I absolutely love Prague. It has been my favorite place I have visited in Europe. Its relaxed bohemian atmosphere is welcoming and relaxing. Its colorful buildings are aglow at night and so interesting architecturally during the day that you never know where to look. I could wander down its cobblestone streets all day and night and never get bored. Everything is so old! The Charles Bridge is 654 years old – that’s 134 years before Columbus decided to see if he could get to India a little quicker.
Prague is divided into 4 quarters – Old Town, New town, the Castle Quarter, and the Little Quarter. May favorite were the Old Town and the Little Quarter. Old Town square is a large plaza in the middle of the oldest section of Prague, the city center. While we were there it was decorated for Easter with red tents selling traditional Czech goodies and bohemian Easter crafts like painted eggs that you hang on your trees. Old Town Square is surrounded by some of the most important sights in Prague- the astronomical clock (600 years old) and the Adam and Eve towers (likewise ancient) to name a few.
The first time we watched the astronomical clock ring it was a huge disappointment. We expected something spectacular – we totally missed it. There is a man (real life human) who plays a trumpet at the end of the hour and statues on the clock are supposed to move when the clock hands hit the hour mark. The first time we watched the clock nothing really happened and the trumpeter sounded more like an elephant in pain than anything else. One our last night in Prague we tried again and this time the clock show was really something to see. There are 4 statues to the right and left of the clock face representing the fears of the medieval world 600 years ago when the clock was made – vanity, greed, death, and infidelity. This statues move when the clock strikes the next hour. Also little windows above the clock face open and the apostles appear and move in a circle. Then at the end of the show the trumpeter sounds his horn and this time it was impressive. Maybe the first time we heard him he had had a little too much of the delicious Czech beer? It is cheaper the water in Prague.
The traditional Czech food is delicious. We had sausages and potatoes cooked with cheese and sauerkraut – yum! And my personal favorite was kurtoskalacs, or chimney cakes. Sweet dough is spiraled around a metal cylinder and cooked over a bed of hot coals. After cooked it is rolled in cinnamon, sugar, and almonds then handed to the lucky snacker while still warm. A cheap and delicious Easter snack!
If you know me well you probably know that pretzels and bagels could both be considered one my main food groups. Well in Prague I got both! Bohemian bagel was started us by an American living in Prague and filled the bagel shaped hole in my heart. I ate 3 (over 3 days…). Of course I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to grad a fresh soft pretzel from the red tents while strolling through Old Town Square. My tummy was very, very happy on this trip! We ate at a local hangout called Atmosphere that Brittany’s boyfriend told us about. The food and the place were both great and it was the perfect end to our last night in Prague.
Prague also comes with its own joke. Czech! As in “let’s get Ice cream?” “Czech!” or “did you bring the map?” “Czech!” Needless to say we probably exercised that one a few too many times… One last little random thing to let you know about – I love clocks. I have tons of them in my Bloomington apartment and we have one in every room at home in Indy. Well in Sevilla there are no clocks – no one cares what time it is because no one expects you to be on time. That drives me nuts! Prague has clocks, clocks, and more clocks! I loved it! Prague is called the City of a 1000 spires and most all of those spires have clocks! It’s the simple things in life that make me so utterly happy!
Prague’s nickname is the Golden City and it is well deserved. The city is beautiful to behold day or night. I would love to come back some day. I have never seen a city I loved more than Prague.
I hope you enjoy the photos – I loved taking them!
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