Czech Me Out - I went to Prague!

(I apologize for the tardiness)

Two weeks ago my parents arrived in Switzerland - just in time to hop a plane to Prague, Czech Republic. After living in Switzerland for 10 months (queue the gasps of astonishment) and traveling with a variety of types of people and sometimes even alone, it is interesting to see the differences in the ways certain people travel. For example, my host family makes spontaneous day trips but ultimately seeks relaxation with a splash of adventure here and there. When I travel alone I book a train ticket and figure all the rest out when I get there, including my accommodations. My parents, on the other hand, plan and research months in advance spending hours reading about the history and sites before even stepping out of their living room. When we got to Prague wherever we ventured my mother, tour guide in hand, was able to share some very interesting tidbits along the way. Unbeknownst to me Prague actually has a fascinating history so this blog will be a little more focused on what I learned about the things we saw than other travel blogs I have written in the past.

Prague from the Old Town Hall Tower

First, I would like to set the tone of the trip with a funny story about the immediate 5 minutes after getting off the plane in Prague. I have been looking to buy a new perfume for some time now and I finally got a great suggestion from a friend of a rare perfume that has gotten rave reviews. Well, being a rare perfume it is also an expensive perfume, so duty free was my best opportunity to hopefully find and purchase this new scent. I was beyond lucky to find a bottle in the duty free shop. Unfortunately, the currency of Czech Crona means nothing to me so I simply asked my dad what the exchange rate was. He said, "How much is it?" I told him, "1,659 Crona," to which he replied, "Great, now divide that by 13."

Thanks Dad, but if I could divide 1,659 by 13 in my head I would be an architect, not an interior designer.

Old Town Hall

Anyways, we arrived in Prague on a Wednesday morning and after the help of a nice Albanian man living in the area we found our way to the city center and then to our hotel. Prague is divided into four distinct quadrants: Old Town, New Town, The Little Quarter, and the Jewish Quarter. Seeing as we stayed in Old Town, we ventured there first. We stayed at Hotel Josef, which was a swanky mondern hotel about a five minute walk from Old Town Square.

Old Town Square is famous for lots of buildings but most known for the old astronomical clock on the Old Town Hall. Built in 1490, the clock does not show the time, but actually the supposed orbits of the sun and moon around the earth (idiots).

The next thing that we went to see was the Old Jewish Quarter. In the Middle Ages all of the Jews in Prague were confined to live in one enclosed ghetto of the city. In the 16th century all of the Jews were required to wear yellow circles as a mark of shame. It wasn't until 1850 that the area was officially incorporated as a part of Prague. Almost all of it was torn down for lack of sanitation reasons, but a few significant buildings were protected.

The Pinkas Synagogue is probably one of the most tragically moving buildings I have ever been inside. The synagogue serves as a memorial for the Jewish Czechoslovak citizens that were imprisioned in various concentration camps and later transported to Nazi extermination camps. The names of almost 80,000 people are alphabetically inscribed on the walls along with the date of birth and last known date that they were seen alive in Prague. Upstairs there was an exhibit of drawings made by the children at the Terezin concentration camp. (I respected the no photography rule in the synagogue so you should look at the pictures on google images. It is worth seeing.)

After wandering through the synagogue we made our way outside to the Jewish cemetary that was the only permitted burial ground for Jews for over 300 years. Because of the lack of space some of the people had to be burried on top of each other (sometimes 12 layers deep). Additionally, it has close to 12,000 gravestones crammed into the small yard. While walking through the gravestones it was hard not to notice the small coins, stones, candles, and folded up notes that people left on the gravestones as prayers for the lives lost during the holocaust and those burried in the graveyard.




















We visited three other synagogues all housing the world's largest and most important collection of Jewish artifacts. After an afternoon filled with nothing but tragic Jewish history we stopped at a restaurant for a much needed beer and then after dinner turned in for the night for our next adventure.

In the morning we were on a mission to see the Prague castle and the Charles Bridge. The Charles Bridge connects the Old Town with the Little Quarter and functions today as a pedestrian street lined with statues and sale booths with art and jewelry.

