We traveled to Bohemia for a long weekend and loved it! Although we were able to see and do a lot, there were still some things that we missed. We would love to come back here again.
We took off on a train from Vienna on Thursday afternoon and got settled into the apartment in Prague by that evening. Griffin got introduced to the term “manspreading” when I described how the man sitting next to me on the train was sitting.
Our Airbnb hostess shared the names of some good restaurants nearby and we were pleasantly surprised to hear of a Mexican restaurant. Since we had been craving Mexican food, we decided that was where we needed to go!
Prices in Prague were fantastic, so we didn’t feel like we had to worry about whether or not to eat out when we were in the city. We had a full breakfast one morning and spent less than $20.00 for 5 of us!
We loved our time in Prague and took a ton of pictures because it was just so beautiful! Unfortunately, our camera has a malfunction with the shutter, so there is a black bar on most of our pictures. This started in Budapest and we discovered what the problem was after some research.
Prague Castle (Hradcany) is on the hill across from the main parts of the city. We were able to see bits and pieces of the Changing of the Guards ceremony, but it was pretty crowded and the umbrellas obstructed our view once it started raining. We visited St. Vitus Cathedral, the Royal Palace, St. George’s Basilica, and Zlatá ulička (the Golden Road) on our first day. One of the houses on the Golden Road contained replicas of armor and a small area featuring medieval torture weapons. We threatened Griffin that we were going to add those tools to our repertoire of discipline techniques! Curt and Griffin also visited the Toy Museum while the rest of us relaxed a little longer at an outside cafe. The views of the city from the castle are fantastic! We came back to this area again to visit the museum at the Schwarzenberg Palace on our second full day in the city. We were there at noon, so we got a little better view of the Changing of the Guards from one of the windows! Although there are two other palaces at the castle that now function as museums, we chose the Schwarzenberg since it contains some military artifacts.
In Mala Strana (Lesser Town) we went up to the observation tower on Petrin Hill to get a view of the city. The tower is a replica of the Eiffel Tower, but 5 times smaller. The observatory is also located on this hill, so we were able to visit it while we were there. Since it was daylight, we had an opportunity to view the sun through the telescope. The observatory also had some meteorites, gems and minerals, and hands on exhibits, so we all had a good time. We goofed off in the Hall of Mirrors and on the playground up there before heading back down on the funicular. While we were making our way over to the other side of the Vltava River, we ran across a strange statue of three huge, faceless, bronze babies. These babies were very popular as people couldn’t help but to climb upon them and pose for pictures. Of course we got in on the action! We enjoyed getting a little different view of the city by walking along the riverbank. It was nice and peaceful and the perfect place for the Harmony statue that we found there. We came back to Mala Strana on another day to see St. Nicholas Church where Mozart played the organ in 1887 on a visit to the city. Also in Mala Strana is the Lennon Wall. John Lennon never visited Prague, but that didn’t dissuade fans from decorating this wall after his death. The communist government painted over the graffiti, but people continued to paint the wall and eventually the government gave up. Today, people are still painting on the wall and we happened upon someone adding their contribution while we were there.
One of the main attractions in the city is the Karluv Most (Charles Bridge), a 14th century stone bridge that links both sides of the city. It was commissioned by King Charles IV and was originally built for knight tournaments, and is now a pedestrian bridge and popular spot for performers and artisans. We walked across it a few times while visiting the city. There are 75 statues lining the bridge; one of them is supposed to bring good luck if you rub it and make a wish, so Griffin stopped to do this on one of our trips. Stare Mestro (Old Town), is on the other side of the bridge from the castle and Mala Strana. We stopped in Old Town Square to view the Astronomical Clock and watch the Procession of the Apostles that occurs every hour. One evening we went up into the Powder Tower, one of the old gates that surrounded Old Town, for a different view of the city. We were able to see some of Old Town and New Town from up here. The Old Town area also contains Josefov (the Jewish Quarter) and we were able to spend a short amount of time there on our last day in the city. It is the best preserved complex of Jewish monuments in all of Europe. Adolf Hitler wanted to preserve it to create a “Museum of an Extinct Race”, so he sent Jewish artifacts here from other occupied countries. We visited the Pinkas Synagogue, which serves as a Memorial to the Jews of Bohemia and Moravia. There are 80,000 names of Jews that were murdered during the Holocaust painted on the wall of the synagogue. It was a very powerful experience to see all of these names. I saw many surnames that I am familiar with and couldn’t help but wonder if these were relatives of people that I know today. It was also very sobering to think about all the people that I know that would have suffered during the Holocaust if it occurred today. I’ve had these thoughts before, of course, but they were especially intense during this visit. There was an exhibit upstairs that focused on the education of children during the Holocaust. The community set up schools in the ghetto initially and then ensured that the schools continued in the Terezin concentration camp. The children’s drawings from this time that were on display brought tears to our eyes. The end of the tour led us through the Old Jewish Cemetery, which was founded in the first half of the 15th century.
In Nove Mestro (New Town) area of the city we did some touristy stuff like viewing the Municipal House, visiting Wenceslas Square (where we witnessed a racist demonstration opposing immigrants) and the Mucha Museum, but we also did some things a little off the beaten path. We went to a little hole in the wall place that houses the Museum of Communism and learned more about the impact of communist rule on the people of the Czech Republic. It was interesting to see how the United States was portrayed in propaganda from the government during that time. One of the most interesting things at the museum was a video that showed footage from many of the protests and revolution attempts that occurred before the Velvet Revolution. We also visited the Heydrich Terror Memorial dedicated to the paratroopers and citizens that were involved in the assassination of Nazi leader Reinhard Heydrich. The paratroopers and some of the partisans that assisted in the plot were sheltered and later killed in the crypt of the Orthodox Church of St. Cyril and Methodius, so the memorial is located there. I know it sounds like a strange thing to do on vacation, but we feel that we learn a lot from visiting these memorials and museums. We seek to better understand and to honor the sacrifices and suffering of those affected by these horrible events, hoping to become better global citizens and to strengthen our gratitude for the liberties that we experience as Americans. And we’re nerds.
Some of the best fun that we had in Prague was our paddle boat ride on the Vltava River. We took turns paddling around Kampa Island and got a closer view of Charles Bridge and some of the other buildings from the water.
As we were walking around the city this weekend, I was reminded of how the days with my little boy are slipping away. Although he balks at holding my hand a lot of the time, he still allows me to grab his hand and hold on to him when walking through crowded areas. I don’t know how much longer this is going to last. I know how independent kids get as they age and realize that he is on the cusp of little boy and adolescent boy. Wow, I don’t know if I am ready for this!
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