Prague

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We arrived into Prague station shortly before 7pm after a very picturesque journey along the banks of the River Elbe, currently flooded due to rain and snow-melt. The train runs right alongside the river for much of the journey, often engulfed by steep cliffs making for a very pretty journey.

It was raining when we arrived in Prague so we opted to take our first taxi to get to our hostel called Travellers Hostel (very original name!). Unfortunately the charge of 30 Euros for a five minute journey meant that we had paid well over the odds for the ride but such things happen and I guess that you learn from your mistakes.

We stayed in the hostel bar for the evening, buoyed by the price of the cheap beer (less than 50 pence a pint).

After a lazy morning, we headed out to Kutna Hora, a small town about 50km east of Prague. From there it is a short walk to Sedlec Kostnice, where you can visit a church decorated with the bones of 40,000 human beings. Yes you did read that correctly. 40,000 human beings. One of the wierdest things I have ever seen, the decorations spanned to free-standing pyramids made up of bones to bone crucifixes. Chilling!

We left the Osuary and headed for lunch in a small pub nearby. The waitress spoke no english so it was a case of point at what you would like. We also chose to try a Czech speciality, Grog, a drink made up of hot water, rum, sugar and lemon. Free advice - don't go to the Czech Republic and drink Grog at lunch time! We staggered back down the street to the bus station and made our way back to Prague.

In the evening we took a one hour ghost tour which came with the promise of a complimentary beer which never happened. The tour itself was pretty useless and we ended up walking the streets looking for beer.we found a few nice bars and whiled the time away with idiotic conversation, stumbling back to our hostel at 3:30am.

The following morning turned into another lazy one, and at 12:00pm we took a walking tour of the city, taking in all the major signts such as Wenceslas Square, the Tyn Church, the Astronomical Clock (which is very overrated) , the Charles Bridge and the old Jewish Quarter. We stopped for a lunch of Goulash and dumplings which was very tasty, before concluding the tour at Perague Castle. The Castle is huge and comprises a number of palaces together with an outstandingly large Cathedral. All fascinating with excellent views over the city.

We walked back to the hostel and I stopped in at the Jewish cemetary for a peek. The cemetary is from the days of the Prague Ghetto when due to a lack of space bodies were buried up to 12 deep and the sheer number of cramped tombstones is a sight you need to see to believe.

In the evening we met up with some of the tour group from earlier in the day for a few beers and interesting conversation before bed at 1:30am.

I kind of feel that we have not quite had enough time to do Prague justice. It is a city going through change although not quite as drastically as Berlin. A must-have venue for British stag parties, they are preparing for the introduction of the Euro in 2010, which will, unfortunately, go a long way to bridging the price gap between Eastern and Western Europe. Nevertheless, we have had yet another fantasic time in yet another fantastic city.

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Photos

Prague Castle
Prague Castle

Bone Church1
Bone Church1

Bone Church2
Bone Church2

Charles Bridge
Charles Bridge

Prague Castle2
Prague Castle2

Prague View
View from Prague Castle

Jewish Cemetary
Jewish Cemetary

Comments

[amy]

a picture to a name
last night, i got the chance to see some pictures of a few of the places in prague you mentioned of in your blog. i saw the clock. um, i saw the tombstones........ Emily's mom went to visit her a few weeks back, and came home with some pictures. timing of the pics and your blog are perfect.