Prahaaaa

Prague in the background!

Emily and I were recovering from all the planning that went into our spring break, so for our weekend trip to Prague we took a pre-planned trip through a company called "Florence for Fun". It involved a 12 hour bus ride each way but it also included a stay in a really nice hotel and some pre-planned activities. Besides the convenience, we were motivated by the fact that the cheapest flight we could find was a one way fare of 150 euros- and that was with a 12 hour layover... so, bus trip it was!

We met our tour group (12 girls and 2 guys- pretty standard ratio for Florence) at the train station and set off around 7pm on Thursday night. The ride there was surprisingly fast and easy. For the first four hours they put on movies and then around midnight we all tried to go to bed. We each had two seats to ourselves and I got comfortable surprisingly quickly. After 8 hours of dozing in and out we finally arrived in Prague! We couldn't check into our rooms yet but we were able to freshen up and change before having breakfast at the hotel and setting off to explore Prague.

A 2 hour walking tour was our first activity. The old city of Prague is pretty small so walking was actually a really good way to see everything major. Prague literally isn't a real place to me. It seemed like Walt Disney had popped in and made a fairy tale castle set in the middle of Czech Republic. The buildings were all incredibly beautiful and old-looking in an awesome way (great sentence, I know). Our guide did a quick tour through New Town (built in the 1400s), Old Town Square, and the Jewish Quarter. We were at the famous astrological clock tower when the clock struck 11 but it was being repaired for the month, and we didn't get to see the little mechanical figures come out. Drats.

clock tower

cool.

They did have a trumpet player though so that was cool I supposed. Our tour ended at a place called Bohemian Bagels that everybody says is amazing but tasted like sawdust compared to Mountain Lakes bagels (obviously).  After the tour was over, Emily and I met up with one of her high school friends (shocking I know) and some other girls and we did a more extensive tour of the Jewish quarter. That section of the city was really cool and has the oldest synagogue in central Europe still in operation. We went into a bunch of synagogues and the Jewish cemetery as well.

really really old Synagogue

We decided to hike over the river and up the hill to the castle and cathedral next.  The walk wasn't that bad and the views along the way and from the top made it well worth it. I can't say the church was too impressive (I think I'm just burning out on churches from this entire semester) but the castle complex was really interesting.  Along the way our group managed to pick up a bunch of new kids who somehow knew everybody else (except for me) and in a giant gang we went towards the John Lennon wall. Obviously this was such a photo-op spot and the guys quickly got bored of all of the posing.

From there we crossed the Charles Bridge and walked through the center of town again. I was exhausted at this point so I skipped out on the beer garden where everybody else went (literally a garden where you drink beer) and went to the hotel to check in and nap before dinner. Our trip arranged a group dinner at a typical Czech restaurant so Emily and I joined them and got some pretzels and goulash. The food was good but I definitely would rather have a semester of Italian food. After dinner I went back to the hotel and crashed for the night.

On Saturday Emily and I got up and hiked back up the hill to the castle because we really wanted to see the Toy Museum. Yes, the Toy Museum. In our defense they were having an Anniversary Exhibit of Barbie! They had sooo many Barbies from the 1950s onwards. We really enjoyed ourselves. It was interesting to see all the toys from the 1700s and earlier too. After this we attempted to navigate the trolley system to make it to a brunch place where we met her high school friend again. Next stop was back to the center of Old Town to climb the bell tower and walk around the Easter Festival that was going on in Old Town Square. There were colored streamers and booths selling painted Easter eggs and other crafts all over. Some kids who study in Prague said this was a great time to come because the festival made the entire place so much fun.  The best part was definitely getting amazing Czech cinnamon rolls.

Easter Festival in Old Town Square

Dinner on Saturday was about as far from Czech as possible- sushi. We went in a huuuuge group of people that I barely knew but the food was good and everybody was really nice. The group split after dinner and some of us headed to some random bars before going to the five story club- Karlovy Lazne. This place was huuuuge and every floor had a different theme of music. I really enjoyed looking at the different scenes but it was a little crowed for my taste. Emily and I headed back to the hotel and got to sleep a good amount before waking up for another 12 hour bus trip. The way back was rougher since we had to entertain ourselves for 12 hours instead of just 4. Not unbearable though, and definitely worth it. Prague was suuuch a beautiful city and I'd definitely love to go back again.

Praha Castle