Our next trip to Europe was to the wintry but magical destination of Prague. We were a bit worried because it had been -15 in the weeks leading up to our trip. Luckily things had started to warm up in the few days before we left. We arrived, not really sure how we were going to get into town, but by following everyone else we managed to get ourselves on to a bus followed by the underground and before we knew it we had managed to get ourselves into town. It was early evening so we dumped our stuff in our room and ventured out into the city and snow to find ourselves some dinner. We weren't too far from the famous old town square so we wandered along there and arrived just in time to see the crowds forming in front of the famous astronomical clock. Apparently the city council blinded the guy who made it so he could never make another o
ne. Have to make sure not to cross anyone in Prague....To be honest the clock was all a bit of an anticlimax. Things turned and little figurines came out but we didn't exactly get excited by the whole thing. We continued through the old town and eventually found ourselves at the famous Charles Bridge. We couldn't see much cause it was dark but we made our way across to the other side, which was much quieter. After a bit of aimless wandering we found ourselves a nice bar situated down by the river and proceeded to tuck in to some authentic Czech cuisine. Jess ordered herself a huge potato pancake and Marcus ordered himself a ridiculously huge pork knuckle. Suffice to say we were both soundly beaten by our dinners and there was plenty of leftovers for the dogs. We had a couple of tasty Czech lagers and then somehow managed to move our full bodies back to the hotel where we could keep out of the cold and sleep away all the food.
The next morning we arose, made the most of the breakfast (although it wasn't exactly anything to rave about) and made our way back in to town. It was back through the old town to the Charles Bridge, famous for having ornate statues all the way along it. Some of it was under repair but it was still very impressive, even d
ucking around all the piled up snow. The other side of the bridge was the Lesser Town (although it looked just as spectacular if you ask me...). We hiked up the winding rides to the to of the hill where Prague Castle is situated. Was a bit of a hike. We aren't used to climbing hills in London but at least it got the blood pumping to keep us warm. It also gave us a good view back over the city. It was more of a palace than a castle, similar to Versais or Hampton Court, although in the middle of the palace courtyard is a massive Cathedral, St Vitus. Lots of gargoyles and big arches. Typical Gothic fare which the Czech Republic is famous for. The walk through the Castle itself was interesting, but instead of telling us all about the people who lived there, the signs seemed to talk about the construction materials, how thick the walls were and how long it took to build. Maybe we were looking in the wrong place...There were a few art galleries thrown in to the mix too. Plenty of Gothic (and other) artwork although there was so much to take in some of it just passed us by. One of the coolest parts of the Castle was the Golden Lane. It is an old street within the Castle filled with quaint little shops. They were all very pretty and contained lots of random things like ancient suits of armour, as well as tourist stuff too. We finished the Castle with a trip to the torture tower (Grim...) and then made our way back down the hill via St Nicholas Church where we climbed up the tower to get a good view around the Lesser Town and again got to see some gory Czech history. (Czech out Saint Agatha...). It was then time for a late lunch of more beer and tasty Czech Dumplings
. We journeyed along the Lesser Town side of the river until we (finally) managed to find the Lennon Wall. It is a wall covered in graffiti and people constantly write on it to make it a mish mash of all sorts of random things. Bet you can't find what we wrote (we sure wouldn't be able to again...). You can't move in Prague without someone trying to encourage you in to their venue to see some live classical music. There are theatres, palaces and churches. We eventually succumbed to the charms of an old baroque church where we were entertained for about an hour and half by an excellent string quartet. Unfortunately it was like being entertained inside a freezer. It was COLD! Even the electric blankets they had laid down on the pews weren't enough to take the chill from our bones. Although Prague is renowned for its nightlife the cold meant that we were happy to return to our hotel room to get the feeling back in our fingers.
One thing we had heard was that the Jewish Quarter was well worth a visit so the next day we made our way over there. Apparently it used to be a walled up ghetto which was the only place Jewish people were allowed to live in Prague until the late 1800s when most of it was demolished and has since been rebuilt. We started our trip with a visit to the Pink Synagogue. It is not a working synagogue but rather a memorial to all the Jews who were killed during WW
II. There are thousands and thousands of names all over the inside walls. Outside is the Jewish Cemetery. Because there was not much room there are thousands of people buried in a very small space, all of their graves tightly next to (and on top of) one another. Some of the graves are ancient. We went on to visit the Maisel Synagogue and Spanish Synagogue which were full of details about the history of the Jewish people in the Czech Republic and the rites and rituals of Judaism. Not knowing much about what it means to be Jewish we found the whole thing an interesting and enlightening experience. We than wandered back in to the Old town square where we had a look inside another St Nicholas church. This one is huge on the outside but surprisingly narrow on the inside. We continued the walking tour, this time into the more modern part of town on the hunt for Wencelas Square. We walked for ages until we were well lost, and well out of the pretty touristy part. Turns out we had visited Wencelas Square shortly after leaving old town. Should have brought a map eh? Still good to see some of the less visited parts of Prague. Plenty of beautiful buildings around there too. We dropped in to the National Puppet Theatre on the way back where we were presented with a very entertaining performance of the classical opera Don Giovanni. We weren't sure what to expect but puppetry is an art form in the Czech Republic and we enjoyed ourselves (the theatre was heated too which helped...) Massive schnitzel for dinner and then we were off to the warmth of the hotel room for a good night's sleep after all that walking.
