Praha...Czech Check!

After getting to Birmingham, UK and spending 36 hours with Kevin Taylor, it was time for me to go….with Kevin to Prague! I have wanted to go to Prague since my backpacking trip with Molly in 2009, so it was kind of a no-brainer.

After two short flights we landed in the Czech Republic with a lovely view out our window.

After navigating (rather easily) to our hotel, we dropped our bags (next to the single double bed in the room…Kevin would have probably cuddled up next to me anyways), and headed out to the Old Town Square. There seems to be a ton of stuff going on in this rather touristy square at all times. In just our first visit we saw a number of street performers (including acrobats advertising for girls in writing on their backs…in English…strange), a couple getting married and tossing a bouquet, the Astronomical Clock, the Tyn Church, and a rooftop dinner with a wonderful view.

The next day we continued our tourist route and hit some major sites, including the Charles Bridge (though technically this occurred at 3am…no story to share here) and the Prague Castle. At the castle took tours of the old palace and church, climbed the tower (which offered a great panoramic of the city), and shot an old school crossbow!

At dinner we befriended a woman, Valerie (who is getting her PhD from Harvard), and talked her into going to a traditional Black Light Theater production, which apparently started in the Czech Republic. The show was called WOW and Kevin and I were really hoping the performance would be a memorable one…and was it ever. The description of the show was really deep…take a look:

During the show you will take a look deep inside your soul and learn how to free your inner child from fear. The spectacular non-verbal performance designed for the whole family tells the story of each one of us. At the end of performance you will easily understand why it’s called WOW.

The show opened with a performer dressed as a gnome (in neon clothing) who came out on stage and started talking in a voice similar to the Minions from Despicable Me. I’m pretty sure we apologized to Valerie about 5 minutes into it. The show was definitely unique and although we made fun of quite a bit of it (and needed some time to process the show afterwards), there were a few times when the performers did something that looked cool and it is definitely memorable.

Our next day was pretty relaxing as we just strolled around the city, visited the Petrinske Sady (Eifle Tower-ish structure), went to the Beer Gardens, and ate dinner with Valerie again. After dinner, Kevin and I decided to try and pretend we were 21 again by going on a Pub Crawl around the city with around 200 other people. This took us to 4 different bars, including the largest nightclub in Europe (or so they said), a 5-story nightclub with different music on each level. I believe we mainly stayed in the “oldies” section (fitting), though we did travel to the others as well. It was a late night for us…way too late…and a rough morning the next day. I’m not saying we were irresponsible with alcohol…it’s just our bodies hated us…and we seemed to ache all over. 

On our final morning/afternoon in Prague we checked out the Jewish Quarter of Prague. It was a very historical area with various synagogues (including the Pinkas Synagogue, which had the names of all 80,000+ Czechoslovakian Jews who died in the holocaust), a Ceremonial Hall (showcasing Jewish customs and traditions), and the Old Jewish Cemetery (which has over 12,000 tombstones and 100,000+ people buried in the small area).  

Upon leaving, I was extremely happy on our decision to travel to Prague. It’s a good-sized city with lots to do at a relatively inexpensive price. Navigating the city was extremely easy as well, as there were only three major metro lines cutting across the city in different directions. Finally, the food was fantastic! The dumplings (various kinds)…the goulash…the schnitzel…it was all delicious! 

PS: This will have to be my only post tonight, as the students board the ship tomorrow starting at 900…so in 7 hours! We depart at 1700 and will be on our way to St. Petersburg, Russia!

PSS: The internet is terribly slow on the ship and the pictures (that I was going to put on this post) are taking forever to download. I will try to find a better way to make this happen, so you can get a visual of my trips.

A span of a few heartbeats can make for a greater memory than the sum of a mundane year.