Prague was my last solo trip of the year and for the first time in all of my travels; I decided to partake in one of those six hour organized walking tours. Typically, I prefer o explore new places on my own so I can really orient myself but I figured since I wasn’t going to be in Prague for very long, the tour was probably the most efficient way to see everything, and I was right. My guide was a nice young woman who was full of interesting information, and aside from a few moments of intense heat (or hail!) and a mildly annoying Swedish couple I really enjoyed the day! We saw all of the major sights of Prague, from the largest castle complex in Europe to the Old Square and one of the few remaining original Czech Crystal manufacturers. In the Old Square, there is a church whose main focal point is a famous and beautiful astronomical clock. The clock is composed of several dials, which represent the sun and moon and several moving figures. The figures represent sins and include vanity, greed, indulgence, and a stunning portrayal of Death as a skeleton, striking the time each hour. We ate traditional Czech food at a medieval restaurant (which for non-vegetarians consisted of a delicious looking roast with a bread dumpling of sorts, but for me consisted of chopped vegetables) after exploring the Old Town and then wandered over to St Peter’s Bridge for a boat tour to end our day.
It began to downpour torrentially just as we got on the boat and even started to hail a bit, so our journey was a little delayed but once we got off, the weather cleared up a bit and the tour went smoothly. We were guided by an ex-sailor who knew a lot about the river’s history, from its use during WWII to the 2002 flood where water reached 8 meters higher than normal (think the second floor windows of most canal-side houses).
I ended my day with a nice Italian dinner not far from the Old Square, and a little shopping for Czech crystal.
For my last day in Prague, I decided to go with my tried and true sightseeing favorite, the City Sightseeing tour bus company. There was a bit of confusion and the bus ended up being quite late, so the guide Jeremy compensated everyone with free castle tours or an extra day. Unfortunately, I was leaving the next day and had seen the castle already, so Jeremy came up with an alternative. Even though it was 10 o’ clock in the morning, he bought me a beer as compensation! I really took advantage of the bus and got off at almost every stop. I walked around Golden Gate, a fortress community where Franz Kafka lived, and visited the Strahov Monastery, which houses possibly the most beautiful libraries I have ever seen. My personal favorite is called The Theological Hall, and it is characterized by sweeping paintings across a carved ceiling, deep colored wood bookshelves, elegant statues and beautiful ancient globes. As far as I ‘m concerned, it was definitely worth the extra 50 krowns it cost to take pictures of the three exquisite libraries. After two busy days, I spent my last evening multiculturally, enjoying delicious Thai food recommended by the tour guide in downtown Prague. A short flight to London and I was reunited with my sister after six long months for the next portion of my incredible European journey!
Prague was my last solo trip of the year and for the first time in all of my travels; I decided to partake in one of those six hour organized walking tours. Typically, I prefer o explore new places on my own so I can really orient myself but I figured since I wasn’t going to be in Prague for very long, the tour was probably the most efficient way to see everything, and I was right. My guide was a nice young woman who was full of interesting information, and aside from a few moments of intense heat (or hail!) and a mildly annoying Swedish couple I really enjoyed the day! We saw all of the major sights of Prague, from the largest castle complex in Europe to the Old Square and one of the few remaining original Czech Crystal manufacturers. In the Old Square, there is a church whose main focal point is a famous and beautiful astronomical clock. The clock is composed of several dials, which represent the sun and moon and several moving figures. The figures represent sins and include vanity, greed, indulgence, and a stunning portrayal of Death as a skeleton, striking the time each hour. We ate traditional Czech food at a medieval restaurant (which for non-vegetarians consisted of a delicious looking roast with a bread dumpling of sorts, but for me consisted of chopped vegetables) after exploring the Old Town and then wandered over to St Peter’s Bridge for a boat tour to end our day. It began to downpour torrentially just as we got on the boat and even started to hail a bit, so our journey was a little delayed but once we got off, the weather cleared up a bit and the tour went smoothly. We were guided by an ex-sailor who knew a lot about the river’s history, from its use during WWII to the 2002 flood where water reached 8 meters higher than normal (think the second floor windows of most canal-side houses). I ended my day with a nice Italian dinner not far from the Old Square, and a little shopping for Czech crystal. 
For my last day in Prague, I decided to go with my tried and true sightseeing favorite, the City Sightseeing tour bus company. There was a bit of confusion and the bus ended up being quite late, so the guide Jeremy compensated everyone with free castle tours or an extra day. Unfortunately, I was leaving the next day and had seen the castle already, so Jeremy came up with an alternative. Even though it was 10 o’ clock in the morning, he bought me a beer as compensation! I really took advantage of the bus and got off at almost every stop. I walked around Golden Gate, a fortress community where Franz Kafka lived, and visited the Strahov Monastery, which houses possibly the most beautiful libraries I have ever seen. My personal favorite is called The Theological Hall, and it is characterized by sweeping paintings across a carved ceiling, deep colored wood bookshelves, elegant statues and beautiful ancient globes. As far as I ‘m concerned, it was definitely worth the extra 50 krowns it cost to take pictures of the three exquisite libraries. After two busy days, I spent my last evening multiculturally, enjoying delicious Thai food recommended by the tour guide in downtown Prague. A short flight to London and I was reunited with my sister after six long months for the next portion of my incredible European journey!
No comments:
Post a Comment