Adventures in Prague

Prague is a beautiful city. Whenever people ask me what my favorite city is, I always respond, "Prague." On previous trips to Prague, I stayed in hostels far from the city center. This time, G and I paid more to stay in the old town (staré město in Czech). The experience has been well worth it. We are steps from the Týnská Church and a few more steps from the old town square. We are so centrally located that we could walk anywhere. In fact, we have only taken the metro once, when we arrived.

Instead of a hotel, we actually rented an apartment for four nights. This apartment was amazing. We had a bedroom, dining room/kitchen, and a bathroom at our disposal. The apartment was decorated with antique items; we suspected they had been purchased at the antique shop in the building next door. Having a kitchen while traveling really does make a difference. We bought groceries and actually had real meals, not just snacks purchased from convenience shops. We were also provided more privacy than at a hotel. I think that on future trips we will have to explore this option more.

Not only did we experience the theatre in Prague, we also explored the city. Our first stop was Karlův most (Charles Bridge), the famous bridge over the Vltava River. The bridge connects Old Town with the part of the city called Lesser Town. Built in the 1300s, the bridge is beautiful. The views of the city and the castle from the bridge are beautiful as well. Every day, musicians and artists line the sides of the bridge. While musicians play their instruments, some artists draw caricatures and others sell their creations. Popular with tourists, the bridge is constantly crowded during the day and is peaceful only early in the mornings and late at night.

The astronomical clock (Pražský orloj in Czech) is displayed in the old town square on one side of the Old Town Hall Tower. The tower was built in the 1360s; the clock was installed about 50 years later. Legend has it that the clockmaker was blinded after the completion of the astronomical clock so that he could not repeat the work. In retaliation, the clockmaker broke the clock, and no one was able to fix it for a hundred years.

We squeezed into the crowd below the clock to find a good vantage point. Every hour, the clock chimes and a door opens. Christ marches out of the door followed by his twelve disciples. During the procession, the skeleton of death tolls the bell to a defiant statue of a Turk. After the clock finished chiming, we purchased tickets to go to the top of the Old Town Hall Tower. Seventy meters up, we were able to see the whole city below us. The view of the city was incredible. I snapped dozens of photos; I had never gone to the top of the tower.

Unfortunately, I have been suffering from allergies while in Prague. Needing some rest, I chose to stay at the apartment while G explored the castle area. Having explored the entire city on previous trips to Prague, I suggested a route for G to take. I suggested he start out by heading north to the the giant metronome. This monument was erected to replace a Stalinist monument. I told him to climb the stairs to the top of the hill and walk southwest toward the castle (Hradčany). Prague Castle is massive. From the castle, I suggested he continue walking southwest until he saw Strahov Monastery. G never made it to the monastery; he turned before he got there. He did see Petřínská rozhledna, the mini Eiffel Tower. The tower isn't actually a replica of the famous tower in Paris, but it was inspired by the Eiffel Tower. The Prague tower sits on an octagonal base; the Eiffel Tower sits on a square base. Additionally, the Prague tower is only about 60 meters tall, much shorter than the Eiffel Tower. Located at the top of Petřín Hill, Petřínská rozhledna was built in 1891 and has been used as both an observation and a transmission tower. Although a funicular exists to provide transportation from the bottom of the hill to the top, G hiked down the hill and back to the apartment.

Another day, we visited the Jewish Museum which is comprised of six synagogues and the Old Jewish Cemetery. An additional synagogue, the Old-New Synagogue, is still used for services today. The remaining temples were set up more like museums, holding important Jewish artifacts. G and I visited Maisel Synagogue, the Pinkas Synagogue, the Spanish Synagogue, the Ceremonial Hall, and the cemetery. The museum was originally founded in 1906 to preserve artifacts from the Prague synagogues that had been destroyed during urban renewal projects in Prague. Later, during World War II, the Nazis took over the museum. Horrifically, their intention was to create a museum for a people who would soon be extinct. Soon after the end of the war, the country was under the rule of the Communists; the Communist government took control of the museum and staffed primarily non-Jewish curators. Finally, in 1994, the museum was returned to the Jewish Community of Prague and the Federation of Jewish Communities in the Czech Republic.

The Old Jewish Cemetery was used beginning in 1439 but has not been used since the late 1700s. Somewhere around 12,000 gravestones are situated in the cemetery, but it is speculated that underneath this layer exists another 100,000 graves in a number of layers. The headstones are packed so tightly resulting in what looks like one giant grave. Walking through the cemetery was sobering. While the experience at the Jewish Museum was sad, I'm glad we had the experience.




Prague was incredible as always.