Prague
We had trouble figuring out the S-bahn system in Vienna so we took a long way to the train station (which was different one than the one we arrived at) and we made it just in time to catch the train. It was another four hour train ride and this time our passports were stamped. We arrived in Prague around 4 pm, got some Czech money (called crowns), reserved train tickets to Dresden, found a metro map and city map, and when we were trying to figure out how the metro ticket machines work, two people who were leaving Prague gave us their 7-day metro passes with 2 days left on them. A lucky break. The hostel was two stops away and really close to the metro station, it was an old hostel but really nice. We walked to Wenceslas Square, got some bratwursts from a stand and bought tickets to a symphony (20 euros this time, but we actually get seats!), walked around, got a coffee and a beer, then went to the concert hall. It was Mozart’s Requiem. There was a choir, an organ/piano player (there was one organ solo), and a small symphony. We were in the balcony in the back, but it was a good view. We both kind of fell asleep near the end, but it was really good music.
The next day we went to a huge square, called Old Town Square which has two churches, some government buildings, a huge statue, and is lined with colorful old buildings. We climbed the tower of one of the churches to see the view of Prague. At the base of the tower is a famous astronomical clock that has some little wooden mechanical people that move every hour. The clock is really complicated and shows the lunar cycle and the date. We got there a little before noon and there was a huge crowd of people with necks strained and cameras pointed up at the clock. When it struck 12, the bell rang 12 times and the Twelve Apostles appeared in pairs next to a Jesus and there are other figures that represent different things that move one arm or nod their head. There wasn’t much to it, it was a little disappointing.
We wandered through the Jewish Quarter where there was lots of cool architecture and little old synagogues. We had lunch at a local pub that had a cheap lunch menu. We got soup, goulash, spaghetti, apple strudel and a Czech beer called Budvar or Budweisser. We then walked to the Charles Bridge and went in a marionette shop that had all kinds of wooden marionettes of creatures and people – some of them were really creepy witches or devils. There was a little workshop attached to the store. We had some really strong espresso and then went on a 20th century history tour that was led by a young Czech guy who studied history and quizzed us on US history during the tour – he was really knowledgeable. The tour was really good, it was just the three of us and he told us about how the Czechs and Slovakians created one country to counterbalance the powerful German and Austro-Hungarian nations. Part of Czechoslovakia was given to Germany to appease Hitler, and although Prague wasn’t severely affected by WWII, it suffered through decades of communist rule. We learned about the 1968 protest and the Velvet Revolution in 1989 that peacefully ended communist rule and we saw several memorials. We were struck by how old some of the buildings are, a few buildings from the 11th and 12th century are still around.
We went back to the Charles bridge to see it at night. We saw the huge church and the castle up on a hill from a far. There were lots of people and beggars out on the bridge. We watched a guy tune up his piano made of about 20 wine glasses filled with varying levels of water. He created pretty loud sounds by wetting his fingers and rubbing the rims of the glasses. He spent some time tuning each glass using a big eyedropper to add and remove water until each one hit the right pitch. Then he played a song by Bach and got really into it. He had some CDs of his music too. We wondered around forever and found lots of pubs and finally picked one. We got two beers, one of which Charlie is convinced is the best beer in the world. It was a smooth-tasting dark beer called Kozel. And they were cheap, about 1 euro for a half liter. It took us a while, but after making a couple circles we eventually found our way back to Wenceslas Square, got a sausage from one of the many stands and went back to the hostel.
The next morning we ate breakfast, checked out and went to the big cathedral on top of the hill on the other side of the river. There were two stone-faced guards standing at the gate to the compound surrounding the cathedral, just like at Buckingham palace. We went inside the cathedral and some of the gift shops and then went back to Wenceslas Square one last time to spend the last of our Czech money before leaving the country. I got a cheap soccer jersey (Ronaldinho’s Barcelona jersey) and ham, cheese, bread and pudding for lunch on the train. We went back to the hostel to get our packs and we got my computer online by unplugging the modem cord from the public computer in the lounge and plugging it into my laptop. That’s how I got the previous blog posts online.
