So, still on a high from my great birthday the day before, I got up at 6 to catch my flight to Prague. It's a prety easy flight from Amsterdam - only about 90 minutes. I left Amsterdam in rain, and arrived to Prague in... rain! Luckily, Friday was the only day that rained there. I could get used to the whole sunshine thing - I'm hoping that it catches on in Amsterdam soon! Rain is like, SO last year! :) Michelle was catching a bus from the city her office is in, and I had to figure out a bus/metro combo to get into the city, but we found each other without a hitch, thanks to the miracle of text messaging - what did we do without this?!? :)
We had a yummy Czech lunch - me, the same Goulash I had the last time, and Michelle, some schnitzal and potato salad... and Czech beer! :) One thing that was a little disappointing... the last time I was here, the exchange rate was 25 Czech crowns to one US dollar, and now it's only 14... so everything was quite a bit more than it had been the last time, which was kind of a bummer. Beer was still only $2/pint, so that's good! :)
Michelle with her first of several Czech beers during the trip
We spent most of the first afternoon in the Jewish part of town, Josevof, which was an area that I hadn't gotten to visit when I came three years ago. Prague once had Europe's largest Jewish population - 110,000. However, after WWII, only 10,000 returned. These numbers are still so shocking to me... In the Jewish part of town, there is a museum made up of six synagogues, each of which tells a different part of Jewish history in Prague. It was pretty fascinating. The most impressive asthetically was the Spanish Synagogue, which was decorated in a Moorish style.
The Inside of the Spanish Synagogue
One of the most striking was the Pinkas Synagogue, which is a memorial to the victims of the Holocaust. The names of all of the victims are written on the wall... every inch is covered, and it's a fairly large place... very impactful. :(
Names Written on the Wall in Pinkas Synagogue
After this tour, we went to the Old Town Square to relax a bit and to see the sights there. It's a really beautiful area, with two beautiful churches and the famous astronomical clock as the centerpieces.
Me with Tyn Church on the Old Town Square
The Famous Astronomical Clock on Old Town Square
We took a dinner cruise on the river that runs through town that evening. The highlight was definitely the cute 80-something man that played the accordian for us during the 4 hour trip. :)
Michelle on the cruise boat with Prague in the background
Prague Castle by Night
The next day was full of beautiful sights. We started out by walking across the famous Charles Bridge. This bridge was built in the 14th century under the direction of Charles IV, and it is just NOW getting a facelift... luckily, there wasn't too much scaffolding about, so we could see most everything.
Michelle rubbing the lucky plaque on the Charles Bridge... you supposedly get one wish in this lifetime. I made one too. ;)
After buying some local art from the artisans on the Bridge, we made our way up to the Prague Castle to tour both the castle and the impressive cathedral up on the hill. The cathedral is honestly the more impressive of the two, but both are impressive in their own way.
That evening, we had dinner at a nice Italian place. It was a nice dinner, but ended up really awkwardly... so, I've read and experienced that tipping is really not done in Europe, and I had remembered that when I was here the last time that we really didn't tip. BUT... everywhere we went this time, the waiter let us know that service wasn't included, and at this particular restaurant, when we got up without leaving a tip, the waiter followed us out saying "No tip? Bad service?". I think they know that Americans tend to tip too much, and so they like to try to scam us. But, regardless, it was really awkward. I just got the heck out of there! Very strange!
Michelle and I before being accosted by the waiter
We didn't really have much planned that night, except we knew we wanted to get gelato. On the way to the place that sells gelato, we passed this "Black Light Theater" that looked kind of interesting. Turns out they do shows, and the next one was starting in 45 minutes. So, we got our gelato, enjoyed it, and then saw the show. Honestly, it was just okay. I feel like I could have enjoyed it way more under the influence of drugs! ;) It was a lot of dancers wearing neon outfits dancing across the stage. So, maybe a little too "artistic" for this cowgirl.
Today was my last day in Prague. We had done most of the highlights of the city, so we decided to take a side trip to Kutna Hora, which was once the second most important city in the Czech Republic because of its silver mines. We got to see St. Barbara Cathedral (the patron saint of miners), a silver mining museum, and, finally, the famous "Bone Church". This church was once determined to be built on holy ground, so everyone wanted to be buried there. There came a point when there were so many people buried there that a monk found bones sticking out of the ground, so he began to collect them and pile them in the church. Eventually, an artist came and assembled them all into things like chandeliers, family crests, etc. It is said that the bones from more than 40,000 people make up the decorations in the church. Very spooky, but kind of cool!
St. Barbara Cathedral and the Jesuit University in Kutna Hora
A man demonstrating how to make silver coins
The Bone Church
Chandelier in the Bone Church
Spooky!!
Michelle and I parted ways after the tour arrived back to Prague, and I caught my quick flight home. I'm taking another trip this week... this one for work. I have to go to Paris to train with one of our financial analysts there. I'll be there Thursday and Friday, and then I'm going to stay for Saturday as well to do a few more of the things on my "must do" list in Paris. Should be a fun trip!
2 comments:
Wow! what a trip- the bone thing is CREEPY- but i love the pic of the castle at night- it is beautiful!
The bone church is a little freaky!
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