Prague Drobodružství

We were riding to Prague in a Harry Potteresque train cabin wishfully hoping for some golden chocolate frogs to pass by on the snack cart. Though there were no jumping chocolate frogs to be found, the trip was quite enjoyable. We were beginning to realize why people had described Prague as beautiful. Rolling hills of bright green grass with interspersed quaint tudor houses and houses topped with the typical orange slats. We've been adjusting to the 19 hours of sunlight here in the Germany area, so thankfully we arrived in Prague at 9:30pm and the sun was still shining. After some slight confusion with trains, taxi drivers trying to rip us off, and the metro, we walked to our hostel. Our friends greeted us at the door as they had arrived in Prague earlier that morning. We showered, we settled, and we planned the following day. The next morning we had a free guided tour of the city. We met at the infamous astronomical clock, one that tells time, the position of the moon, the day and year, etc. Each hour, the clock has a mechanical puppet show that has been running for over 600 years. There was an old legend about the creator of this clock, Hanus. It is said that after Hanus made the clock, the government did not want him to create another one elsewhere so they blinded Hanus.  Not a great thank you for this detailed piece of art if I do say so myself. When Hanus was near death, he wanted to touch the clock just one last time. His apprentice brought him to the clock and when he touched it, the clock stopped and then he died.

Astronomical Clock

Prague has had a bit of a rough time over the last century. In 1918, the Austria-Hungary Empire fell.  Despite very different cultures, the liberated Slovaks and Czechs banned together and created Czechoslovakia.  They were then ruled by the Nazis from 1939-1945, then communists (Soviets and other communist parties) from 1948-1989. Finally, in 1990 they yet again gained independence.  In 1993 Czechoslovakia split and the Czech Republic was created.  Though they became part of the EU in 2004, they continue to use Czech koruna instead of euros.

These retro looking trams were built during Soviet rule and all the parts were obtained and assembled right there in what is now the Czech Republic

Located in the town square opposite to the astronomical clock

This balcony (of the photo above) is the place where the prime minister proclaimed in 1948 that it was under the power of the communists. A hundred or so year ago this building served as a German elementary school for boys. It happened to be the school that Franz Kafka, philosopher and author of Metamorphosis, attended as a child. Kafka relayed his last will to his friend Maz Brod. He told Max to destroy all of his unpublished work and fortunately for us, his unfaithful friend went against his wishes and published some great works that are still cherished today.

Kafka's birthplace

Three main types of architecture that can be found in Prague: Renaissance, Gothic and Baroque.

Renaissance: horizontal, symmetrical, repetitive 

Gothic

Baroque: our guide pointed out that there were no smiling faces in this statue that is on the side of a church.  Other characteristics of Baroque: ornamental details and dramatic central projections

The old story goes that there was once a thief hiding inside the church, waiting until nightfall to collect the goods. Night arrives and as he reaches toward a certain item, the statue of Mary grabs him. The church men find him the next morning attached to this statue and the only option was to cut off the thief's forearm. As a reminder, the forearm was hung from a string near the back of the church. I walked inside the church expecting to see a replica but alas, it was a 400 year old preserved yet dilapidated forearm looking like it was on its last leg, or arm if you will.

Mummified forearm

Let's back up a little and make a chronological order of things: The Jews were possibly the first settlers of the city of Prague. Throughout history, Jewish people have had it rough. In 1215, the Lateran Counsel made Jews responsible for the death of Jesus Christ (coined Jewish deicide). Not sure how they decided that since Jesus was Jewish. They were forced to live in the ghettos and wear yellow tall caps to signify their religion. They were property of the king which sounds a whole lot worse than it may have been at the time. One advantage of being owned by the king was that if any violence was done against a Jew, it was considered violence against the king. Then there was the Golden Era under Joseph II's decree, which promoted equality and education. This decree gave Jews their freedom back, allowing them to attend public school and do jobs they previously were banned from doing.

