We were so
lucky to be able to spend two wonderful days in Prague!! It took us most of
Tuesday morning to drive from our hotel in Hungary to Prague, but we did get to
stop and eat at a yummy cafeteria-style Czech restaurant. That was a great way
to kick off our adventures in the Czech Republic!
Once we got
to Prague, our tour guide met us and took us on a three hour tour through the
city. We began on the grounds of the Prague castle (which is actually one of
the largest castle complexes in Europe, if not the largest) and wound our way
down the hill, across the bridge, through the Jewish Quarter, and ended in the
Old Town Square. It was cold, wet, and windy, so not the ideal day, but we did
see some amazing views and start to get a feel for what Prague has to offer.
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| The Prague Castle |
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| The super solemn guards |
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| I look a little like a wet kitty because I feel like a wet kitty: mainly cold |
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| I was so cold I needed a hood even if it wasn't raining |
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| Casually walking |
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| There's Prague for you |
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| And here's me for you |
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| Prague and me together! |
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| Trying not to die on downwards sloping cobblestones |
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| Contemplation |
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| Smirking because Prague |
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| Prague cuddle buddies |
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| Everyone loves Prague! |
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| Woah that's a pretty river |
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| "Thanks," said the river |
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| Kate really nailed the rule of thirds with this one |
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| I don't know about you, but I thought this building was pretty cool |
Kate and I
decided to go on the boat tour that evening. After our guided tour was over, we
made our way down to the docks and boarded our boat. We were served a buffet
for dinner that included some Czech dishes like pickled cheese and bread
dumplings. Everything was really good, even the little candies that may or may
not have had rum cream in them.
We went up
top to see the lights from the river, and while it was beautiful, we didn’t
last long because it was so cold and windy. To be honest, my favorite part of
the ride was this little boy who was sitting at the table in front of us. He is
an only child and he was just sitting so solemnly and seriously, looking out
the window. I tried to catch his eye so that I could wink at him, and after
several minutes, I did! And he winked back! So the rest of the ride turned into
him and me trying to catch the other’s eye and wink. He even wiggled his
eyebrows at me, which I thought was hilarious! Basically for the rest of our
trip throughout Europe I tried to wink at this little kid. It has probably been
one of the best parts of my trip.
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| Contemplation |
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| Contemplation got boring |
After the
boat ride it was back to our hotel where we got some much needed rest.
The next
day we were up bright and early to go with our group back to the city center.
We hopped on the tram and made it easily to the center (no getting lost this
time!)
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| Alysha and me, bright and early |
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| Genius |
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| The entrance to Charles Bridge |
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| Hands off Ukraine, Putin! |
We meandered
around taking pictures and enjoying the sights. We started making our way
across the Charles Bridge, which is a pedestrian bridge and the main touristy
bridge in Prague. Halfway across, most of the group decided to turn back and
seek adventure on the side we had come from. However, a small group of us
decided to continue on and see what the other side of the bridge had to offer.
The first
thing we discovered was the lock bridge of Prague. Here lovers come to lock
their love to a bridge and throw away the key in the river below. We had a fun
time looking at all of the different names and dates. One even said, “Will you
marry me?” It was really nice since it was still pretty early in the morning
and there weren’t too many tourists out yet.
We kept
walking down the street, in search of the narrowest street in Prague. Alysha
was really determined to find it, but we weren’t having too much luck. We did
find the courtyard of the Franz Kafka Museum, and it held a couple of
interesting moving statues. Search for it if you care, but I’m just going to
leave it at that.
Finally we
wandered far enough that we knew we had missed it somehow. We stopped in a shop
to ask for directions and ended up going back the same way we came. On the way,
however, we found a beautiful little garden hiding behind some walls. It was so
pretty, and the plaque in it said that it was established as an orchard in the
13th century. We took a little time to enjoy the peace and quiet of
the garden, and to have an impromptu photo shoot.
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| Skipping along |
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| Are you taking the picture, yet? |
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| Finally! |
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| My attempt at a heel click |
Continuing
back the way we came, we finally found the street. It’s actually just a really
narrow alleyway that leads to a restaurant on the river, but it has a little stoplight
to prevent traffic jams going either way, since really only one person can comfortably
fit at a time. Unfortunately, it wasn’t open until 11:30am, so we needed to
kill half an hour.
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| The Charles Bridge from yet another angle |
On our way over, we had passed the doors of a really cute
bookshop that was supposed to open at 11am. I convinced our group to go in
there to pass the time.