The Charles Bridge

Each statue on the bridge is different and depicts mostly kings and royalty along with pivital Biblical figures and stories. The one that I found to be the most moving was the statue of the cricifixion (but interestingly enough, not for obvious reasons). For about 200 years this was the only statue on the bridge. The guilded Christ dates back to 1629 and the Hebrew words "Holy Holy Holy Lord" were paid for by a Jew as punishment for blasphemy (pictured below on the left). To make a Jew pay for the golden Christian words I found beyond tragic.




















We crossed the Charles Bridge and headed up to the Prague Castle just in time for the big changing of the guards at noon. The whole thing lasted about 20 minutes and included a little instrumental part which made standing in the hot sun a little more bearable. Once inside the castle walls we headed off to explore St. Vitus' Cathedral, the Royal Palace, and the Golden Lane.

The Changing of the Guards at the Prague Castle

St. Vitus' Cathedral is one of the more impressive of the many impressive buildings in Prague. The church began construction in 1344 but wasn't completed until the 19th and 20th centuries. (I know that construction always runs behind schedule, but I find 7 centuries to be a bit ridiculous). The exterior I thought was a little more impressive than the interior because of the unusual spires (the pointy things on top of the towers with the spikes for those not architecturally savvy). The interior was a little less interesting especially due to "technical problems" that closed the tour of the crypt and St. Wenceslas Chapel. (Please tell me, what possible "technical problems" could there be on a 667 year old building?)

The Crests of the clerks who worked here from 1561-1774

Next we went and saw the Royal Palace. Built in the 11th century, the palace held such events as the public market, balls, and even indoor jousting. It also functioned as the location where the law was enforced. One of my favorite stories about the castle, although grim, is the Defenestration. For those of you unfamiliar with the word, in German, "fenster" is the word for "window." It shouldn't take you too long to figure out what it means when someone is "de-windowed," but here is the story: In 1618 more than 100 Protestant nobles marched into the palace to protest against the succession of the throne to some duke (I am sure you care about his name even less than I do). The two Catholic Governers appointed by the intolerant duke were then confronted and thrown out of the east window along with their secretaries. Falling about 50 ft. they survived the fall by landing in a huge pile of horse poop below. The event signaled the begin of the 30 Years War and the survival of the people was thought to be intervention of angels. (In reading about the various sites around Prague, it is amazing how many people were thrown out of windows, and off buildings and bridges).

The Window

The Fall

After my guilty chuckle over the people that got "de-windowed" (it's ok to laugh because they survived, right?), we headed through some more windy streets before coming to the Golden Lane. This street is along the outer castle wall where small cottages were built into the wall in the late 16th century for the castle's guards and gunners. Today some have been restored to show what the homes may have looked like while other cottages are used as souvenir shops.

After venturing through all there was to see in the castle (including me dragging my mom down to the dungeon to see medieval torture divices), we decided to meander our way back towards the Charles Bridge to find some authentic Czech food. I ordered rabbit and practically licked my plate clean (my apologies to Peter Rabbit and Cottontail). We wandered through the streets, checked out some classic tourist shops so I could purchase a beer mug for my growing collection, and then headed off to bed.

Friday was our last day in Prague before our early evening flight back to Zürich. We decided to check out all the cathedrals in Old Town that we had skipped before, including climbing to the top of the Old Town Hall tower to see Prague from above. We were also lucky enough to watch all the people below gather to watch the clock chime noon and hear the trumpet player play his song. It turns out that I am "that tourist" who got so far in his way that he actually had to ask me to move. After my utter embarassment we headed off to see St. Wenceslas Square, which was like any over popularized tourist location in a large city. Designer stores, tourist shops, banks, and of course, McDonalds.



We may or may not have eaten lunch at McDonalds, but I cannot disclose any further information. Ok, I had the Big Mac...and a McFlurry (with Toblerone chocolate!).

People gathered to watch the clock

Me in the Old Town Hall Tower (in the background: Church of Our Lady before Tyn)

Our trip had come to an end and, thanks to my Mommy and Daddy, I learned more about the history of Prague than I have learned about the history of any other city I have visited in Europe combined. While it may not be completely my style to rock the Eyewitness Travel book everywhere I go, I am grateful for the experience I had traveling with two of the world's most wonderful people. Without them I wouldn't be the woman I am today, nor have the strength or means to live abroad for an entire year. I love you Mommy and Daddy!!