Back In The USSR: Czech Republic

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I recently went to visit my friend Joanna from GW who is currently living in Prague, Czech Republic. The golden city didn't suffer a lot of damage during WWII like a number of other European cities. Consequently, Prague still has a lot of beautiful, old architecture. Walking around the city feels like you are in a living fairy tale. The first thing I did was tour the Jewish quarter. Prague was known for its influential Jewish community and the area is full of breathtaking synagogues. Unfortunately, much of the community was disrupted during Nazi occupation during WWII. The concentration camp Terezin was located just outside the city.
After the Jewish quarter, I spent the remainder of my afternoon walking around old town. I eventually sat down in a cute park where I had an interesting conversation with a Czech woman. Although I do not speak Czech and she spoke no English we were somehow able to communicate. She identified me as a "foreigner" and alluded to the fact that I was lucky there was "sunshine" during my visit. Even with the language barrier Czech people are really friendly!
I eventually met up with my friend Joanna after she was finished her day teaching English at a Czech high school. Jo gave me her personal tour of Prague and the two neighborhoods she has lived in. The following day we spent seeing all the typical tourist attractions. We visited Prague Castle which is the largest castle complex in Europe. Inside the castle we climbed the church's bell tower and had an amazing view of the city. We also went to another church to see this statue of the infant Jesus which the Czech people dress up in different outfits. Supposedly, it is a large pilgrimage site in Eastern Europe. Next, she showed me the Lennon wall. I was expecting "Lenin" as in the communist leader. Instead, the wall is dedicated to John Lennon, the Beatle, and his lyrics promoting peace. As I learned later that night in a Czech pub, the Czech Republic absolutely loves Beatles music and American music that was banned during communist rule. I finished my tour of Prague with a stroll across the picturesque Charles Bridge.
On Sunday, Jo, her roommate and myself went on to the town Karlovy Vary near the German border. The town is a spa town popular among Russians and Germans. There are all these fountains with spring water in the town. People walk around with glasses and drink the water. The water is steaming hot, salty and tastes disgusting. It is suppose to have great medicinal healing powers. It was amusing to watch everyone walk around sipping on their hot, salt water. I later learned that the town was used in the movies James Bond Casino Royale and Last Holiday with Queen Latifah. It was definitely one of the most interesting places I have visited this semester.

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