Czech it out!

Woo Prague!

So, once again, I have managed to cram an inordinate amount of stuff into one weekend! Our Prague trip started Friday morning with our 5 hour bus ride (with 2 stops). On arriving in the city around noon, it all seemed very strange to us. Of course, we couldn't understand any signs because they were written in Czech, and all the buildings looked really eastern European. It didn't help that it was an overcast, chilly day, because - no joke - it really resembled what you would think of a Soviet Eastern Bloc country. We went to take out money (Czech Kronen or Crowns) so we could 'grab' some lunch. Ordering was somewhat tricky, as we used a combination of English, German, and hand signs to tell what we wanted. My 2 slices of Bacon pizza set me back 50 Crowns (CZK).

OH YEAH, I forgot to mention that it's roughly 15 CZK to the dollar or 22 to the Euro. So we were all walking around with 500 CZK bills...a lunch for 5 was 1880 CZK...and admission to the Jewish museum was 600 CZK. MADNESS!

So anyway, the rest of Friday, we went on a tour around Prague Castle and saw some of the highlights of downtown, such as the Astronomical Clock, the Dancing House, the shopping district, and the Jewish Quarter. Then, after an excellent dinner of stir fried pork and veggies and potato salad, we chilled in the hotel.

Saturday was the height of craziness. A group of six of us started off at around 10.15 taking the streetcar downtown. We walked through Wencenslas Square (i.e. the Good King W... who was a Czech king) en route to the Communism Museum. Ironically, it's next to a McDonalds. Actually, it was a very good museum for understanding Czech history in the past century. After the museum, we walked down to the Vltava (Eng-Moldau) River, checked out an island, then walked along the river towards the Charles bridge (and the shopping district). After some window shopping and some lunch, we turned off of the main drag to see what some other inner city streets were like. It was all touristy.

So, from the "new" part of town, we crossed the Charles bridge in search of 2 landmarks. First, we found the Infant Jesus of Prague at the Church of our Lady Victorious. This statue was made and given to the church in 1631 and supposedly has done many miracles since. There's a Wikipedia page about it if you want more information.

So after that, we went on a search for some wall that looks like the inside of a cave. Yeah, I know that's obscure. It was too. Turns out, it was in the courtyard of the Senate building, so we checked it out, along with plenty of other tourists who were there. The courtyard actually had some really nice gravely walkways, an outdoor classical-style stage, some hedges...and a flock of free roaming peacocks. So we admired the peacocks (including an albino alpha-male...he was a beast!) and the children chasing them around the courtyard. (the peacocks were smarter)

Finally, we walked back across the river, through the shopping district in new town, and through Wencenslas Square back to the streetcar to return to the hotel. There, we grabbed dinner (WIENER SCHNITZEL! YUUUUMMM!) and took a few minutes off before heading back downtown. Apparently, it was Prague's annual Museum Night, where some 30 museums were open from 19.00 til 1.00 for free! Additionally, buses ran between museums to make it easier to get around. So, we went to the Veletrzni Palace of the National Gallery to view some modern art! It was quite fun, though we didn't have enough time to do justice to the gallery. I wanted to see the Dvorak museum or another music museum, but the group consensus for art worked out pretty well. In the lobby was a row of urinals: above alternating urinals was written "This is not art" and "This is art." Enough said.

Today, Sunday, we got up at a similar time, checked out the Jewish Quarter again, walked through old town, walked the Charles bridge again, and went through the shopping district one more time (= 5 total times...impressed?). Then we returned to the hotel, and our entire group left to return to Wien.

So, I had a great time in Prague! Our little group did so much, and truely had a lot of fun. I'm sorry others in the Vienna group didn't quite enjoy it as much as we did, but hopefully it was still ok for them. As for the city, the downtown and old town areas were really nice; all the streets were cobblestone and featured the standard baroque architecture. The river was beautiful, especially with the Prague Castle in the background. Nonetheless, the outskirts of town (where we were staying) still had the earmarks of a country recovering from a long period of political turmoil. The local population is older rather than younger, but it would have been hard to tell that with the population of tourists downtown.

I can only hope that next week, when I venture off to Budapest (where they speak Hungarian and use Hungarian Forints) that I'll get yet another aspect of Eastern European life unlike Vienna or Prague.

This week at a glance:
Mon- Austria v. Germany- FAN ZONE!!!!
Tues- How to make Schnitzel, sponsored by the Internationalle Kulturinstitut
Wed- Dinner at the Sacher Hotel followed by a Verdi opera at Staatsoper Wien
Thurs- TBD
Fri- BUDAPEST!