Built in 1270, the Old New Synagogue is the oldest active synagogue in Europe

There is a legend regarding this synagogue. Once upon a time there was a Rabbi who made a monster out of clay, named Golem. His purpose was to protect the Jewish people during their time of oppression. This man put the secret formula to life inside Golems mouth and after a while, Golem became aggressive and was not fulfilling his duties as Jewish protector. The secret formula for life was taken out of his mouth and he crumbled.  It is said that the body of Golem still lies in the attic of this synagogue.

Around the mid 1200's, the Church of Our Lady was built in the town square. You'll notice if you look close that one tower is wider than the other, representing Adam and Eve.

Church of Our Lady

This is Charles University, the oldest university in Europe (Founded in 1347).  When it was first established, there were no buildings associated with the university so classes were held in churches

Charles Bridge: construction began at 5:31 on July 9, 1357.  Exact time important because Charles IV believed in the power of numerology: 1357, 9, 7, 5:31)

Charles Bridge at a distance

1621: The crosses on the ground commemorate the 27 Czech noblemen that were executed after the rebellion against Habsburg.

Before the 1700's, houses weren't marked by numbers.  Instead, they were marked in other ways.  As you can see in this picture, the house was marked with a green frog

Another "hunger wall." Built during a famine, the workers were paid and well fed.

During soviet rule, a huge statue was built of Stalin in 1955. Just seven years later, it was destroyed. Since it was illegal to destroy statues by dynamite, however, it took 2 years to chisel away the statue.

Old Stalin Statue

Modern Prague: Prague is full of classical pianists and violinists, opera singers, orchestras, street musicians, etc. Prague has more than 100 theaters and outside some of them are pianos for public use.

Video of Prague Police Officers: This is a video of Prague police officers playing one of the pianos outside of a theater.  The quickly became a youtube sensation with over a million views.  While their commanding officers weren't happy they were not doing their police duties, they were happy about the new publicity brought to Prague.

There were shows in beautiful theaters each night around Prague and we had the opportunity to attend Carmen, an opera, one night. Unknowingly, we experienced quite a few cultures that night: a French play set in Spain performed in Prague translated to Czech and English. Safe to say I was quite happy I had learned the plot before attending. I'm so glad I went, not only to see the intricate architecture of the theater but the amazing voices produced by a ridiculous lung capacity.

The State Theater

We spent out last day at the largest ancient castle in the world (founded in 870).  The buildings surrounding it are all part of the castle, allowing it to hold that prestigious title. 200 or so steps later, we reached the castle that overlooked the entire city.

Prague Castle. Photo cred: google images

Prague

Prague

As I'm planning a trip, I try to have enough days in each city that allows for relaxation after I have already visited all the tourist spots. That last day in Prague was wonderful, meandering through the gardens at a slow relaxing pace and having the rest of the day to do what we wanted. After those 200 steps up and down, we were in need of some food so somehow we found the most cost effective meal of the trip so far in a small restaurant at the foot of the castle. Our three course meal consisting of onion soup, duck, dumplings, the best cabbage I've ever had, and some bundt cake was a little less than 200 koruna (ie about $8). Post lunch, we waddled back to the markets and the Charles bridge to find some last minute gifts and spend what was left of our koruna. Later that night we headed to The Pub. Ie a pub that had a tap at every table. Each table had a monitor where you'd press your number, fill your beer mug, and then it would measure how much you were drinking throughout the night. You could also order food through this system. That, ladies and gentlemen, is what I think the future will be. More and more restaurants will have monitors or iPads at each table and you will order your food and swipe your credit card right then and there. Moving on: not only did we have a beer tap in the middle of our table but something you may or may not have heard of...The World Cup was on! It was Germany vs Portugal and a couple of our friends sported German jerseys, flags, and scarves. The night ended happily when Germany won 4-0.

The PUB where you can tap your own beer

Like I said, Prague is a musical city so that night, there was a free outdoor orchestral concert with music from Hollywood movies. They had all of the best: Star Wars, Pirates of the Caribbean, Rocky, Mission Impossible, Indiana Jones, and of course some James Bond. Thousands of people showed up to see a concert we were all so surprised was free.

Concert