Prancing around the magical city of Prague

In my last post, I mentioned that Alyssa and I would have lots of quality time together this week. Here’s why: we’re spending the week in Central Europe!

On Sunday, we took a 5:45 am flight to Prague, Czechia. We didn’t get much sleep the night before since we had to be at the airport by 3:30, but that didn’t stop us from having a fun day! We arrived at our hostel around 10:30, dropped our backpacks off, and then ventured out into the city to explore.

First, we went to the Old Town Square. Since we were there right on the hour, we got to see a little show at the astronomical clock. There are two windows that open up on the tower to reveal the Twelve Apostles rotating inside the tower. I overheard a tour guide saying that people are often disappointed by the show, but that’s not supposed to be the most impressive part of the clock anyway. What is impressive is the fact that it was built during the medieval period and is still functioning! It provides information such as the date, time, and position of the sun.

After the show, we walked around the Christmas market that’s located in the middle of the square. It was magical! Scents of chimney cakes and mulled wine filled the air, and Christmas lights brightened up the cloudy sky. An enormous Christmas tree was beautifully decorated and stood in the middle of the square next to equally large angels. While at the market, we got delicious potato pancakes and chimney cakes for lunch. As we were leaving, I heard the sound of horse shoes clicking on the cobblestone… and it turned out to be two horses pulling a carriage down the street!

Next, we walked about twenty minutes to Prague Castle. The view from the castle walls was fantastic!

My favorite part of Prague Castle was St. Vitus Cathedral, which is located inside the castle. The huge, gothic style cathedral has one of the coolest features I’ve ever seen: goblin statues that line the roof of the building and drip water from their mouths!

I’m sure the inside of the cathedral is impressive as well, but we didn’t end up going inside. Instead, we desperately tried to look for a restroom. That’s one thing that I’ve noticed about many European countries; it’s impossible to find a restroom in public, and when you do you have to pay for it (usually in coins). After searching all over the castle, we finally found one. Unfortunately, we needed coins to use it. We then tried going to an ATM, but the only options were between $500 and $1500. Then, I found a public restroom. We walked ten minutes there just to discover that it was closed for winter. Finally, we decided to go to a nearby Starbucks. A code was required to use that one, so we ended up buying tea. 

We had much higher spirits after that, so we continued on with our exploring. Our next stop was a picturesque street called “Nerudova”, which was supposedly named after a famous Czech writer who lived there.

Near that street, we found a cute little toy store that sold marionettes along with other wooden toys. I’ve seen marionettes all over Prague, so I’m thinking that they must be a very popular toy in the Czech Republic. 

Our final stop of the day was Charles Bridge, which was built during medieval times and crosses over the Vltava River. The entire bridge is lined with statues, some of which are supposed to being good luck when rubbed. I don’t know the stories of all the statues, but Alyssa did happen to look up the story of one that we rubbed. The statue is of Saint John of Nepomuk, who was drowned in the river after refusing to tell the Queen of Bohemia’s secrets. 

For dinner, Alyssa and I went to a place near our hostel for some Czech cuisine. I had chicken schnitzel and a local beer. It was delicious! We had a great time talking and laughing together. In the middle of a deep conversation, our waiter came over with two shots of liquor and said “we from the kitchen wanted to give you a little gift”. I’m not sure what it was exactly, but it had a sweet flavor. After doing a bit of searching, I’m thinking it may have been a shot of Becherovka. It was so nice to receive such a warm welcome on our first day of being in The Czech Republic!!!

Overall, my first day in Prague was absolutely magical. It felt like I was in a fairy tale! All of the buildings are colorful (lots of pink) and unique, and the city is very walkable. I don’t plan on using public transportation at all while I’m in Prague. I wouldn’t even want to take the tram because there’s something beautiful to enjoy on each street, and I wouldn’t want to miss it!

Stay tuned to read about yet another magical experience I’ve had while in Prague! Hint: we went to the theater…

Until next time,

Clara