Prague, Czech it out

So I have to stuff the last two or three days or so into one post.  Whattt??!  Yeah, it turns out that I haven't had as much time to update since arriving in Prague.

So once off the train from Berlin we have a driver waiting for us.  Talk about a huge change.  I go from waking miles to avoid a metro fare to having a driver pick us up directly from the station.  Nice.

Before I forget, I should make a list of things you should bring to Prague to ensure an industrious and efficient visit.  I will touch upon this list as I go along describing the trip.

1. Sharpie or spray paint
2. A lock
3. Paper and pencil for the Jewish cemetery

Okay, so that isn't too long of a list, but it is important.  Like in Paris, there is a bridge (this one is a lot smaller) full of locks symbolizing love and throwing away the key.  Right next to this bridge is the John Lennon wall, a wall that is covered in graffiti calling for love and peace and living in a yellow submarine.

Okay, so our driver takes us to the apartment.  This place is nice.  A large flat screen.  A iMac on the desk.  Nice hardwood floors.  Really comfortable mattresses. Ikea everything.  Way nicer than a hostel.  How am I supposed to go back?

After walking around a bit we stumble upon the old town square.  It is probably one of the nicest squares I have seen.  Really, Prague is one of the nicest cities I have been to.  All the architecture is so old and really is something.  The city is beautiful.  Gothic and renaissance and neogothic and neoclassical and modern all coming together for a distinctly different city.  I finally sense that I am no longer in western Europe.  Anyways, the square has this really nice astronomical clock on a large tower, some nice buildings, and most importantly, a very prominent gothic church that towers over the square.  It really is impressive.  And since it is Easter, there was also an Easter market on this square among others.  The market consisted of small stands selling easter eggs and twig whips, random knickknacks  and food like sausage, pastries, potato pancakes and grilled smoked cheese.

Our free tour left from here.  Filip, this young Czech guy brought us around the city.  Apparently here they love King Charles IV.  He's the guy that built the famous bridge, the cathedral inside the castle, the first university, probably one of the theaters or opera houses, and a lot more.  Basically he made everything that draws people to Prague... except maybe the beer.

It's hard exactly to say everything that I saw.  There is just too much.  We saw the Jewish Quarter and its synagogues including the cemetery that is about 12 meters high and holds between 12000 and 100000 bodies.  The plot of land is no bigger than a standard size class room.  It is apparently the inspiration for the Holocaust Memorial in Berlin.  We spent the rest of the day eating from stands at the market and walking along the river and up to the castle. 

The next day we slept in a bit and headed to the old square to watch the astronomical clock.  Let me tell you, it is impressive... or at least Meghan thinks so. First a skeleton rings a bell.  Then some sinners shake their heads.  Then a rooster crows.  Then a trumpeter trumpets.  This happens every hour on the hour between 9 and 5 or so.  Pretty high tech stuff eh?  Well in the 15th or 16th or whatever century it first was made this was a pretty big deal.  Apparently this was voted one of the most disappointing attractions in Europe.  This was Meghan's favorite thing in Prague.  Right.

We spent a little more time at the market and then it was time for the castle tour.  Fun fact: the Prague castle complex is the biggest in the world.  In Potsdam each emperor would just his own palace.  In Prague they just added on to the existing one.  Now the president lives and works there, but let me tell you, this place is huge.  It has a gigantic cathedral on the inside.  I will post pictures when I am back in Santander, but there is something a little off about this cathedral.  You don't really notice it when you are far away or just not looking for it, but the top of the tower on the cathedral just looks plain dumb.  The tower is all gothic except the last part at the top which is renaissance.  Once you know this you just notice it all the time.

The rest of the castle was nice and pretty extensive, but the best was saved for last.  We stopped at this great monastery, the Strahov Monastery, where they brew their own beer.  The Richards and the Wachtls sat down to enjoy a well deserved beer after wandering the grounds of the castle complex.

After a small snafu of taking the tram the wrong way to the outskirts of town and struggling to have enough money for the trip back, my family went to a restaurant for great Czech food.

Easter Sunday was very leisurely.  My dad and I took a morning walk to see the Dancing Houses, this really modern structure partially designed by Frank Gehry, and walk along the river.  We then reunited with the rest of the family and walked across the Charles Bridge.  There are certain things you are supposed to rub while walking across the bridge, and we rubbed them all.  We rubbed one statue to ensure our return to Prague.  We rubbed another plaque for good luck.  Finally we rubbed one statue for seemingly no reason at all but to ensure ourselves something extra from Prague.

Once across the bridge we walked to the John Lennon wall and by the padlock bridge that I mentioned earlier.  Yeah so I did that.  Then we went to the Jewish Quarter where number 3 comes in.  The myth is that if you write a wish and place it in a specific gravestone the wish will come true. Well the line was king and it was a little pricey so we didn't end up going in.  Instead we hiked up a hill to see the metronome that replaced the large Lenin statue that used to watch over all of Prague.  After a while we just hopped from pub to pub to play cards, drink beer and eat dinner.  A perfect end to our stint in Prague.


I want to mention, I know I switch tenses all the time.  I even do it within the same paragraph.  I hope none of you care too much.  I also hope I don't change tenses in the same sentence, but wouldn't be surprised if I did.  Also, I blame any misspellings I have had lately on the iPad.  It is hard to type on an iPad, but luckily convenient enough to allow me to update my blog almost daily.