Spring Break: Prague, Czech Republic March 24-27

To get from Berlin, Germany to Prague, Czech Republic we decided to take a train. It was a relaxing ride through the countryside; some of us even napped. We knew we were getting close to Prague because of the announcements over the intercom. All of a sudden our friend Sarah woke us up and told us to grab our backpacks and get ready. We hopped off at one of the stops at the last minute and looked around. We had gotten off at the wrong station. Luckily we quickly found a taxi and got out of there fast. It was kind of a scary place.

Old Town Square

We made it to our hostel. On the first day in Prague we went to the Old Town Square. In the square there was a bunch of booths set up. This was because they were celebrating Easter. In the Easter market they had all sorts of good food and were selling souvenirs. They had the yummiest hotdogs there. Also they have these really good pastries called Trdelniks. They are kind of like a cross between a donut and a soft pretzel. The dough is rolled in a spring shape around a piece of wood and then cooked. On the outside they put on sugar and nuts. We also saw St. Nicolas’ Church. 

Trdelniks

 

On one end of the square they had the Church of Our Lady Before Tyn. The reason this church is so interesting is because of the two towers. The towers were supposed to be exactly the same but the architect messed up and one of the towers is noticeably bigger.  Also in the square is the Astronomical Clock. This ancient clock not only tells the time but shows the position of the sun. It also has a calendar dial that shows the months. Every hour on the hour the little figures around the clock move. When this grand clock was built, the person who built it was killed so that no one else in the world could have a clock like this one. Later that night we were able to climb the tower above the Astronomical Clock and look over this square. 

Astronomical Clock

On our way out of the square we saw the Estates Theatre, which was where Mozart conducted his first world premiere of his “Don Giovanni”. We walked further down the street and saw Kinsky Palace. We also saw the Powder Tower, which are the old city gates of Prague. Next we saw the Art Nouveau Municipal House, where works of art from some of the greatest Czech artists are held. We also saw the Museum of Cubism.

After this we went to Wenceslas Square. This square is in the New Town of Prague. They also had booths for Easter here. After this we went to the Jewish Quarter. Here we saw not only where many of the Jewish people lived but a Jewish graveyard. The reason this quarter was preserved was because Hitler wanted to turn this area into a “museum” or “exhibit” that showed the destroyed race. We ended our tour at the Rudolfinum. This is a big concert hall. The statues on top are of famous sculptors and musicians. When Hitler came to Prague he ordered that the statue of the Jewish composer be taken off the Rudolfinum. The men ended up taking the wrong statue off of the Rudolfinum by accident. This made Hitler mad because it was his favorite composer.

The next day we rented a paddleboat and paddled up and down the river. It was a beautiful day and it was really cool to see all the buildings from the water. Later we went back to the Old Town Square. On our way out of the square a man ran past us. A little bit afterwards a lady ran up. It turns out that the man stole something of hers. Sarah decided to chase after the man but he must have ducked into a building because we were unable to catch him. Then later in the day we crossed Charles Bridge. This is not just any bridge. When the bridge was built everyone thought that it would sink into the river because it was made of rock. They were pleasantly surprised to find that this wasn’t the case. The bridge is beautiful with guard towers on both sides and statues up and down the edges. My friends woke up early and went down to the bridge to watch the sunrise but I didn’t go with them because I was too tired. It turns out that I didn’t miss much because it was cold, early, and not a great sunrise. But all in all, I was extremely impressed by this bridge. 

Paddle Boat on the River

Charles' Bridge

The next day we decided to climb up this big hill and go to Prague castle. Like all good travelers, we got lost. That wasn’t the worst thing though, because we ended up finding a place that sold some pretty cool paintings of Prague. We had a nice lunch on the steps outside of the castle grounds. When we entered the grounds we saw the St. Vitus Cathedral and also St. George’s Basilica. We also saw some of the halls and palaces. My favorite part of the castle grounds was “Golden Lane”. This is where many of the medieval armory workers and textile makers lived. The street contains many little tiny houses. I even had to crouch to get through some doorways. Some of the houses were the size of my room at home. This is called “Golden Lane” because it is where the goldsmiths lived. 

St. Vitus Cathedral

Golden Lane

Another thing we did was see the Lennon Wall. This is a big wall that is full of graffiti. In the 1980’s the graffiti was all lyrics from Beatles songs. In 1988 the wall was used to write bad things about the communist regime. Today the wall is used by people to write about love and peace. 

Lennon Wall

We had a really great time in Prague. Since we had more days here we were able to relax a bit more and catch up on some much needed rest. Prague is a really beautiful and interesting city. It has been one of my favorite places that I have visited. I also feel like I learned a lot about the Czech people.