Prague

Prague: July 17th - 24th 

Upon our arrival in Prague, we were greeted by a very clean and kept airport with many places to recycle! We ordered a taxi and headed to our home for the next week. We were pleasantly surprised by how cute and clean our airbnb was. We were in a perfect location as well, off on a side street that was quite but still walking distance to everything important and exciting! Once we got settled in we went to the local market and got our food for the next few days. We started to walk around and explore the city and we found the Havelsre Frzisfe which is the oldest street market in Prague, it began in 1232. So it was very interesting to see all the shops and people and to think about how many people had been there before us. 

Prague, to me had a similar feeling to Paris in the sense of going back in time. However, Prague still had a much more ancient feel to it, things seemed to be exactly how they were back in the day but just with modern day people living. Prague is also a lot smaller than I had expected, we quickly realized how close everything was and how quickly we began to see things which had its pros and cons. 

We ventured into Prague's version of Time Square which was quite unique. There were people performing in the streets and food carts everywhere. In the center of town was the astrological clock.This clock was made in 1410, so it has been around for some time but you would never know that by looking at it. It is truly beautiful to admire and every hour it makes lovely chimes as the new hour approaches. 

Day 2/3: 

We start by going to the Jewish Museum and Synagogue but were disappointed upon arrival that the Synagogue was under construction and was not open to the public. So instead we went to the Jewish Cemetery, it was heartbreaking to see the hundreds of tomb stones all on top of each other and in such dismay. One thing that was really unique was the placement of small rocks on the tomb stones that I later found out was used to show respect to the individual who had passed.

We also went to the museum and on every wall were the names and years of those killed during the Holocaust. There was a very powerful feeling walking through there and visually seeing names of those innocent people that lost their lives during that tragic time in history. It was quite interesting to me how affected Prague was by the Holocaust I had no idea how far Hitler reached and produced such mass destruction. It was truly a day of reflection to go and see and learn first hand what those poor innocent people had to go through just because of their beliefs. It made me realize how blessed we are to live in a free country that allows us to practice of beliefs and speak our opinions.

After, we ventured down toward the water saw the Prague Theater that was truly stunning in architecture and beauty. The water and many bridges that crossed over it were stunning, so simplistic and yet beautiful at the same time. Of course we had to cross over on the Charles Bridge. There were vendors and performers all across the bridge as well as beautiful sculptures that were mostly of Christian origin and quite powerful to view. Naturally as soon as we got about half way across the bridge it began to pour down rain so we found shelter in St. Nicholas Church and wow we could not have stumbled upon anything more beautiful. This church was huge and two stories tall. There was plenty of seating among the beautifully painted ceilings and human sized statues everywhere you looked. There were also several small alters along the sides of the church leading up to the main alter. I had never seen this before in a Catholic Church but they are used to pray and pay respect to saints. 

Following St. Nicholas Church we went to the John Lennon Wall which was very powerful to see all the messages written there and all of the people voicing their issues and needs for the world and their country. And of course today there are updated sayings and peoples opinions in relation to the issues going on in the world today.We also saw the National Museum in Prague, which is one of the best known museums to see in Prague. 

We also had the pleasure of going to the top of the Powder Tower that is on the outside of the old town. This was once used as a gate into the city of Prague and then after that it housed gun powder. Climbing to the top was crazy because the stairs were so narrow and spiraled that you felt as if you just kept climbing but never would reach the top. However, once we did reach the top, the view was amazing you could see a 360 view of the city. We stayed up there for awhile and just took in the scenery and the quiet. 

In the evening we went to the Tyn Church and saw the Prague Orchestra perform live. Honestly, that might have been one of my favorite parts of Prague, the performance was simply perfect. The acoustics of the church were perfect and all the instrumentalist and vocalist were spot on, it truly brought me to tears to hear such beautiful intricate music being played live in front of me.

Day 4/5/6:

Today we walked to other side of town up on the hill. We spent our day in the National Tech Museum which is home to hundreds of the latest centuries history in technology. My favorite part was the car, bikes and aviation section of the museum. It was so cool to see the progression of all three types of transportation over the years. I have no idea how someone rode on the old peddle bikes, the seats were very small and metal with no cushion, it was definitely not for comfort. One thing I really liked about the set up of the museum was that it showed Pragues historical technological progress in comparison to the rest of the world as well. 

After the museum we ventured around the local park and green space that was on that side of town. It had rained previously so everything was so green and beautiful eventually we found a place to sit, take in the space and reflect in our journals about the time we had been experiencing. Prior to Paris really, we didn't stop to reflect on everything we had been experiencing and we found that we really did need to do that as time erases some of our memories and we did not want to forget a single moment of this trip. So after that realization we took every opportunity we could find to just pause in our day ,enjoy a cup of coffee and the space around us and just reflect on our time thus far..

We also went to see the Prague Castle, wow no one tells you how many stairs you have to climb to get to the top but boy is it a lot. The view is absolutely worth it! We saw the Prague Castle and the St. Vitus Cathedral. Once again, the architecture of these buildings did not disappoint but I did find it interesting that it seemed as though the churches were more extravagant than the Castle. Which of course shows how strong Catholicism was in Prague and the importance of the religion to the people. I just was taken a back by every church we entered because they were so extravagant and beautiful and that is not a commonality with the US.

Lastly, we spent our last day on the Vltava River on a paddle boat. I would say this is a must do while in Prague because you truly do see the city from a different view and get a little exercise in too, which is always good after eating all the food in Prague! We then just sat and enjoyed the green space by the water and recapped on our time in Prague, it went by so quickly and yet so well paced at the same time.