One Small Thing: Prague

Monday morning we headed to Chopin International Airport to hop on a flight from Warsaw to Prague. We flew Czech Airlines on a small plane with 13 rows for 4 seats! The flight was only an hour and a half. Everything about the journey was smooth and easy.

Landing in Prague, Arlyn had arranged a pick up for us. The driver was there to greet us and then he drove us directly to our accommodations where we were meet by another man who let us into the apartment where we would be staying for the next three nights. The cleaning ladies were still working away when we arrived, as Arlyn had asked for an early check in, but it was great to be able to drop our bags and not have to carry them around Prague while we waited for check in.

We headed out to the local mall in order to get some grub and brought it back to eat for our lunch. Arlyn had also arranged a walking tour of Prague for us to begin at 2pm and last for 4 hours. We met our tour guide outside of our apartment. She was Alena, an older Czech lady, who used to a Flight Attendant. It was stinking hot out, 32 degrees. Alena said that Prague had experienced weather like this last year but other than that it wasn’t typical summer weather.

Our tour began with a walk toward Wenceslas Square. As we walked, Alena began to tell us a bit of the story of Prague and the Czech Republic (or Czechoslovakia as it was called at the time). Czechoslovakia was occupied by the Nazis during World War II. The area was liberated in 1945 by the Soviets and Americans. A Communist government was voted in in 1946. This government was overthrown and a Socialist government took over in 1948. The distinction between the two being, as Alena explained, Communist you have no money and you work, Socialist you have money and you can work but Czech’s didn’t as they were lazy (her words). Although research tells me that the government was still Communist, only it was a one party system after 1948. There was much dissatisfaction and in the late 60s, there was a movement that ended in a Soviet-led invasion. Alena kept repeating that they had received “friendly” help, but that is what they were told to call the military style of help they received. The regime collapsed in 1989. In 1993, Czechoslovakia dissolved and became the Czech Republic and Slovakia.

Our guide then took us to the bottom of Wenceslas square, which is essentially a promenade of shops. We continued through the winding streets of Prague where there are many interesting old buildings to view. We were taking so many pictures of old buildings as there is just so much beauty and character in this city.

We made it to Old Town Square for 3 o’clock, as did a great number of other tourists, where there was a large astronomical clock. This clock was built in 1490. One the hour, Death, represented by a skeleton rings a bell and a few people around him shake their heads no. Above Death, the 12 apostles, led by St. Peter holding a key, spin around, each taking a turn at presenting himself to the crowd of onlookers. After we watched the clock, our guide took us inside the Town Hall, talked to a friend behind the counter, who allowed us to go through the Senate and behind the astronomical clock!. Up a short flight a stairs and flicking a switch to turn on the lights, we were able to see all of the apostles lit up and up close. This was a real treat for us!

Next, we were guided through a glittering and shiny gem shop. I got the sense that our guide would likely make a bit of a profit from the shop if she was able to sell us any of the items. Alas, I am in need of no gems. We did, however, get a sparkling glass of raspberry soda, which was refreshing. The reason that we went through the shop, according to the guide, was that the alleyway that was directly beside it was a very dangerous spot to travel through. We have, however, walked through that alley way since, and it seems no more dangerous than anywhere else in the city.

As we made our way to the Vltava river and Charles Bridge, we continued through busy winding streets. There were a lot of tourist shops and treat shops. One interesting food items, that both Calvin and Abby tried, is called a trdelnik, which is made of rolled dough, wrapped around a stick, then grilled and rolled in sugar and nuts. Once the dough has been cooked, the trdelnik is removed from the stick and the customer has the option of how they would like it filled. Both Calvin and Abby chose to fill it with chocolate. Other options were ice cream, cinnamon sugar, or some savory option. As they enjoyed their trdelnik, we continued on to Charles Bridge.

Charles Bridge is a very popular tourist attraction. It was packed with people. Construction started in 1357. King Charles IV commissioned the bridge. For many years, this was the only bridge that connected the two sides of the Vltava river. Currently, many people selling their wares are set up along the bridge. There are statues located on both sides of the bridge, some are religious, some tell a story of part of the history of Prague. We walked the 621 meters to the opposite side of the river. Although there were so many people about, we were still able to get time to pause and take in the beautiful views.

The opposite side of the river continued with the winding and narrow streets. Alena led us to a square, in Vojan Gardens, that was mainly a large fountain with hugh goldfish and families of ducks swimming around. It was lovely to be near water and trees as we were able to get a bit of relief from the sun and heat. As we were sitting near the fountain, we could hear the sounds of an orchestra playing and we followed the sound down a tree lined pathway. The pathway opened up to Wallenstein Palace, the current home of the Czech Senate. There are lovely gardens in front of the palace and a stage was set with a full orchestra playing some lovely music. It was glorious to sit for a bit a listen to the concert that was being performed. Within the gardens was an unusual, man made, stalactites grotto. At the base of this unusual wall were the most beautiful, and large, hydrangeas.

