease and the new concept of Armies "paying their own wages" through looting, resulted in the deaths of up to 30% of the European population. Ironically, the Regents and Secretary survived. Formally Czechoslovakia, the Slovakian Republic peacefully seceded from Czech in 1993. Today, the Prague Metro is home to over 2.3 million people, and the City receives over 4.1 million international visitors annually.

We figured sunrise would look quite nice from this summit (being the highest point in Central America, after all). However, being unable to sit still for any length of time we decided to climb to the top immediately and watch the sunset. (Video by Matt)