At the train station we still had lots of Czech coins left over. Since we couldn’t change those back into euros, we bought some drinks, granola bars, apples (even though we already had some) and walnuts. We had a ton of food with us on the train. It was a crappy old train but was only half full so we had four seats to ourselves, two and two facing each other -- the legroom was great.
The next day we went to a huge square, called Old Town Square which has two churches, some government buildings, a huge statue, and is lined with colorful old buildings. We climbed the tower of one of the churches to see the view of Prague. At the base of the tower is a famous astronomical clock that has some little wooden mechanical people that move every hour. The clock is really complicated and shows the lunar cycle and the date. We got there a little before noon and there was a huge crowd of people with necks strained and cameras pointed up at the clock. When it struck 12, the bell rang 12 times and the Twelve Apostles appeared in pairs next to a Jesus and there are other figures that represent different things that move one arm or nod their head. There wasn’t much to it, it was a little disappointing.
We wandered through the Jewish Quarter where there was lots of cool architecture and little old synagogues. We had lunch at a local pub that had a cheap lunch menu. We got soup, goulash, spaghetti, apple strudel and a Czech beer called Budvar or Budweisser. We then walked to the Charles Bridge and went in a marionette shop that had all kinds of wooden marionettes of creatures and people – some of them were really creepy witches or devils. There was a little workshop attached to the store. We had some really strong espresso and then went on a 20th century history tour that was led by a young Czech guy who studied history and quizzed us on US history during the tour – he was really knowledgeable. The tour was really good, it was just the three of us and he told us about how the Czechs and Slovakians created one country to counterbalance the powerful German and Austro-Hungarian nations. Part of Czechoslovakia was given to Germany to appease Hitler, and although Prague wasn’t severely affected by WWII, it suffered through decades of communist rule. We learned about the 1968 protest and the Velvet Revolution in 1989 that peacefully ended communist rule and we saw several memorials. We were struck by how old some of the buildings are, a few buildings from the 11th and 12th century are still around.
We went back to the Charles bridge to see it at night. We saw the huge church and the castle up on a hill from a far. There were lots of people and beggars out on the bridge. We watched a guy tune up his piano made of about 20 wine glasses filled with varying levels of water. He created pretty loud sounds by wetting his fingers and rubbing the rims of the glasses. He spent some time tuning each glass using a big eyedropper to add and remove water until each one hit the right pitch. Then he played a song by Bach and got really into it. He had some CDs of his music too. We wondered around forever and found lots of pubs and finally picked one. We got two beers, one of which Charlie is convinced is the best beer in the world. It was a smooth-tasting dark beer called Kozel. And they were cheap, about 1 euro for a half liter. It took us a while, but after making a couple circles we eventually found our way back to Wenceslas Square, got a sausage from one of the many stands and went back to the hostel.
The next morning we ate breakfast, checked out and went to the big cathedral on top of the hill on the other side of the river. There were two stone-faced guards standing at the gate to the compound surrounding the cathedral, just like at Buckingham palace. We went inside the cathedral and some of the gift shops and then went back to Wenceslas Square one last time to spend the last of our Czech money before leaving the country. I got a cheap soccer jersey (Ronaldinho’s Barcelona jersey) and ham, cheese, bread and pudding for lunch on the train. We went back to the hostel to get our packs and we got my computer online by unplugging the modem cord from the public computer in the lounge and plugging it into my laptop. That’s how I got the previous blog posts online.
At the train station we still had lots of Czech coins left over. Since we couldn’t change those back into euros, we bought some drinks, granola bars, apples (even though we already had some) and walnuts. We had a ton of food with us on the train. It was a crappy old train but was only half full so we had four seats to ourselves, two and two facing each other -- the legroom was great.
posted by Sam at
10:17 AM
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