Prague Part I

by annie

As usual, we arrived without having done our research. It didn't really matter, though, because Prague is laid out with the tourist in mind. English can be found on signs and menus, guided tours plague the city, and pedestrian signs point towards the big sites. It's a great city to explore on foot, but the metro and trams are also easy to use. Within our first day, we walked along the Charles Bridge, watched the hourly performance of the Astronomical clock, saw the sites of Old Town Square and ate at a romantic vegetarian restaurant and tea house (thanks Sarah!). We spent the next three days running between hostels and couchsurf hosts and cramming in what we could.

On our second day, we walked up the steep hill to the Prague castle and gaped at the village-like grounds overshadowed by the giant spires of the Cathedral. Inside the Cathedral, we shuffled along with hordes of others to admire the stained glass. We decided against a tour of the castle interior, opting instead to take in the views of Prague down below. After lunch, we walked up a steep footpath into a large park overlooking the city. We stopped to rest under a cherry tree, again admiring the city from above. Eventually, we stumbled across a sign for a “Magical Cavern.” This sounded too good to pass up, so we found ourselves at the entrance of a two-story fantasy/otherworld art gallery of artist Reon, fully decorated like a cave. We giggled our way through, stopping to lounge on the olive-green 70's sofas with a cup of complimentary juice. We took way too many pictures. We discussed Reon's portrayal of women at length. We contemplated buying posters corresponding to our astrological signs, but decided against it.

The park had more treasures in store for us- a funicular ride to the top, an eiffel tower like structure to climb and a mirror maze. Later, we walked to the Franz Kafka museum but didn't go in. We trollied around the city a while before stopping in a new neighborhood for dinner.

Also in Prague, we explored a seemingly hardly-used coliseum dating to the 1700s, absorbed ourselves in the Communist Museum (conveniently sandwiched between McDonald's and a casino) and walked the grounds of Vysehrod, a section of town with turned leaves, a cathedral, graveyard and old town all tucked away amidst a large park, yes, overlooking the city.

To sum up Prague in my journal, I simply wrote one word- “YES!”

The pics:

Prague

If you missed our post on Kenmare, click HERE.