I am so
glad I did. I love bookstores (but really, who doesn’t?) and this one was no
exception. In addition to new books, there were used ones that were for sale in
boxes on the ground. I looked through several of them and saw messages written
in all sorts of different languages.
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| Books 'errywhere |
The
bookstore was also very deceiving. It looked really tiny from the front, but
once you walked in, it extended far into the back, and even led downstairs to a
spacious basement complete with a little reading room. I could have easily just
stayed there and read, but with only one day left in Prague, I had to make a
decision. But I did love that little bookstore.
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| MORE books! |
Finally
11:30am arrived and we took our pictures on the narrowest street in Prague.
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| It's so tiny |
By this
time we were getting pretty hungry, so we wandered around looking for a place
to eat. There were many places boasting of authentic Czech food and they all
pretty much looked the same, so eventually we just picked one. I tried Czech
beef goulash with bread dumplings, and it was delicious! There are so many
great foods I’ve eaten while being in Europe—I want to try my hand at making
them when I get home, and this is definitely one of them!
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| Lunch consisted of only oversized peppers |
After a long
and fulfilling lunch, we wanted to try some Czech crepes. We headed over to a
crepe café and sat down to lunch a second time. That was actually really weird.
Anyway, we ordered our crepes and once again we had delicious food! I ordered a
raspberry crepe with vanilla ice cream and whipped cream on top. It was huge,
but of course I finished the whole thing! If I lived in Prague, I would make
every excuse to eat these things.
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| It was amazing |
After our
easting escapades, it was time to head back over the Charles Bridge. Along the
way we saw many street vendors and performers. And of course we stopped to
touch some of the “good luck” spots on many of the statues lining the bridge.
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| This man was just a one man band |
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| I got so much good luck that day, you don't even know |
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| Memorial for Ukraine |
As we
started heading through the streets to the Old Town Square, we saw an
advertisement for a classical music concert that would be playing at 5pm that
evening, only a couple hours away. We stopped and after discussing it amongst ourselves
and the ticket sellers, decided to spend the money and get some concert
tickets.
We had a
couple hours to kill, so we walked along some markets and explored some shops.
But finally it was time for the concert.
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| Fancy shmancy astronomical clock |
The concert
was held in the Mirror Chapel and was performed by a string quartet called the
Chamber Ensemble Musica Pragensis. They were accompanied at times by an
organist. It was beautiful inside the chapel, and once the music began, it was
an amazing place to be.
For an hour we listened to pieces like Mozart’s “A
Little Night Music,” Pachelbel’s “Kanon,” Schubert’s “Ave Maria,” Dvorak’s “Waltz
in A,” and selections from Vivaldi’s “The Four Seasons.” I was a little worried
about the quality of music beforehand, but there was absolutely nothing to
worry about. The music was amazing. During our first semester at college, Kate
and I happened to take the same music class where we were required to attend
eight different classical music concerts. We both developed a love for live
classical music and have treasured each opportunity we have been given while in
Europe to experience it. There is something so relaxing and tranquil about
these inspired pieces of music. An hour was not nearly enough time, but
afterwards everyone in our group felt so refreshed and rejuvenated. It sounds
cheesy, but I really think that classical music, especially when performed live
by talented musicians, is food for the soul. Something about it just lifts you
up and clears your mind. It was a much needed break from our crazy vacation.
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| Ugh...sorry it's blurry |
After the
concert we stopped to get some cinnamon sugar bread roll things, and had fun
talking to the guy selling them. We made our way again to the Old Town Square
and listened to and watched the different performers.
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| This guy was a really good sport |
At 7pm we
met up with some others from our group and watched the “show” put on by Prague’s
famous astronomical clock. The “show” wasn’t really that great; a couple
windows just opened and figures of the twelve apostles rolled by. But after the
“show,” we all bought tickets to climb to the top of the clock tower.
The view
from up there was amazing. All of Prague was lit up and you could see so much.
I’m pretty sure I have a slight fear of heights because I definitely felt a
little uneasy being that high up. But it was very worth the trek up the ramps
(they had ramps instead of stirs, which is obviously genius) and it was the
perfect end to a long and adventure filled day.
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| Clinging on for dear life |
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| Tanya says I'm Rapunzel...she is correct |
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| Down the elevator we go |
In the end,
Prague didn’t wow me like Vienna or Budapest did. But I don’t think that’s what
Prague means to do. Prague is a place that you quietly fall in love with. The
little alleys, the little cafes, the little corners that hold secret gardens, these
are the places that make Prague what it is: a wonderful city that I hope to be
able to explore again someday soon.
