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Prague during the day |
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Prague at night |
Old Town Square |
The Astronomical Clock |
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The next morning, after an uneventful train ride, we awoke to find ourselves in Prague.
Prague is a truly beautiful city. Founded in the 10th or 11th century, it sits on the Vltava (Elbe) river, the west side of the city straddling some small hills. Under Communist rule until the Berlin Wall came down in 1989, Prague is doing a good job of "catching up" with the West - trouble is, I don't know if that's good or bad.
Prague and Hamburg vie for the title of my favourite European city, albeit for different reasons.
I was last here in 1995, and at that time Prague was already showing signs of Western influence. You could tell that the locals, particularly the merchants and others involved in the tourist trade, were trying desperately to turn Prague into a "comfortable" place; trying to make it "less foreign". Even so, you were still obviously in the middle of an Eastern European country, and that only added to the city's charm and personality. But now, ten years into Capitalism, the city has become even more Westernized than it was in '95. Almost everyone speaks English, and at times you almost feel like you're in "Prague Land" at Disneyland. I hope the city isn't ruined by tourism.
During our first evening in Prague, we went to the State Opera House (an incredible building - the inside was covered in ceiling frescos and gilded details) for a performance of the ballet "Giselle". Turns out it was the star ballerina's last performance of her career, and she received about a dozen curtain calls. All that for a $21 ticket (3rd row off-center)!
Our second day started out with sightseeing around Prague Castle, St. Vitus Cathedral and the surrounding area on the West side of the river. We saw some phenomenal architecture, the pictures of which can't really do them justice. That evening, after a thunderstorm, we went on a fun, goofy walking tour and Angela & Adam proceeded to do battle with a bottle of vodka. I should note that since our arrival in Prague, we had seen scores of Scots dressed in kilts running around town. Turns out they were there for the Scotland vs. Prague football match that week, and needless to say, the pubs were filled with drinking, singing Scotsmen. After our walking tour, we came across a pub filled with said Scots, so we decided to become part of it all. The Scots were just in a great mood and having a great time, and every so often they'd all start singing. After drinking a beer and evading a drunk guy making kissy faces, we started talking to a bunch of the Scots, and they were really cool. So cool, in fact, that they invited us to come along with them to the dance club after the Czech police closed down the pub and kicked us out. We hung out there for many hours drinking beer, vodka & Red Bull (the current hip drink in Europe), and brandy. It was just a whole lot of fun.
Tuesday we went to the old Jewish cemetary in Prague. It is the most beautiful cemetary I've ever seen. It's very large, and is lush with greenery - grass covered lanes lined with trees, beds of ivy - except for the tombstones, it looks like an idyllic country setting.
Prague Summary - Several mobile phones, hotels are the same or cheaper than at home, everything else costs less than home.
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The Royal Gardens |
St. Vitus Cathedral |
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