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Published: February 28th 2009
There's four distinct things I learnt about Prague. One, the architecture is varied and beautiful and even more so in the snow. Two, their absinthe is stronger than meths. Three, their food is so high in carbs it's no wonder the Czechs have the highest rate of colon cancer in the world. And four, the people have an amusing dry cynicism and make no excuses if they can't speak English. And it's actually very lucky I'm able to tell you that, as we nearly didn't make it to the Czech Republic...
Cat, Joel and I left work early for Gatwick Airport, yet somehow all our trains got delayed by electrical failures, engineering faults and track trespassers. To cut a chaotic story short, after convincing EasyJet to print Joel and I boarding passes (because Cat had our online ones), then queue jumping through security and an all-out sprint through the terminal, we managed to make it to the gate before the plane had boarded. Luckily for Cat we were flying on EasyJet, as their usual delays left just enough time for her to make it too!
The bus ride from Prague Airport to our hostel was so pretty, with everything
blanketed in snow. Still a little shellshocked after our check-in nightmare, we were pleased to find a bar across the road from Miss Sophies, where we settled in for a few Budvars and Joel tried his first absinthe. Our friends Laura, Phil and his sister Gillian - who'd arrived earlier, joined us, and 'Banditos' officially became our local.
Our hostel was located between the Old and New Quarters, which made it really handy for tubes and trams and only a 15 minute walk to the Square from where we started all our tours. We kicked off our first day with a fascinating four-hour walking tour that circumnavigated all the main sites from the Astronomical Clock on Tyn Church, through the Jewish Quarter and Cemetery, past the Old New Synagogue and Rudolfinium through to Charles Bridge where we caught a tram up to Prague Castle and Saint Vitus Cathedral.
Prague was largely unscathed in WWII as many of the Nazi Party were based there, which is why much of its architecture is in such good condition. We picked a timely weekend to be there, as it was the 40th anniversary of the death of Jan Palach - a student
who essentially burnt himself in protest against a Soviet invasion and Communism. It was so interesting to find out about the Thirty-Year War in the fifteenth century, sparked by Defenestration (throwing someone out the window as a political protest) through to major historical events in our lifetime - including the Velvet Revolution in 1989, when democracy was won, and the Velvet Divorce in 1993 - the peaceful divide from Slovakia.
That evening we met for some drinks at Phil and Laura's apartment before heading out for dinner and cocktails, and on to a bar overlooking the Vltava River. This is where I first experienced the 'delights' of absinthe. I don't think any alcohol has left me quite so breathless before. I can't vouch for it, but I'm sure that's what meths tastes like.
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