Where: Prague, Czech Republic
When: April 6, 2012
With who: Dave
Since moving to London, Dave and I have made a deal - no more presents for birthdays/Christmas. We live so close to mainland Europe, and the flights are so short and cheap, presents for the next two years are trips. So my Christmas present was Prague.
Dave picked a fantastic hotel, 1 minute from the Old Town Square, called Hotel Dar. It was so hidden in the windy backstreets of the city that our cab driver couldn't even get us to the entrance. This resulted in a very noisy walk rolling suitcases over cobblestone attempting to find the hotel in the narrow, maze-like streets. While aimlessly searching, we stumbled upon Old Town Square and got our first view of its famous astronomical clock tower. Not only does it tell time, it tells zodiac signs!
On the right, as you face this tower, is a large statue of Charles IV who oversaw the construction of the bridge and who its named after. In direct contrast, on your left as you face the tower is central Europe's largest night club...
Construction on the Charles Bridge began in 1357 and was completed in the 15th century. It was incredibly important as it connected the Old Town Square with Prague castle on the other side. It is noted for the stark contrast you'll experience between visiting it at night vs. middle of the day. Late at night, there was nearly no one there, and with the castle looming in the distance and mist hanging over us, it was very eerie.
All the statues on the bridge are really unique and have a specific meaning...however, I will admit we did not do a ton of research (or any) to find out what the meaning of any of them were.
After a night of wandering, we decided it was time to partake in Prague's most popular export - their beer. Since the Czech beer is an entry in the book all of its own, click here to see all our adventures in drinking.
The next morning, we woke up to begin exploring Prague. As it was Easter weekend, there was a huge festival being held in the middle of Old Town Square.
First stop was breakfast. And what is better than a breakfast that consists of dough, cinnamon, and sugar? Enter the trdelník, a traditional Czech pastry. The dough is wrapped around a stick, called the trdlo, rolled into a sugar/cinnamon combo, and slowly turned over an open flame. It was amazinggg. I ate more of these than I care to admit throughout this trip.
We noticed a large crowd gathering in the square at the bottom of the tower. We realised it was nearly noon, so we decided to stick around to see what would happen when the clock struck the hour. At 12 o'clock, two small doors on top of the clock face open and each of 12 apostles (who look incredibly mean) rotate past the window. Meanwhile, a skeleton representing death pulls a cord that appears to ring a bell striking the hour. Afterwards, a man appears at the top of the tower, dressed in traditional garb, and plays the trumpet at each of the four corners of the tower. Quite the show.
After the clock show, we decided to venture to Charles Bridge to see how much the view had changed from the night before. We climbed the tower at the entrance of the bridge to see Prague from the top. As you can see, it's much more crowded than it was the night before.
After crossing the bridge, we were officially in the Castle District. Click here for the pictures.
After returning to the Old Square, we went for our first authentic Czech meal at a place called Kolkovna. When we walked in, it was funny - we were asked if we'd like to sit in the smoking or non-smoking section. When we said non, we were relegated to a small section of the restaurant located in the basement. It's so unusual that the non-smoking section is the least popular.
However, our unpopular basement seating was the perfect setting for the incredible meal we had. I had traditional Bohemian cabbage pancakes, which was basically cabbage, sausage, and pork hash browns with sour cream on the side. It was incredible. Dave went for the beef goulash with bread dumplings and potato pancakes. Also really good, but I won this meal.
After dinner, we headed back to the hotel to get ready for our big night on the town - an Easter choir performance at the Estates Theater. Originally built in the 18th century, it was the theater that Mozart chose for the world premiere of his opera Don Giovanni. As such, its most recent claim to fame was as a shooting location for the movie Amadeus.
The view of the square was beautiful from the top, as was the view out on the whole city. The castle looked as daunting as ever.
Without an agenda on our third and final crossing of the Charles Bridge, we were able to take in the people and enjoy the atmosphere. The bridge in the daytime is covered with artists, musicians, and pretty much every other form of street entertainment there is.
To cap off our day, we decided to have one more Czech feast. And what better than pork knee on a spit with mustard, chili sauce, and horseradish?
When: April 6, 2012
With who: Dave
Since moving to London, Dave and I have made a deal - no more presents for birthdays/Christmas. We live so close to mainland Europe, and the flights are so short and cheap, presents for the next two years are trips. So my Christmas present was Prague.
Dave picked a fantastic hotel, 1 minute from the Old Town Square, called Hotel Dar. It was so hidden in the windy backstreets of the city that our cab driver couldn't even get us to the entrance. This resulted in a very noisy walk rolling suitcases over cobblestone attempting to find the hotel in the narrow, maze-like streets. While aimlessly searching, we stumbled upon Old Town Square and got our first view of its famous astronomical clock tower. Not only does it tell time, it tells zodiac signs!
We also got to see St. Nicholas Church, looming over the square.
Even though it was late and I was exhausted from travelling, Dave bolstered my enthusiasm to go on a little walk. He was on the hunt for the Charles Bridge. So we took a late night stroll along the river. In no time, we reached the foreboding tower that marks the entrance to the bridge.