ne. Have to make sure not to cross anyone in Prague....To be honest the clock was all a bit of an anticlimax. Things turned and little figurines came out but we didn't exactly get excited by the whole thing. We continued through the old town and eventually found ourselves at the famous Charles Bridge. We couldn't see much cause it was dark but we made our way across to the other side, which was much quieter. After a bit of aimless wandering we found ourselves a nice bar situated down by the river and proceeded to tuck in to some authentic Czech cuisine. Jess ordered herself a huge potato pancake and Marcus ordered himself a ridiculously huge pork knuckle. Suffice to say we were both soundly beaten by our dinners and there was plenty of leftovers for the dogs. We had a couple of tasty Czech lagers and then somehow managed to move our full bodies back to the hotel where we could keep out of the cold and sleep away all the food.The next morning we arose, made the most of the breakfast (although it wasn't exactly anything to rave about) and made our way back in to town. It was back through the old town to the Charles Bridge, famous for having ornate statues all the way along it. Some of it was under repair but it was still very impressive, even d
ucking around all the piled up snow. The other side of the bridge was the Lesser Town (although it looked just as spectacular if you ask me...). We hiked up the winding rides to the to of the hill where Prague Castle is situated. Was a bit of a hike. We aren't used to climbing hills in London but at least it got the blood pumping to keep us warm. It also gave us a good view back over the city. It was more of a palace than a castle, similar to Versais or Hampton Court, although in the middle of the palace courtyard is a massive Cathedral, St Vitus. Lots of gargoyles and big arches. Typical Gothic fare which the Czech Republic is famous for. The walk through the Castle itself was interesting, but instead of telling us all about the people who lived there, the signs seemed to talk about the construction materials, how thick the walls were and how long it took to build. Maybe we were looking in the wrong place...There were a few art galleries thrown in to the mix too. Plenty of Gothic (and other) artwork although there was so much to take in some of it just passed us by. One of the coolest parts of the Castle was the Golden Lane. It is an old street within the Castle filled with quaint little shops. They were all very pretty and contained lots of random things like ancient suits of armour, as well as tourist stuff too. We finished the Castle with a trip to the torture tower (Grim...) and then made our way back down the hill via St Nicholas Church where we climbed up the tower to get a good view around the Lesser Town and again got to see some gory Czech history. (Czech out Saint Agatha...). It was then time for a late lunch of more beer and tasty Czech Dumplings
. We journeyed along the Lesser Town side of the river until we (finally) managed to find the Lennon Wall. It is a wall covered in graffiti and people constantly write on it to make it a mish mash of all sorts of random things. Bet you can't find what we wrote (we sure wouldn't be able to again...). You can't move in Prague without someone trying to encourage you in to their venue to see some live classical music. There are theatres, palaces and churches. We eventually succumbed to the charms of an old baroque church where we were entertained for about an hour and half by an excellent string quartet. Unfortunately it was like being entertained inside a freezer. It was COLD! Even the electric blankets they had laid down on the pews weren't enough to take the chill from our bones. Although Prague is renowned for its nightlife the cold meant that we were happy to return to our hotel room to get the feeling back in our fingers.One thing we had heard was that the Jewish Quarter was well worth a visit so the next day we made our way over there. Apparently it used to be a walled up ghetto which was the only place Jewish people were allowed to live in Prague until the late 1800s when most of it was demolished and has since been rebuilt. We started our trip with a visit to the Pink Synagogue. It is not a working synagogue but rather a memorial to all the Jews who were killed during WW
II. There are thousands and thousands of names all over the inside walls. Outside is the Jewish Cemetery. Because there was not much room there are thousands of people buried in a very small space, all of their graves tightly next to (and on top of) one another. Some of the graves are ancient. We went on to visit the Maisel Synagogue and Spanish Synagogue which were full of details about the history of the Jewish people in the Czech Republic and the rites and rituals of Judaism. Not knowing much about what it means to be Jewish we found the whole thing an interesting and enlightening experience. We than wandered back in to the Old town square where we had a look inside another St Nicholas church. This one is huge on the outside but surprisingly narrow on the inside. We continued the walking tour, this time into the more modern part of town on the hunt for Wencelas Square. We walked for ages until we were well lost, and well out of the pretty touristy part. Turns out we had visited Wencelas Square shortly after leaving old town. Should have brought a map eh? Still good to see some of the less visited parts of Prague. Plenty of beautiful buildings around there too. We dropped in to the National Puppet Theatre on the way back where we were presented with a very entertaining performance of the classical opera Don Giovanni. We weren't sure what to expect but puppetry is an art form in the Czech Republic and we enjoyed ourselves (the theatre was heated too which helped...) Massive schnitzel for dinner and then we were off to the warmth of the hotel room for a good night's sleep after all that walking.The next morning we were keen to venture a bit further afield so jumped on the train 
to Kutna Hora, a town about an hour out of town. There was only one thing that was drawing us to this town and that was a visit to the Kostnice Ossuary. The Kostnice Ossuary is a church decorated in the late 1800s with thousands of human bones. The Czech creepiness continues. It is only very small in size and quite an amazing sight to see. There are piles of bones and more creative items like a coat of arms, candle holders and a huge chandelier, reported to contain every bone in the human body. We went for a walk around Kutna Hora but after a while decided there really was nothing else of interest that we wanted to see there. So we jumped back on the train back to Prague, for a last visit back to the old town square and some tasty street food before we were back on the plane and yet again landing in London.
to Kutna Hora, a town about an hour out of town. There was only one thing that was drawing us to this town and that was a visit to the Kostnice Ossuary. The Kostnice Ossuary is a church decorated in the late 1800s with thousands of human bones. The Czech creepiness continues. It is only very small in size and quite an amazing sight to see. There are piles of bones and more creative items like a coat of arms, candle holders and a huge chandelier, reported to contain every bone in the human body. We went for a walk around Kutna Hora but after a while decided there really was nothing else of interest that we wanted to see there. So we jumped back on the train back to Prague, for a last visit back to the old town square and some tasty street food before we were back on the plane and yet again landing in London.http://picasaweb.google.com/JessicaLMcMillan/Prague#
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