Praha | Prague | Praga | Prag

Praha, Česká Republika: 29 april-may 2; may 4-5

Since my arrival to Europe for the semester, I've been pretty smitten with the idea of traveling to eastern Europe and namely Prague, thanks to the enthusiastic raving of a certain Cameron Nelson and several online recommendations. Prague has always had this fairytale land appeal and I knew from the beginning that it was a pretty high priority on my Eurotrip bucket list. Well go ahead and scratch it of, because during my second spring break of the semester, I made the journey east!

Along with a handful of friends, we began our journey early in Sevilla, followed by a layover in Barca, and finally arrival to Prague! After finagling with the tram system and figuring out pieces of the mysterious Czech language, we managed to make it to our hostel (which was the BEST HOSTEL EVER--Art Hole Hostel, if you are in Prague stay there!) Friday was mostly recovery but we managed to cook up a delicious meal of roasted vegetables and pasta with garlic bread--seriously it was incredible (mostly because, if you haven't heard, my food situation here in Spain is continuing to plummet--it's pretty bad...). Then it was straight to bed (considering I happened to develop a pesky little cold, just my luck) followed by an early Saturday morning start to the Prague exploration.

We began our time in the city the completely sensible way...a free 3.5 hour walking tour! Also, fortunately for us, Prague still had all of the Easter Markets open--fantastic klobasa, desserts and more--and went spent time there before our tour started. Our Czech tour guide Filip (notice the F, no the Ph...he very importantly pointed this out to us), showed us all the main landmarks and attractions in Prague and included a great little history lesson to boot. We walked through Old Town and Wenceslas Squares, meandered around the Jewish Quarter, passed by the residences of Franz Kafka and even stopped for a break at BOHEMIA BAGEL. Honestly, the trip to the bagel shop was one of the highlights only because a) I'm addicted to bagels, b) I'm completely deprived of said bagels in Spain, c) I'm an addict. Anyways my hummus bagel (though not quite the same as Alpine's beloved Hummus is Among Us) hit the spot and we finished up the tour with a visit to a church that contains a human arm and a swing by the Charles Bridge area and the gorgeous river.

Next up: The John Lennon Wall and Love Locks.

I've always had a fascination with street art/graffiti and of course I'm in love with The Beatles, so the trip to this famous wall was a must. After a few misdirections, we finally found it and we each took our turn at signing the wall, and taking some rather cliche pictures (who cares). It reminded me a lot of the time I have spent tagging NC State's Free Expression Tunnel and was definitely a plus to the Prague trip. The Love Locks, though nothing extremely revolutionary, make for a really cute story and some unique photos, and were conveniently located right beside the wall! After the wall, we ventured up the Prague Castle, the obvious tour attraction of the city. Although the outside is very impressive, we weren't incredibly thrilled by the insides of the various exhibits, which consisted of a lot of empty rooms where you couldn't take pictures. It also might have just been that we were tired and it was raining. Regardless, I can add "visit to the Prague Castle" to my list!

...As well as a "visit to a bone church," check!

Kutná Hora, a small town about an hour away from Prague via train, is home to the legendary Kostnice Ossuary, or bone church. The structures and adornments in the interior of the chapel are literally constructed out of human bones--they were victims of the Bubonic Plague, actually. While it might seem a little creepy, I throughly enjoyed the visit, especially after learning the interesting facts about the chapel...soil from Golgotha was transported to the surrounding cemetery and the chandelier inside is constructed with every bone of the human body! Although figuring out the trains to get there was a complete nightmare, the trip was well worth it--I mean how many people can actually say they have been to such place?

With the exception of a mini trip to Berlin in the middle of our week (another blog post, don't you worry), we spent the majority of the rest of our time in Prague exploring the Jewish Quarter, including the Pinkhas Synagogue and the Old Jewish Cemetery, Petrin Hill and the roads along side the river and throwing back lots of Pilsner (I also managed to try a Raspberry beer one night a bar--GOOD life choice). We gorged ourselves on a total of 7 desserts in honor of Rebecca's 21st and I managed to consume TWO DELICIOUS sausages from street vendors. Complety worth the 50 koruny each time! On our last night, we made friends with a couple of cool German guys, an aspiring professor and a pilot in training, and spent dinner and drinks with them, talking and laughing a whole lot. In general, we also lucked out with the weather as well--it might have been a little chilly compared to the 85° temperatures we consistently have in Spain right now, but it only made the time spent in the city more magical. Because that is exactly how I see Prague--a lovely Eastern European haven straight from a fairy tale. Maybe its the castle or the red roofed buildings, the tradition or even the tumultuous past that draws me to it's "magical" feel, but I know for sure that I will be returning to the city. And hopefully sooner than later. Prague love! Below I've posted a few more shots from my lovely days in the city.