Czeching out Prague

"Anybody who keeps the ability to see beauty never grows old." - Franz Kafka

Four of my sorority sisters are sharing an apartment in downtown Prague so I got to go visit them in mid-October. I didn't really know anything about Prague except for beer was allegedly cheaper than water there and that all the buildings look like they come straight from the pages of a fairytale. Both of these facts turned out to be true, but the city was so much more than that. I got to Prague pretty late on Thursday evening, but we still went out and saw the city a little bit.

Apparently the Old Town Hall Tower holds the title of Most Underwhelming Clock in Europe. On the hour little figures pop out and stuff.

 

Feet cleaner fish! Gross!

Don't worry Mom, we didn't run up a 270 Euro bar tab. The exchange rate between Czech crowns and dollars is awesome: you take off a decimal point and divide by two.

Only $50. When my friends paid their rent they took all the bills, threw them in the air, and rolled around in them, because what else would you do with tens of thousands of bills in a foreign currency?

The weather was just as rainy as in Paris, so we walked around a little bit on Friday, but didn't see much. However, Friday night we went to a hockey game! Hockey is a huge deal in the Czech Republic; during the NHL lockout last year many American players came to play in Prague. The game was really fun and the home team won. Although apparently I was confused about who was who the entire time because at the end when I remarked "oh bummer, we got our butts kicked" everyone looked at me like I should take the short bus home. My b guys.

Pictured: the home team NOT losing

 

Our friend Emily also came Friday night so we had a big reunion and it was great. The next morning the Prague girls set the two of us up with a free walking tour of the city, led by an eccentric Czech lady named Tatiana.

 

Before starting our tour we got some delicious Trdelnik. Pronounced like "turtleneck," it is a hollow sugared donut that you peel off in layers.

There's our girl Tatiana standing in Old Town Square in front of Tyn Church. Built in 1385, it is one of the coolest buildings I have ever seen. It looks like a Sleeping Beauty castle!

Church of Saint James. Yeah okay cool, another European church. Except....

That little thing hanging above the painting is allegedly the hand of a thief who tried to steal jewels from the Madonna statue. She came to life and wouldn't let go of him, so they had to cut his hand off.

Tatiana again! Next to a statue commemorating Prague's son Franz Kafka.

The building on the left is the oldest Jewish synagogue in Europe

The Jewish cemetery in Prague. Despite being persecuted, there was a large Jewish community in Prague before WWII. In the tiny graveyard there are about 12,000 headstones piled on top of each other, but Tatiana estimated almost 100,000 people were buried there.

The Charles River and Charles Bridge



On Saturday night we went out for a traditional Czech dinner before taking a walk on the river.

 

Goulash. Not my favorite food I've eaten abroad, but it was...cultural.

The river at night. The castle in the background was founded in 870 AD and is the largest medieval castle in Europe. It covers 18 acres.

 

Somebody said that Prague is like Paris was 20 years ago. I obviously don't know if that's true, but it is underrated, not to mention cheap! My friends kept talking about this 9 story club that they rarely go to because it's a 9 euro entrance fee so I just pouted and told stories about paying 12 for a single drink in Paris. Anyways, it's a beautiful, historical city and I really enjoyed my time there!