When in Prague bring a pair of really great walking shoes

On the Charles Bridge in the Czech Republic around sunrise. (Photo by Renee Burns)

Prague is a fast-paced and cobblestoned city, mostly untouched by World War II with fantastic architecture and history that seems frozen in time. Everywhere you look there seems to be a surprise and the stories behind the places can be mind-blowing if you know where to look, or have an awesome walking tour guide who is full of information.

The best part? You can save tons of money on public transportation if you stay near the center of the city. It's so compact that you can walk everywhere. In other words, bring a pair of really great walking shoes. Believe me, your feet will thank you for it later. I'm not gonna lie, by mid-week last week my feet were yelling at me to sit down for a couple days.

There are several great tourist attractions that you can visit in Prague. The ones I enjoyed included: The Astronomical Clock, The Charles Bridge and Prague Castle.

If you're interested in history, like me, The Museum of Communism teaches you about communism in The Czech Republic and The Velvet Revolution of 1989. Exhibits throughout Josefov, The Jewish Quarter, can be eye-opening.

Also, if you ever come to Prague you HAVE to take a walking tour with a tour group called Sandeman's New Prague Tour. They are fantastic, and Filip is a wonderful guide. Plus it's free, and the guide is paid on tips, so they have to be good.

The Astronomical Clock

The Astronomical Clock. Prague, Czech Republic
 (Photo by Avery Cropp)

The Astronomical clock is a beautiful piece of architecture. My tour guide, Filip, said that though it's beautiful it is the most disappointing tourist attraction in the world, mostly because people are expecting more than what the show actually entails.

Filip said to love the clock you have to learn to love it like someone from Prague or else you'll be disappointed.

Every hour huge groups of people gather at the bottom of the clock to see the show. When the bell rings the skeleton, representing death, rings his bell and the Turk in the lower corner starts shaking his head. A string of disciples comes through a window on top and other figures move their heads back and forth as if they are saying no. Then when the final bell tolls the raven at the top of the clock opens it's mouth and makes a very raspy sounding caw. Then you hear the disappointment from people about how unimpressive by modern standards the show was.

Now, according to Filip, residents of Prague know this so sometimes they come to watch the clock and the tourists to experience a little Schadenfreude. This means finding someone else's disappointment funny, in German. What the tourists don't realize is that throughout it's life the clock has only needed three major repairs, and survived some damage by the German army in 1945. What the clock really is, is a testament to surviving time. It's been around since the 15th century and is still functional today.


The Charles Bridge

Charles Bridge, Prague Czech Republic.
 (Photo by Avery Cropp)

The Charles Bridge could quite possibly be the most beautiful bridge in the world. It serves as the main connection from the City of Prague across the Vlatava River to Prague Castle. The bridge is named after Prague's best king, Charles IV. It's lined with statues of saints and is very impressive.

During the day it's packed full of people, performers and vendors selling their wares and it's kind of fun to be in the middle of the action.

But if you're a little crazy like myself and a roommate of mine, Renee, I'd recommend making the effort to get up before sunrise and watch the day begin from there. You might think this sounds crazy but it's a pretty magical sight, as the picture above shows. It gets even better when all the bells from across the city start ringing at the exact same time just as the sun crosses the horizon.


Prague Castle

Prague Castle, Czech Republic.
(Photo by Avery Cropp)

Prague Castle and the surrounding area is something you need to set aside a day to do. You can walk through the town surrounding the castle, do some shopping, find the Lennon wall, which is a graffiti wall; and also visit several different attractions within the palace walls.

Founded in 880 the castle is now home to the President of the Czech Republic and is the largest castle complex in the world. It's big enough to hold about 13 football fields. Also on the grounds there's a huge Cathedral called St. Vitus Cathedral that is absolutely stunning.


Stained-glass windows in St. Vitus Cathedral
(Photo by Avery Cropp)

There are tickets available for all the tourist spots on the complex which include the old royal palace, the basilica of St. George, the Treasury of St. Vitus Cathedral, Golden Lane, Prague Castle Picture Gallery, Powder Tower, Rosenberg Palace, and the South Tower of St. Vitus Cathedral.

If you want to save a few Czech Koruna just buy the pass to The Old Royal Palace, the Basilica of St. George, St. Vitus Cathedral,  and Golden Lane.  I'd recommend getting the audio guide to learn more about the places, as I didn't do so and regretted it later.

Catch the changing of the Guard Ceremony at 12 p.m. and feel free to walk around the gardens. They're very pretty. Plus the views from the castle steps are incredible!

Museums

Now for my final recommendations, the museums.

The Museum of Communism was interesting. The Czech Republic did not break from the USSR's communist rule until 1989 when student protests that happened after the Berlin wall fell really gained some steam. The museum is set up as a self-guided tour with several walls of posters and a few video clips about the history of communism, what life was like under the communist rule, and the eventual conclusion of the Velvet Revolution which was, supposedly, the most peaceful transition from communist to democratic rule during the fall of the USSR. It was fascinating to me because I didn't know that the Czech Republic had so recently gotten out from under communist rule and I enjoyed learning more about the history of the nation.

Now Josefov is a different story.

The Jewish Quarter is home to several synagogues and museums that cover the story of what happened to the Jewish population during World War II in Prague. 80,000 people lost their lives in the Halocaust in Prague alone. The sad reason behind why this Jewish quarter remained after WWII is that Hitler wanted to keep it as a monument to an extinct race. He was evil.

It was sobering to learn about the history. One of the most heartbreaking displays in the quarter was a collection of drawings done by students in the Concentration Camp called Terezin.

Just some background information: Terezin was a work camp based just outside of Prague and served as a front for the Nazi's. It was essentially a good PR camp that they used to show people that everything was fine after the Jews were moved to camps. It was used in several propaganda films throughout World War II. What they didn't tell you was that conditions were as bad as other camps and most of the people held there were eventually sent to Auschwitz.

Anyway, back to the story. A teacher at this camp used art to help children work through the tragedy they were experiencing. The pictures cover everything from how the children felt when rules changed and they were removed from schools and forced from their homes. There are also pictures about life in the camps and their hopes for the future. The children who did the drawings were anywhere from 8 to 15 years old. To see this chapter of history through the eyes of children was very sad, but I think it helped to make a significant impact on the viewer in a different way than you usually find at other Halocaust memorials.       

Until next time,

 

Avery Cropp