Prague

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Everyone I talked to had told me that Prague was beautiful, but you really can’t understand just how great it is until you see it for yourself. We arrived in Prague on the train from Munich and had a little difficulty finding our hostel as we got off at the wrong train station. Oh well, we found it eventually, and when we did we were so pleasantly surprised. Our hostel was only 11 months old and it was so nice!!! It was called the Czech Inn and it had nice clean rooms and bathrooms- which you don’t always find at all hostels let me tell you. Also, it had a nice little bar and lounge downstairs as well as an internet café. Perfect! So we got settled in and then headed out to explore. We walked around the castle district and Charles bridge and then we headed to a little restaurant close to our hostel. It was so good. We got a full dinner, dessert and 2 glasses of wine for $10 Canadian- going to a place that is not on the Euro was so nice! Then it was just back to our hostel for a glass of wine at the lounge and off to bed as we had been up since 6 am.

The next day we decided to do a walking tour of Prague because neither of us knew any of the history of the city. (Get ready for a history lesson). The tour met in front of the National Museum which is a beautiful building by the way and headed off. We started at Wenceslas square which is really more of a boulevard than a square. This boulevard has been the site of much turmoil and triumph as 5 revolutions have taken place there. These 5 are:
1. The declaration of the new Czechoslovak state in 1918
2. The invasion of Hitler’s troops in 1939
3. The arrival of Soviet tanks in 1968
4. The self immolation of Jan Palach in protest of the soviet invasion
(The Soviet-led invasion of Czechoslovakia in August 1968 was designed to crush the liberalising reforms of Alexander Dubček's government during the Prague Spring. Palach died after setting himself on fire in Wenceslas Square in Prague, Czechoslovakia on 16 January 1969 in protest. The funeral of Palach turned into a major protest against the occupation, and a month later (on 25 February 1969) another student, Jan Zajíc, burned himself to death in the same place).
5. The 1989 Velvet Revolution (The collapse of Communism in Czechoslovakia)

The tour then took us to Old Town Square where we saw the Old Town Hall which is still missing a piece of the front façade where the Nazi’s partially demolished it in the final days of WWII. Also in Old Town Square is the famous Astronomical Clock which is a 24 hour clock, and a calendar. It chimes every hour and the 12 apostles go past in the window of the clock. This clock was also damaged during WWII, but after significant effort it was repaired. Also in Old Town Square we saw the spot where 27 Nobles were executed by the Austrians. This occurred because Prague was off and on under Austrian rule and at one point when they were not the nobles killed an Austrian of upper rank by throwing out of the window of the castle. When the Austrians came back into power they executed all 27 Nobles by beheading them in the square. It took 4 large knives to complete the task because they kept getting dull. Presently, in Old Town Square there are 27 x’s that mark the site where the 27 Nobles were executed.

We then carried on to Charles Bridge. This is Perhaps on the most touristy sites in Prague. The bridge is always covered with people and all along it you can by paintings and photos of Prague. On the Bridge there is a monument to St. Jan Nepomucky who was tossed over the side of the bridge for guarding the queen’s extramarital secrets from a suspicious King Wenceslas IV. It is said if you rub the spot on the monument that depicts him being thrown over you get good luck- so of course we did.

Next on the tour was to see the Central Europe’s oldest Jewish settlement called Josefov. It was named this after an Austrian ruler of Prague who had actually been quite kind to the Jewish people of Prague. The citizens of Prague built a 4 m wall around the area and the closed neighbourhood bred exotic tales, many of which centered around Rabbi Loew ben Bezalel and is legendary golem- a mud creature that supposedly came to life to protect Prague’s Jews. The city’s Jews remained clustered in Josefov until WWII when the ghetto was vacated and residents were sent to death camps. Ironically, Hitler’s wish to create a “museum of an extinct race” sparked the preservation of Josefov’s cemetery and synagogues. Prague’s Jewish community is only a fraction of what it once was as approximately 80,000 Jewish people from Prague were sent to death camps. The Old- New Synagogue is located in this area and is the oldest operating synagogue in Europe and is 700 years old. Furthermore, in the Old Jewish Cemetery is located in Josefov and between the 14th and 15th centuries, 20,000 graves were laid in 12 layers. The striking clusters of tombstones visible today were formed as older stones rose from underneath.

Our tour then moved on to Prague’s castle district. This is a very interesting castle as it has been added onto several times over the years so some of it actually looks quite modern. The Prague Castle has been the seat of the Bohemian government for over 1000 years. Inside the castle walls is the beautiful St. Vitus’s Cathedral which was only completed in 1929, 600 years after construction began. I always love the walking tours in cities I visit because you always get some cool tidbits about the city or about what you are looking at that you wouldn’t have known otherwise. On this tour our guide told us a story about a construction worker who was working on the Cathedral and from up high on the roof of the Cathedral he saw his wife with another lover. He was so upset and angry at the sight of this that he took a piece of heavy material he was working with and threw it down at the lover hitting him and killing him. Because of this act the construction worker was sentence to death. His construction co- workers felt this was a bit extreme and decided to make a monument to remember their friend. However, it had to be hidden from the King or they too would be punished. So when you look up a small crack in between where the church meets the exit gate you can see this monument which depicts the construction worker throwing the heavy material at the lover. Quite an interesting story I thought. The President has a flat in the castle and can often been seen entering and leaving the castle grounds, unfortunately we did not see him. As you are leaving the main castle area you can see the houses where the guards would stay. Above all the houses there is a walkway where the guards would run up if needed to defend the castle by shooting out small openings in the enclosed walkway. Later on the famous 20th century writer Franz Kafka lived at #22 on this street.

