Prague, Czech Republic
Praha. "The Paris of Eastern Europe." At least I think so! When I visited the city over the summer with my choir, I absolutely fell in love with every inch of the place. It is an enchantingly medieval city filled with character and magic in every door, window, and cobblestone. It is unexpected. I promised myself I would go back again and again for the rest of my life. So far, I've kept that promise.
As a group excursion for class, we left for Prague Friday morning and traveled to Česky Budejočive. It is a small town with a charming square and some awesome pizza. I also wondered into a church there and was not disappointed.
Once we arrived in Prague, we were all a little stir crazy from the 5 hour bus ride so we had a blast taking pictures in the Castle complex on the ledge overlooking the city. Our hostel was gorgeous, with painted ceiling beams from the 13th century. We had an incredible dinner (check it out under Eat), and then we went out that night to see the city. Prague is known for its night life, so some of us did a pub crawl and some went to a club.
I was so happy to be back! And, I got a good picture of the Astronomical Clock on the square as we explore the city after dark!
The next morning, we toured the Prague Castle as a group. It really is multiple palaces, a cathedral, and a servants' quarter all on top of a hill. It is massive, and there was something around every corner. The museum houses so many treasures, including the largest gun collection in Europe, endless portraits of the Hapsburgs, and ORIGINAL manuscripts of Mozart's arrangement of Handel's "Messiah," Haydn's "Creation," and Beethoven's "Ninth Symphony." You can imagine I was geeking out and crying and taking endless pictures. The gothic St. Vitus' cathedral is absolutely magnificent, with gorgeous stained glass, the final resting place of St. John Nepomuk and St. Wenseslas, and an incredible peaceful statue of Christ that I could not bring myself to walk away from.
After exploring the castle, a group of us went to the church of Our Lady Victorious where the Infant of Prague is venerated. I said prayers there for my dad who has a strong devotion to the Infant. We then visited the John Lennon Wall, which was vastly different from when I was there over the summer. That was a very moving experience and a fun one, too since it was completely different! We then walked across the Charles Bridge and enjoyed the sights of the city. We walked through the square and stopped in the Church of Our Lady of Tyn (pictures were not allowed). We got dinner with our group, and then had an absolute blast the the 5-story club on the river. It is the biggest club in Europe, and we had so much fun dancing and being together!
It's said that if you rub this dog on the Charles Bridge, then you will come back to Prague. It seems like its true!
Sunday morning we visited the Jewish quarter. We saw two Synagogues and the Old Cemetery. The quarter is well preserved because during WWII, Hilter did not want to destroy it in order to have lasting proof of the "extinct Jewish race." The cemetery was fascinating because the Jews of Prague were not allowed to bury their dead any where else. So, for every gravestone, dozens upon dozens of bodies were buried underneath. The graveyard itself was a few meters higher than street level because of the Jewish people having to bury up rather than out. After our tour, we traveled to Česky Krumlov where we toured the second largest castle complex in the Czech Republic. The town was very enchanting, and I have decided I love all things Czech.