On the right, as you face this tower, is a large statue of Charles IV who oversaw the construction of the bridge and who its named after. In direct contrast, on your left as you face the tower is central Europe's largest night club...
Who's ready for a nighttime stroll across the bridge?
Construction on the Charles Bridge began in 1357 and was completed in the 15th century. It was incredibly important as it connected the Old Town Square with Prague castle on the other side. It is noted for the stark contrast you'll experience between visiting it at night vs. middle of the day. Late at night, there was nearly no one there, and with the castle looming in the distance and mist hanging over us, it was very eerie.
Looking back, we got some nice views of the city.
All the statues on the bridge are really unique and have a specific meaning...however, I will admit we did not do a ton of research (or any) to find out what the meaning of any of them were.
After a night of wandering, we decided it was time to partake in Prague's most popular export - their beer. Since the Czech beer is an entry in the book all of its own, click here to see all our adventures in drinking.
The next morning, we woke up to begin exploring Prague. As it was Easter weekend, there was a huge festival being held in the middle of Old Town Square.
First stop was breakfast. And what is better than a breakfast that consists of dough, cinnamon, and sugar? Enter the trdelník, a traditional Czech pastry. The dough is wrapped around a stick, called the trdlo, rolled into a sugar/cinnamon combo, and slowly turned over an open flame. It was amazinggg. I ate more of these than I care to admit throughout this trip.
While drinking hot chocolate and eating trdelník, we wandered the square, taking in all the Easter decor.
Giant meat slabs on a spit...appetizing.
We got our first daytime view of the old clock tower and the clock face.
We noticed a large crowd gathering in the square at the bottom of the tower. We realised it was nearly noon, so we decided to stick around to see what would happen when the clock struck the hour. At 12 o'clock, two small doors on top of the clock face open and each of 12 apostles (who look incredibly mean) rotate past the window. Meanwhile, a skeleton representing death pulls a cord that appears to ring a bell striking the hour. Afterwards, a man appears at the top of the tower, dressed in traditional garb, and plays the trumpet at each of the four corners of the tower. Quite the show.
After the clock show, we decided to venture to Charles Bridge to see how much the view had changed from the night before. We climbed the tower at the entrance of the bridge to see Prague from the top. As you can see, it's much more crowded than it was the night before.
In the tower, we had a chance to be knights. Dave looks like he was made for the job. Me, not so much...I can barely see over my armor.
The views of the city: evidence of why Prague is nicknamed the "Land of 100 Spires".
We crossed the bridge again, but this time, continued on towards the Castle District. Things looked much different in the daylight - though some of the statues looked even scarier than the night before.
After crossing the bridge, we were officially in the Castle District. Click here for the pictures.
After returning to the Old Square, we went for our first authentic Czech meal at a place called Kolkovna. When we walked in, it was funny - we were asked if we'd like to sit in the smoking or non-smoking section. When we said non, we were relegated to a small section of the restaurant located in the basement. It's so unusual that the non-smoking section is the least popular.
However, our unpopular basement seating was the perfect setting for the incredible meal we had. I had traditional Bohemian cabbage pancakes, which was basically cabbage, sausage, and pork hash browns with sour cream on the side. It was incredible. Dave went for the beef goulash with bread dumplings and potato pancakes. Also really good, but I won this meal.
We saw the Czech boys choir perform, along with some opera singers. There were shockingly few people in the audience for what we thought would be a popular show. It looked like most of the people there were the parents of the kids.
At least we got our own booth!
Dementor statue outside the theater commemorating the opening performance of Don Giovanni.
The next day, we headed out to Kutná Hora. Click here for pictures.
We arrived back in Prague at the end of our day trip where the skies had cleared and things seemed cheery again. Prague's National Museum welcomed us back to the city.
We had ourselves a hot chocolate and another trdelník at a different Easter market in the city as we headed home.
An evening stroll through the streets of Prague. Look at that poor man!
The next morning, we took advantage of our proximity to Old Town Square and decided to climb the clock tower. From the bottom, this looks mildly daunting.
The view of the square was beautiful from the top, as was the view out on the whole city. The castle looked as daunting as ever.
The clock was about to strike the hour, so we lined up for a front seat show from the trumpet player and watched the large crowd form at the base of the tower.
We then continued our journey through the city. It was Easter Sunday, and I had two Cadbury eggs to celebrate. We decided the best place to enjoy them would be the Charles Bridge.
Happy Easter! Playing a little Cadbury king of the house.
Without an agenda on our third and final crossing of the Charles Bridge, we were able to take in the people and enjoy the atmosphere. The bridge in the daytime is covered with artists, musicians, and pretty much every other form of street entertainment there is.
On the other side of the bridge, we explored the non-castle area.
As we approached Prague's modern art museum, we were soon surrounded by a bunch of weird sculptures.
Our views from the other side of the river provided a lovely look back on Prague.
We also had a closer view of the Eiffel Tower...? This structure is mildly confusing when you see it and its hard to miss sitting up on top of the hill overlooking the city. It actually was inspired by the Eiffel Tower...but why?
We drank beer and sat in this little place until it was time to grab our things and head to the airport. I loved this city, it was absolutely beautiful with good food, beautiful structures, and fantastic beer.
No comments:
Post a Comment