Ok so there is some history for you. (Hope you found it interesting). Now I will fill you in on some other things I saw and did in Prague. I already talked about Charles Bridge, but we also went up the tower on Charles Bridge which gives you a great view of the bridge and the castle district. I also walked to the Dancing House that was built by an American architect named Frank Gehry. Since its unveiling in 1996 it has been called an eye- sore by some and a shining example of postmodern design by others.

We also engaged in some evenings out in Prague. We had heard that Prague had a very good theatre scene so we went to see what kind of shows were playing while we were there. We decided to go to a Marionette show as marionettes are huge in Prague and we figured you don’t get the chance to see a show like this very often. So we went and it was actually very good. The puppeteers were amazing and the show was entertaining so it was a fun night out. Kaley and I also fond a flyer for a jazz club and we decided to check it out and this is probably some of the most enjoyable entertainment I have ever seen. It was held in this cute little jazz club in the bottom of a hotel. We got an appetizer, a meal, dessert, and two glasses of wine, plus entrance to the show for only $35 Canadian. It was unreal. We had such a good time- definitely one of the highlights!!! After the jazz club Kaley and I head over to Karlovy Lazne which is the biggest nightclub in Europe. It has five floors and each floor plays a different type of music so there is something for everyone there. It was a good time overall, but very touristy.

We of course had to do the token Museum and we decided to go to the Museum of Medieval Torture Instruments. I had never heard of a museum like this anywhere else so we decided to check it out. It was kind of creepy but also pretty interesting. They had torture instruments on display with descriptions and pictures of how they were used back in the day. Some of them were just nasty and you wonder who could even come up with this kind of stuff. In many cases it was the Austrians.

Just walking around Prague is fun because it so pretty and half of what you go to see in Prague is the amazing architecture. So we spent a lot of time just walking around the cute streets of Prague going in shops and seeing the sights. In doing this we saw all the main sights, but also got to see the remains of the old medieval wall that used to surround the city and also the mini Eiffel tower that is up on a hill, it is only 1/3 of the size of the real Tour Eiffel.
We also managed to fit in a day trip to Kutna Hora. I think day trips are great because you get to see something other than the main city which often doesn’t give you the whole feel of what a country is like. Kutna Hora is a small town about 1.5 hours outside of Prague. The main sight here that everyone goes to see is the Ossuary which is a church that is completely made out of bones except for the exterior. There is a chandelier hanging in the middle of the church that is made out of every bone in the human body. There is also several pyramids made out of bones that aren’t attached together, they are simply stacked one on top of the other and they stay like that- it is pretty cool. Apparently, the bones in the graveyard outside the church just got to be too much because of all the deaths due to the plague so some guy decided to make this bone house- kind of creepy but also pretty interesting. Kutna Hora is also just a really cute town to walk around because it was pretty but a lot less busy then Prague so it was nice to get out of the chaos of people for an afternoon. We also saw an amazing church called St. Barbra’s Cathedral- it is probably one of the nicest churches (from the outside) I have ever seen.

So I know this entry was a little long but, there was a lot to tell about Prague. So I hope you enjoyed. There is still of course a lot more to come, I am a little behind, as my Dad has noted to me. He says I should have them up sooner as I have so much spare time here with the lack of classes- they cancel them all the time here in France. I love it!

Take care

Lindsay

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Photos

At the Jazz Club
This jazz club was so much fun! The food and the entertainment were unreal!

Astronomical Clock
This is a 24 hour clock and calendar. It chimes every hour and the 12 Apostles go past the window.

Up at the Castle
The view from the castle district is beautiful.

Good Luck
Kaley and me getting some good luck by touching the monument on Charles Bridge.

Charles Bridge
A view of Charles Bridge from up in the tower.

Biggest Nightclub in Europe
Kaley and me and the biggest nightclub in Europe. It has 5 floors and each floor plays a different type of music. It was fun times!

The Dancing House
Some people think this is the biggest eyesore in Prague, others think it is an architectural masterpiece. I personally thought it was pretty cool.

Wenceslas Square
This is the long boulevard I was talking about where all the revolutions took place.

The Bone House
In Kutna Hora, a little town outside Prague there is a church that is made out of bones (well except for the exterior). This pic shows the chandelier inside the church that is made useing every bone in the human body.

Lounging
Kaley and me at the lounge in our hostel. I am having a Pilsner Urquell- a popular Czech beer.

Old Town Square
Kaley and me in Old Town Square

Us at the Marionette Show
Jaimie, Me and Kaley at the Marionette show. Great times!!!