Adam Paul

Behind a fairly nondescript gate near the Mala Strana metro station is the entrance to Wallenstein Palace gardens

Fountain

This former residence, built  1632-1630, and in the Wallenstein family until 1945, now houses the Czech senate.

Common Moorhen

Upon entering from the metro, you first see a pretty pond with birds floating around.  Although I was hopeful of seeing some new-to-me birds here, I saw Mallards & Common Moorhens, both of which we have at home.

Mallard

A little farther down is an unusual wall, constructed to look like stalactites in a cave.  This large wall is visible from above, along Prague Castle, and ends in an aviary housing 4 or so large owls(!).  I was curious about the history of this oddity, but wasn’t able to dig up any information on the web as to its age or construction.

Grotto wall

An albino peacock strutted around the gardens, but despite our hopes that it would fan out its tail, it stubbornly refused.

Albino Peacock

More cooperative was a properly-pigmented peacock, which put on a great show of flaring its feathers, shaking them, and strutting its stuff.  The few nearby peahens looks impressed, as did we humans.

Peacock displaying

Due to the Czech senate’s sitting here, the buildings of Wallenstein Palace are not generally open to the public – too bad, as the wiki page hints at large and lovely murals inside.

Czech senate building

But we will have to make do with a view from the outside.

Although it takes just a few minutes to visit, we found Wallenstein Palace to be a nice respite from the hustle and bustle of Mala Strana.