Prague - I am glad that I went

I heard several great stories about Prague - a well preserved city and the capital of the Czech Republic. It wasn't a city on my "list" of places to go, but after hearing several great stories from friends and fellow travelers, I decided to take a visit. But it wasn't a city that I wanted to visit on my own, given that it is not on the euro and being new to travel and tourism, several stories indicate that some devious townspeople would try to take advantage of you, so when I heard my friends Lisa and Matt were going there for the weekend, I asked to join them. They were delighted to have the company. It is hard for me to describe what is so great about Prague and the pictures don't do the city much justice. It really is the buildings and old time charm that the city has maintained given that very little of it was destroyed in WW2. Everything is big (so taking pictures is hard) and is colorful and looks really neat. So, we toured the city, shopped, when to a classical concert, a great underground jazz club and to a black light theatre show. I took a tour on a Segway (which was neat) and we had several meals - including mexican and something from the street vendor. The city is on the "crown" and is considered by many to be "cheap". It was - a bottle of Coke on the street was usually less than 30 crown which would be about 1 euro. Even though the math was hard, the prices were good (especially for a city which is the capital of the country). I wasn't able to collect any good euro coins here, but I did have a really good time. Derek tried to join me for a day of the trip, but that plan was shot down (literally) when the plane in route to New York was hit by lightening and delayed. So, he wasn't able to make it, but his attempt at making an international 5,500 mile journey for a 24 hr visit was extremely thoughtful and appreciated. He will be home this week and I am seriously counting the hours until he is able to make it. Mom Marilyn will be here this week as well and we are looking forward to the chance to show her a great trip around Europe!

The Prague castle, royal residences and St. Vitus church all sitting high above the city. 

Another church in the castle grounds. 

St. Vitus church - check out the stained glass. There were 12 panels of this in the church, it was amazing. 

Town square 

Old Town Hall Astronomical Clock from the 15th Century. I can't explain how this actually keeps time given that these clocks are actually counting backwards on a 24 hr cycle and are counting not only the time of day, but also the time of the sunrise and sunset, the lunar stage and the calendar day and month. On the hour, the 4 figures - representing the 4 things that the people of Prague feared (invasion, death, greed, and vanity) and the door panels above the clock open and the 12 apostles rotate through the windows while the bells are ringing. It was a pretty cool site to see - especially when you wonder how they created this over 500 years ago 

Example of some of the neat buildings here. 

Matt and Lisa and I taking a break on the Old Town Square - this is Europe, just take a seat! 

Warm dough thing grilled and then coated with sugar, vanialla and nuts. I don't know what it was called, but it tasted awesome. 

Jewish people first came to Prague in the 10th century. In the 16 and 17th century, when Jews were forbidden to live with Christians by the Catholic Pope, one of the largest European Jewish ghettos was created in the city. Rules were relaxed in the 1780's and the Prague Jewish population numbered 50,000 until WW2 when the majority were killed. Hitler elected not to destroy the Jewish area of the city (unlike the destruction which occurred in the rest of Europe) because he wanted to make this part of the city a memorial of the "extinct" race. A temple to honor what accomplished in the world. The logic of this is horrible, however, as a result of his ego, the city contains several original and old Jewish synagogues and memorabilia. It was all very interesting to see. 

The Jewish people believe that once a body is buried, it should not be disturbed. However, it quickly became apparent to them that they didn't have enough room to bury all of their dead in the ghetto cemetery. So, they started burying people on top of each other. In the middle of the cemetery at the highest point, there are 13 people buried in coffins on top of each other. This is about 20 feet above street level. That is also why the grave markers are scattered like this. 

This is the Charles Bridge - built in 1357 and the only bridge in Prague connecting the towns until 1850. The bridge has been here forever and is very beautiful so all of the tourists come here to visit. They said that the bridge was fortified during construction with various items - like eggs and flour - given that these were thought to be very strong materials at the time - I guess they were right!!! 

This is also another statue on the bridge, I liked this one because it looks like he is pointing to the church. 

The statue of the Czech saint - John of Nepomuk - In the 14th century he was the priest to who the queen confessed all of her sins. The king wanted to know her secrets, but Father John refused to tell. 

He was tortured, killed and tossed off of the bridge. When he hit the water, 5 stars appeared. This is the location on the bridge where he was tossed off. Locals think that touching the plaque will give you good luck. I hope so, we all made wishes! 

And Matt touches it - notice how that is the only part of the statue for which the gold is showing, the rest of it is covered in centuries of black dirt and soot. 

The Powder Tower - an original 13 th century building next to our hotel. 

There was a display of statues one of the town squares by the artist who created the Jewish memorial. I like the art and the traditional building in the background... 

Another picture from Prague - same artist. 

The walking chair. Prague is separated by a river that flows through the city separating the town castle and the Old town and Jewish areas. Unfortunately, ever 100 years or so, this river floods and this entire area is under water. In the most recent floods, this chair was moved over 1000 ft and the leg was bent. It was found, returned to it's home at the modern art museum and is now called the "walking chair". 

This is the smallest street in Amsterdam - and in fact, the smallest street that I have ever seen in Europe. Only one person can walk through this street at a time. Look at the picture again - you will see there is a street light which is green telling the person on my side they can go down the street. Now that is funny. 

Brooke and the Saint Charles bridge. My guide was a college student who was born in Prague and was going to school to study diplomacy – he wanted to be in politics when he graduated. He looked and talked like he was a California surfer kid. 

Brooke on a segway! We were able to move on these things. 

Hey Todd - LOOK! It is Mexican food in the Czech Republic!!! Can you believe it??? 

Look - we are in a vault!!!! It was awesome. 

The Unger Jazz club - it was in a 13 century vault - Matt found it for us. The band rocked - piano, trumpet, sax, flute, guitars and drums. It was great!