We crossed over the Manosuv bridge toward the end of our tour, which brought us to the Jewish quarter of town and saw the oldest synagogue in town. Our tour wrapped up back at the astronomical clock where we bid Alena farewell. Thankfully, there were many places to eat around the square. We chose one that had an outdoor patio, food, and drink. I chose the Margarita pizza and a local lager. The Dirty Dancing soundtrack was playing as we were eating. It was great to sit and enjoy food, drink, good company, and excellent music.

We were all spent after the very hot day and the walking tour. We made our way back to the apartment to update our social media and settle in for the night. We were exhausted.

Tuesday morning we hopped on Tram 22. Our first stop was to find the Czech Transit office so that we could collect our tickets for our overnight train from Vienna back to Warsaw in a couple of weeks. The office was a very strange place, tucked away in an unmarked building that was locked and needed to be unlocked by and employee just to let us in.

I had noticed a Starbucks in the square where we got off of the tram. I was excited to add to my Starbucks City Mug collection by picking up a Prague mug. We hopped back on Tram 22 which took us to the top of the hill and the main entrance of Prague Castle, our goal for the day.

Prague Castle is a gigantic and sprawling mismatch collection of buildings. Beginning in 870 with one building, since then, multiple buildings have been added. The castle covers some 70 000 m2. Tour books tell you that you could spend days visiting and exploring and that you will be joined by numerous other tourists doing the exact same thing as you. Prague Castle was busy. We selected a ticket that included access to a few of the buildings on the ground and set out to our first stop, St. Vitus Cathedral.

St. Vitus Cathedral is a Catholic church and the seat of the Archbishop of Prague. It is a beautiful and impressive Gothic Cathedral. Building on this church began in 1344 but was not consecrated until 1929. Upon first entrance to the cathedral, I was overwhelmed by the amount of people that were in the church. Fortunately, our tickets allowed us to tour by the chapels and to the south end of the church. This thinned the crowds a bit and allowed me to really appreciate the place. Firstly, I noticed the amazingly beautiful stained glass windows. These windows were so impressive in their intricacy and in the tiny pieces of glass that have been used to create them.

The Royal Oratory is a beautiful balcony where kings would address their subjects. The balcony had carved tree branches all around it.

The tomb of St. John of Nepomuk is located at the south end of the cathedral. It is phenomenal and mostly silver. Nepomuk was a priest who became a saint. The sarcophagus is his reburial sight after his canonization.

Also within the St. Vitus is the Chapel of St. Wenceslas. The well known subject of the Christmas Carol was not actually a king until after he died. Wenceslas was the duke of Bohemia in the early 900s. He is the patron saint of the Czech state and is known for his acts of charity and goodness. It is difficult to tell if these acts are the stuff of legend or are based on real events. Wenceslas’ chapel is lined with paintings depicting scenes from his life and from Christ’s life.

Overall, St. Vitus Cathedral is an extremely impressive building. I am always so amazed at the ability of people to conceptualize and build such structures.

Next on our tour was the Old Royal Palace. Inside is Vladislav Hall where all the presidents of the Czech Republic have been sworn in. From this building we were able to gain some very impressive views over Prague. There was an interesting room upstairs with a ceiling painted with multiple crests.

We continued the castle tour over to the Basilica of St. George. This is a Romanesque church with a brick-red facade. It was originally established in the 10th Century. There is a wonderful wooden ceiling and a beautiful altar area. Long and narrow, I was able to walk up one side, take the steps to the altar, then down the other side and out the building once again.

Next stop was Golden Lane. This narrow street was lined with many stunted buildings. The cottages were inhabited until the early 1950s and were originally built in the 16th century. Originally homes for the castle guard’s sharpshooters, they were later inhabited by a variety of craftsmen and women, and artists. We were able to peek into a number of these cottages which were set up as they would have been during different periods of inhabitation. There was a home for a seamstress, for example. Another cottage was set up like an apothecary shop. Above and below these cottages were examples of armours and weapons. Below was an area that showed how prisoners would have been tortured. These artifacts included a stretcher, a cage for a human, spiked neck guides, and the like.

The famous writer, Franz Kafka, stayed with his sister in one of the cottages for a year in 1916. The rest of the cottages are now shops for tourist to visit and spend their money. At the end of Golden Lane, there is a very narrow stairway for all of the tourists to politely and orderly exit. The stairway opened up into a courtyard and a balcony of sorts where we saw more views over Prague. To the left, we were able to descend to the prison where we saw cells and more instruments used as torture devices.

Into the next courtyard over there was a statue of a young nude boy. Some people were rubbing his penis. It seems that many people have done that in the past as his penis was the only part of the statue that shone in a shiny bronze way. Apparently people (young people) like to rub his penis for good luck.

