Thursday, June 30, 2011

The Praha Experience!

Ahoj friends . . . after a pretty long train ride from Budapest via Wien, we arrived in Prague, a short metro stop and a quick check in later, we were upgraded in hostel room size to a four bed room for just us two.  The extra space has been super nice.  Once again, our Bednar name rang a bell with the Czechs at the front desk, with perfect pronunciation I might add.  My genes seem to be telling me I’m home haha.  We have a nice long extended stay in Prague with four full days before we’re off to Frankfurt.  We’ve come to love cities with Metros and spacious hostel rooms with hot water that lasts longer than a few minutes!  Other than the fact that we might be staying by a private dancer’s club, we are liking our street view stay.

Magen and I quickly decided that, so far, Prague has the best food (trying my luck at beef goulash and other pork dishes has resulted in a palette screaming woo-hoo!), Rome had the best wine, Salzburg had the friendliest people, Vienna had the best weather, Budapest had the best coffee (cappuccinos seem to be our cafĂ© break of choice), they all have their fair share of good looking women, and the rest is yet to be determined!  The desserts are what really tempt our sweet tooth’s here in Praha.  With apple strudel, raspberry kolaches, and various cakes of awesome-ness, these sugar addicted Americans are finding bliss.  Our appetites are surprising both of us, but rightly so as active as we are throughout the day walking around, losing a few pounds but not because I’m not eating believe me!  I feel like Poppie, the most Czech in the family, would love it here and I wish he could visit someday, I have a feeling he would pick up the language again in no time.  My lingo is limited too “poo-peck” (sp?) meaning bellybutton.

We’ve ventured out into the beautiful city starting with the Jewish Quarter where limited pictures could be taken (Maisel – Spanish – Pinkas – Klaus Synagogue, Jewish Cemetery, and the Ceremonial Hall).  An interesting series to see, based on beliefs that unfortunately are pretty foreign to me, but overall a very sad story of prejudice and ultimate survival.  My favorite part was a collection of abstract art on display created by young Jewish children that were forced to live in the first ghetto of Praha, expressing their daily strife and where they seemed to find hope, pretty powerful stuff for 8 year olds, most of whom did not survive.  A humbling experience to say the least.

King Charles’ Bridge was another highlight of the day where we made sure to stop and make a wish at the 5 star relic on the north end.  Across the bridge we found some sort of amazing pink strawberry slushy that managed to get our return business again the next day, along with their form of a hot dog.

            We’ve also seen the Astronomical Clock in action which has a pretty neat design created by ancient philosophers, telling three different time scales all at once, and scrolls through the 12 Apostles at every hour along with a live trumpet serenade. 

Prague Castle held an exciting experience for us, it turned out to be Armed Forces day and we were treated to a parade with live bands, a motorcycle show, and the original 1960’s BMW cycle that was first used in the local forces.  Then the president of the Czech Republic came riding out on a horse!  Seemed to be a pretty big deal, even with the locals, and a nice treat of an unexpected show.  The castle, like all of them, was an entire city in itself back in the day.  The Czechs have experienced a great deal of harsh and unwelcome authority throughout the ages, and survival along with a commitment to freedom is a huge theme here (Go Czechs!). 

St. Vitcus Cathedral, within the castle, held an amazing surprise of some of the most gorgeous stained glass windows that I’ve ever seen in my life.  Each one was bursting with colors and so detailed.  With limited access, without having to pay, we were treated to the majority of them and shot some rewarding pictures, even though there’s no way that pictures could do them justice.  There was also one of the better managed gardens that we’ve seen that was a nice little stroll.

Walking through the rest of old town we found Lennon’s wall.  A fantastic collection of graffiti along a 30 meter stretch of wall dedicated to the ideals of John Lennon (peace, love, imagination, believing, etc.).  Definitely an abstract representation of the open minded that I’m quite sure sends a variety of different messages to its many viewers and artists every year.  We really liked the wall and hopefully captured some great background pictures.  The wall lies close to a university, where students back in the day stayed committed to capturing their messages on the wall, and eventually won the battle with the authorities who eventually gave up, now it’s a popular tourist attraction, especially to our generation. 

Magen and I decided to give the local arts a try also.  I, in particular, wanted to see an opera that was advertised online, but after being corrected by the ticket salesman that opera is out of season and it was actually a ballet that night, we quickly decided to invest anyways.  We bought the cheapest tickets which placed us on the back top row center for 100 CZK’s (about $5), but ended up loving our seats with a full stage view.  The ballet was titled Onegin, and was performed at the National Theatre @ 19:00.  Just being in the National Theatre was an experience in itself, the design and history radiated from its multiple curved levels, dimly lit atmosphere, and felt covered seating.  Onegin was an impressively danced ballet focusing around a lost love due to foolish pride.  I can now see why many experts label ballet as a sport of masculine demands, balancing the power with such grace was extremely impressive to watch. 

We’ve also done our fair share of street strolling, and I’ve decided that our breakfasts @ the Paneria is probably my favorite thing to do!  A cappuccino and a raspberry pastry is all it takes to put a smile on my face.

The Dancing House Buildings, inspired by a witty American architect, was a nice little outside of the box viewing also.

Today we’ve spent a lot of time in the nearby park, where we ate a take away lunch (their term for To Go) and decided to return to write this blog, let Magen indulge in her reading hobby, people watch, and quickly review snapped pictures.  All I can do is feel sorry for the friends and family back home dealing with the scorching hot weather and parched countryside.  I’m truly loving every minute of the literally carefree backpacker’s lifestyle, living with limited amenities helps you realize how little we truly need, and the average temperature of 70 degrees isn’t bad either!  I’m trying my best to make the absolute most of it. 

Oh, and I finally found some peanut butter, it’s Skippy instead of Peter Pan, but it will definitely do!  Magen had a good laugh at my happy dance.

The adventure isn’t over but is flying fast.  I’m sure I’m missing parts of the story but it’s hard to capture every great moment we incur along the way. 

Thanks for reading friends and until next time I’ll be missing you and truly hope that someday, you too, can have the Praha experience!  Ciao for now.

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