After the first 10 hours on the bus, I had a two hour layover in Berlin. This really isn't overly significant other than the fact that they played this song: https://youtu.be/cHcunREYzNY when they dropped us off and I almost cried. I have MISSED Germany you guys. I didn't even get to go out and play around in Berlin, but hearing Deutschland spoken and then that song UGH. My heart. Thank God I go to Vienna next!
Oh and the drive was pretty.
Okay, moving forward. Five hours later, I had made it to Prague. At this point in my head we had some priorities:
1. Get to the hostel
2. EAT.
3. Wander
4. Shower off the past 16 hours of travel
5. SLEEP.
The metro here was right next to the bus station, so I was pumped that I'd be getting to check off number one pretty quickly. Unfortunately I was in SUCH a rush, that even though I got my ticket I forgot to get it validated. When I arrived at my final stop, a woman stopped me and I was fined 30EURO. Just to put this in perspective...I am tired, I am hungry, and I just got fined more then 2/3 of what it cost me for my ticket to Prague from Amsterdam (47 Euro). UGHHHH. Seriously so frustrating. After trying to weasel my way out of it with "'Oh my gosh I'm SOOO sorry" and "So sorry!! I didn't see anything, I didn't know" etc. I gave up given that the woman I was dealing with unfortunately wasn't going to give me any leeway. Also she barely spoke English. Damn. So off I went, pissed as hell to find my hostel. Bad news: it took 30 minutes longer than it should have. Good news: I saw a fair bit of places I wouldn't have otherwise.
Also, after I finally threw my stuff down and was able to rush out the door to find food, I started looking around. Prague is...stunning. Perhaps, I thought, it was because it was night, and the glow of the lights. Or, maybe I just like castles. Whatever the case, it was exactly what I needed. Thank you God for beautiful cities that make you feel like you're in a fairytale, if just for a brief moment.
The tower before the Charles Bridge
Looking back--a view from the Charles Bridge. That's Prague castle in the distance on the right.
All along Charles Bridge there are 30 beautiful statues that were created (although many have been replaced) between 1706 and 1714. They tell various stories from the life of Christ, of various saints, and Knights. There are even a few that are supposed to bring luck!
And across the bridge, an equally magical entrance to what I will fondly refer to as "touristville"
A statue of Charles IV
I mean guys, it's so beautiful.
After a bite to eat and a fair bit more wandering back to the hostel, I was DONE for the night.
Day 2:
Time to be a tourist! I started off my day with a tour of Old Town Prague and the Jewish Quarter. Let it be noted that when traveling I pretty much never take public transport unless absolutely necessary. Not because I'm worried about it, or money (though sometimes money), but because I think people miss SO much by taking cars or trams when they could be walking. So apologies for the extra photos that HAD to happen because I chose to walk everywhere and everything's pretty.
On my way to the tour I saw:
A small side section off the Bridge
The daytime view of my side of the bridge. (Still magical)
A delicious bakery
The municipal building (they're not afraid of being showy)
Once I found my way to Old Town I tried to stop taking so many pictures..I was going to be doing that soon anyways, right? Our tour guide was this lovely Czech guy named Vaclav, and he led our little group of 2 Americans, a Dutch couple, a Ukrainian couple and 2 Aussies (who I made friends with immediately, obviously).
Our first stop was Powder Tower, so named for the gunpowder it used to store. Not much to say here. It's super super old---11th century, and it separates the old town from the new town (aka where normal people live).
That's Powder Tower on the left. It's still connected to what at one point was a temporary home for the royal family. When someone was coronated after 1836--they would pass through this gate.
This is an etching on the outside of the St. James Basilica--inside were MUCH more interesting things.
Like this 400 year old mummified forearm--that supposedly belonged to a thief who tried to steal from the high Altar. Unfortunately for him, the Virgin Mary does not like to be stolen from, so she grabbed his arm and wouldn't let go. Eventually some monks had to cut it off and decided to hang it as a reminder to everyone else. (sorry for the super fuzzy pic--it was high up)
After taking all that in, we wandered over to Old Town square. This was basically the center of this portion of the city since forever. With building from every possible era--
Gothic Church of our Lady before Tyn behind a gothic, renaissance and a bit of a rococo building to the left. Fun fact: Einstein resided in Old Town Square when he lived in Prague!
The famous medieval (1410) Astronomical clock of Prague. It's BEAUTIFUL. It's the 3rd oldest in the world, and the oldest still operating. And every tourist in the city is sure to be there at the top of the hour to watch the twelve apostles go around in a circle at the top. But my favorite are the 4 figurines beside the top part of the clock. 3 of them give warning against lust, vanity and greed by shaking their heads side to side when the clock strikes, while the 3rd figure, a skeleton symbolizing death nods his head an rings a bell as if to say "every moment you are nearer to me." Ahh to be alive in the Middle Ages when everything was so cheery.
The Old-New Synagogue is Europe's oldest active synagogue having been built in 1270.
I won't go into immense detail, but Prague does not have an awesome history with its Jewish population. Bearing this in mind, I wandered through the largest Jewish Cemetery in Europe where Jews of the city were buried for over 300 years, until 1786.
Because Jewish custom does not allow people to abolish old graves, and they were very seldom given more space to dig, the people found other ways around this by piling dirt over old graves high enough to bury a new person.
Because of this, gravestones are EVERYWHERE. They're falling on top of one another and there's barely enough space for them to fit.
In this relatively small space (for 300 years worth of graves) over 100,000 people have been buried.
After taking all that in, I wandered home:
Saw the John Lennon Wall:
Grabbed a delicious lunch:
Then finally had some downtime at Chococafe: a paradise for chocolate lover's everywhere:
OH! And then I wandered around the castle at night because...why not?
Day 3:
I properly explored Prague castle--unfortunately most of the pics are on my PROPER camera, so I'll do a post-trip post of the best ones.
The golden road, where people used to live and have shops in the castle---SUPER small doors. #classic
Woah. It actually looked like a bird.
St. Vitus Cathedral
The stained glass was unreal.
Then I got some classic Czech lunch by eating a few open faced sandwiches:
Then I tried some gingerbread--it tastes NOTHING like American gingerbread. Way way better.
Finally, today I spent pretty much chillin in coffee shops, eating good food, spending some time with God and seeing some random last minute sights.
One of the top reasons I could live in Prague:
The most delicious and cheap dessert/snack that's ever existed: Trdelnik.
Here's a few shops where it's made:
The Hanging man:
Sculpture of Sigmund Freud hanging from a pole trying to decide whether or not to let go. Freud really struggled with a fear of death.
Brunch(ish) food at Cafe Savoy:
The dancing building--they're supposed to look like Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire--do you see it?
And finally, Praha at sunset. With a view of old town and Prague castle in the very back right.
Prague castle and Charles Bridge at night.
There are a few stories I haven't thrown in, but I'm tired and let's be honest, pics are more fun anyways. So goodnight to you all! I'm off to sleep...Vienna in the morning!
