We started September in a new country (Czech Republic), new currency (koruna) and new language (Czech). I was most interested in visiting Prague not so much for the cheap beer or fairy tale landscapes, but to follow an ancestral whim. I’ve always been told my family is from Czechoslovakia. My great-grandmother spoke of coming over on the boat as a kid and my grandparents lived in a Eastern European enclave right here in Alabama. I’m very proud of the fact that a portion of my family tree can be accounted for. Truth be told, my ancestors likely came from Slovakia, but I thought Prague would be close.
Even before arriving, Prague was shaping up to be a memorable stay. Of all the buses we rode, only the bus to Prague had beer for sell onboard. How could we not partake of such a unique experience.
After arriving and checking into our hostel (which was nearly impossible to find) we put our feet to the streets. But first a snack. Not just any snack. Only a chimney blizzard would do. This sweet treat is something I saw on the internet years ago. I knew it was found in Prague and given the chance I would visit and devour one. I had mentioned the dessert to Clay and he found the spot (one of the spots) that sold it.
There are so many beautiful things to see in Prague, the clock tower, the castle, mixtures of new architecture with old. It feels like another world. We spent a few hours exploring the city. It is a wonderful size where you can see most of the city without being rushed from one end to the next. Prague gives you the chance to soak up the atmosphere and we did just that.
As sunset approached we walked along the river and grabbed a beer and sausage for cheap dinner. We met a group of guys who were barge hopping that night. Identical to a pubcrawl, except on water. We talked to them about the always popular topic of American politics. We assured them that Trump would never be president (egg on our face) and wished them well on their bar crawl. Exhausted from the cheap drinks and hours of walking we called it a night.
The next morning before heading out for our free tour, we stopped by the John Lennon wall for pictures. I still cant tell you why the wall is there, but it is. After, we headed out for our tour of the city. We learned a bit about the clock tower. We walked through some of the oldest surviving Jewish Quarters. The tour was okay, but I was happy when it ended then we could get back to exploring on our own.
Before exploring again, we refueled with lunch. We had wanted to go on a food tour of Prague but we procrastinated so long that the tour was filled before we booked. One of the food tour stops was to a little butcher shop (Naše maso) that is known for its meatloaf. We may have not been able to book the whole food tour, but that wasn’t going to stop us from trying to recreate the tour.
After our carnivorous lunch of meatloaf and beef tartare (also pour your own Pivo).., we headed to the beautiful castle that sits a top a lovely hill and overlooks the city. We did not visit the castle’s interior based on the suggestion of the barge hoppers from the night before. Instead we took a peek into the crown jewel – the St. Vitus cathedral. This cathedral is best known for the king who used it. You may know him from a famous Christmas tune…
Good King Wenceslas looked out
On the feast of Stephen
When the snow lay round about
Deep and crisp and even…
On the outside of Good King Wenceslas former stomping grounds of the St. Vitus Cathedral is the Golden Gate.
The Golden Gate was my favorite part of the cathedral. As we were walking to the entrance of the cathedral we turned the corner and were surprised by a huge, beautiful golden mosaic. The mosaic was of the last judgement. If you are in Prague this is a fun place to people watch. As we took a break near the cathedral, we watched some tour guides had their groups close their eyes and shuffle until they were in perfect view of the mosaic. We watched the tour groups eyes light up and jaws drop as they stood in awe of the golden gate.
We descended the castle hill and headed back to the Jewish Quarter. We had walked through the Jewish Quarter on our tour earlier in the day, but we wanted to visit the inside of a few of the synagogues. The first, Spanish Synagogue, was ornately designed in the Moorish style.
I wasn’t expecting to be reminded of southern Spain in eastern Europe, but here we are.
The second, Old-New Synagogue, is Europe’s oldest active synagogue. I was more excited about visiting this one because it is home to the infamous Golem of Prague. I learned about Golem from one of my favorite podcasts (Stuff You Missed in History Class). The story goes…
Sometime in the 16th century a rabbi created the Golem to protect Prague against antisemitic attacks. Every Friday, the Golem had to be deactivated. The story goes that on one Friday the Rabbi forgot and Golem went on some murderous rampage. The Rabbi was able to wrangle him and deactivated him. Now he lives in the attic of the Old-New Synagogue just waiting to be reactivated when needed. Please correct me if I have this story all wrong.
Our last day in Prague, we stopped by the local market in the square near our hostel. I was able to get a few handmade ornaments for my family. Ornaments from the homeland what better souvenir could you hope for.
We also stopped for some sweets before heading to the Kafka museum.
Later, we continued our DIY food tour and had lunch at Sisters (across the hall from Naše maso). We enjoyed a delightful collection of sandwiches. Never underestimate the power of a properly created sandwich.
The other quintessential Prague thing we wanted to do was see art by Alphonse Mucha. You may recall his distinct Art Nouveau style from old advertising. Prague has a Mucha museum, but our tour guide talked us out of that museum and insisted that we see the Slav Epic. This was in a more modern/less touristy part of the city, but we were up for the walk.
The Slav Epic is a collection of twenty large, VERY LARGE, canvases that depict the history of Czech and Slav people in general. The paintings were unlike anything we had seen. The paintings felt historical with a touch of mystical.
To round out our short stay in Prague we walked to Letna Gardens Park to enjoy a cold beer and overlook the city. One thing I greatly miss is the ability to have a good, cheap beer during the day. Enjoying the sunshine. While on our trip we could do this 7 days a week.
After spending the afternoon in the park, we made the long walk back to the city center and watched as the sunset along the Vltava river. Before calling it a night, we crisscrossed through the old city’s street to get back to the town clock and watch it chime the hour. The clock is an astronomical clock that is the oldest working astronomical clock in the world (installed in 1410). It may not always be 100% accurate, but it does work. The clock puts on a show ever hour As our tour guide had mentioned the show was disappointing but it was fun to watch nonetheless.
The next morning we headed to Vienna, another country, another language, another currency.
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