It was time for lunch and we dined at Lobkowicz Palace Cafe, overlooking Prague. We enjoyed a filling lunch. Once we were refreshed, we were ready to continue exploring Prague Castle. This time, it was off to the Southern Gardens. The gardens were beautiful and once again we had exceptional views of Prague. It was then down the Old Castle Steps in order to exit Prague Castle, and down the hill to catch Tram 22 that would take us back to our apartment.

After a long day touring the castle, we took some time to rest and research any other spots we wanted to visit. In the end, we went out for a casual walk through streets of Prague. Sharon stayed home as we wandered around. We had the loose goal of heading toward Wenceslas Square in order to walk the entire length of the square. During our wandering, we saw Man Hanging Out, an art installation of a man hanging by one are way above the winding streets of Prague. This hanging man was meant to be Sigmund Freud by the artist David Cerny. We passed by, no, we stopped in Captain Candy, a fantastic candy shop full of barrels of candy. We each filled a bag with sweets which I enjoyed on my walk, while the others all saved their treats for later. Finally, we wandered along Wenceslas Square, just as it began to rain. Joy of joys, there was a Marks & Spencers along the street. We popped in and I bought some new clothes!

The only thing left to do was head home and seek the comfort of our beds after a long day of wandering, exploring, learning, and walking.

Wednesday was Calvin’s 14th birthday. Happy birthday Calvin! To celebrate, we all headed to the tram and then to the funicular to head to the top of a hill overlooking Prague at Petrin station. We walked around the gardens that were at the top of the hill. Kim, Calvin, and Abby went into the Mirror Maze which they all thought was a waste money.

We all took the elevator up to the top of Petrin Lookout Tower. This tower looked like a mini version of the Eiffel Tower. The tower is a major tourist attraction and gives an excellent view over the city and apparently all the way to the border of Poland. Calvin, Abby, and Arlyn returned to the base via the elevator. Sharon, Kim, and I walked the 299 steps back down. Kim and I stopped at the halfway observation tower to continue with a bit less of a crowded view. We were able to look down and see Arlyn and the kids as they were heading to the park to climb.

Once we all met up again, we walked downhill on winding pathways through an apple and pear orchard and to park. We stopped for lunch at a quaint cafe called St. Martin. I enjoyed a baked goat’s cheese and beet salad which was delicious. Also, I enjoyed a delicious homemade lemonade that was doctored up with oranges, grapefruit, and mint. So good.

Next to the cafe was a wonderful pottery store, we all collected some pottery to take home!

I was very excited to scope out the Outlander filming locations from Season 2. One the way we saw the John Lennon Peace Wall, which is a graffiti wall. Apparently, John Lennon became a hero to the Czechs in the 1980s. We continued along back to the river to the area of town called Kampa. This was the place where part of the Paris street scenes for Outlander were filmed. This also led us back to the Charles Bridge so we were able to cross back to the other side.

For Calvin’s birthday, he wanted to take a paddle boat out on the Vlata. Sharon and I sat at an outdoor patio enjoying a drink while Kim, Arlyn, Abby, and Calvin rented a paddle boat and toured around for an hour or so.

Kim and I decided that we wanted to head out fairly early on Thursday morning. I am so glad that we did. The streets were extremely quiet. There were no people about. We headed out at about 7am, in the pouring rain, to the local Costa for a coffee and to Paul’s for a pain au chocolat.

We walked over a completely empty Charles Bridge, which was a completely fantastic experience. It was so much more enjoyable when we were able to pause and look around without being bumped into by random strangers or nailed with a selfie stick. Directly on the opposite side of the bridge in the Kampa area that I previously mentioned. Since we had looked through a couple of episodes of Outlander the night before, we were really able to see the buildings that had been filmed. It was also great as the area was empty of people too. I wanted to see the stairs that Claire climbed in episode 2 and had done some investigation on Twitter to find the exact location of the steps. It turns out that they were located fairly close to the Czech Transport Office we had visited earlier. Kim and I walked up some steep and cobbled streets to get to the stairs. It turns out that the stairs are located at the base of Prague Castle. We walked through the gates of the castle and went to St. Vitus Cathedral again and enjoyed the sights without the crowds.

We made it back to apartment by about 9am to tidy up and finish packing. We had to check out by 10 o’clock. We all gathered at Costa to sit for an hour and enjoy a drink. We took our last wander around the city, back to the astronomical clock in time for the noon chiming.

Finally, we headed up Wenceslas Square to Rocky O’Reilly’s Irish pub where we enjoyed real Irish home cooking in Prague!

We walked up to the train station, hopped on a bus to airport to make our flight back to Warsaw. We were home around 8pm, ready for rest.

St. Vitus Cathedral