Wonderful Weekend In Prague!

On Friday morning Ryan and I got up, early ate breakfast, and loaded the car in anticipation of hitting the road early to start our 4-day vacation in Prague.  Unfortunately, this is not what happened….  Both Ryan and I could not find our gloves and after searching all the vehicles I sent Ryan back into our locked house to look one last time! We then discovered the deadbolt on our door was jammed and even though we both had a set keys we were locked out. Thankfully we found a locksmith willing to come to our home and help fix our lock! After fixing our lock problem we were finally on our way to Prague….

Our Host Jan Rippl

We arrived at our quaint bed and breakfast at 5 pm after a 5-hour car ride. We were greeted at the door by the owner. Mr. Rippl helped us settle into our room, oriented us to the city, gave us restaurant recommendations, and a brief history of Prague. After depositing our luggage we decided to go check out the city and try some Czech food. One of the places recommended to us was named Beseda. Here Ryan had ham and Gnocchi and I enjoyed spicy goulash.

Our Bed & Breakfast

Spicy Goulash

Charles Bridge

On Saturday morning Ryan and I enjoyed a wonderful breakfast prepared by our host and then set out to further explore the city. We enjoyed picturesque views from the famous Charles Bridge.  This 1,700-foot bridge spans the Vltava River and was commissioned by King Charles IV in 1357 (everyone we met in Prague loves King Charles). This stunning walking bridge spans 16 arches and is lined with 30 Baroque statues of religious figures.  

Charles Bridge

Old Town Square And Astronomical Clock

After enjoying the bridge we ventured over to Old Town Square to meet up with our tour guide. Prior to the beginning of our walking tour we enjoyed a short production put on by Prague’s astronomical clock (this clock has quite a story), which dates back to 1410.  On our two hour walking tour we learned about the vast history of Prague. We visited the Old Jewish quarter, Old New Synagogue, Lesser Town, Old Town Square, Wenceslas Square, and many more historical places within the city. We walked by multiple churches and learned of the religious battles fought in Prague over time. Our tour guide informed us that the most of today's residents claim atheism as their primary religion. Simon (our English guide) believes the high number of atheists is due to many years of religious persecution. By the end of the tour Ryan was in love with the wide variety of architecture styles and I was in awe of the vast history of Prague.

Old Town Square

Wenceslas Square

Wenceslas Square

Old New Synagogue

We wandered through the Jewish quarter, which is the remains of the former Jewish ghetto formed long before the Nazi occupation of 1938. The Jews are believed to have settled in Prague as early as the 10^th century. After settling in Prague the Jews were asked to move into walled Ghetto where they remained for nearly 600 years. Much of the quarter was demolished between 1893 and 1913 in an act to clean up the city. Under Nazi occupation the Jews were once again forced to live in the Ghetto. Today the quarter is covered with museums, active synagogues, and shopping. The Jewish quarter is now the most expensive district in Prague.

Petrin Tower

After our walking tour Ryan and I decided to hike up the highest of Prague’s 7 hills to Petrin Tower. The hill is 1,043 feet high with the 196-foot tall Petrin tower situated close to the summit. Petrin is a smaller version of the Eiffel Tower and was constructed of recycled railway tracks in 1891. Unfortunately, once we made it to the top of the hill the tower was closed for the day.  We still enjoyed spectacular views of the city from the top of the hill and were able to walk along the old wall which once surrounded the city. After our hike back down Petrin hill Ryan and I enjoyed more Czech dishes at a restaurant called Lokal. Here we feasted on roast beef, bread dumplings, and Olomouc curd cheese.

Roast Beef And Bread Dumplings

Prague Castle District

Sunday morning we spent time visiting with our gracious host. He gave us more history of the city and described his journey into the tourism industry. Mr. Rippl described what life was like in communist Czech Republic and the dramatic change following the revolution. After our time with our host we ventured out into the city to find our tour guide, Paul. Sunday's tour took us through the Prague Castle District. The castle complex is a jumble of buildings and churches illustrating the shifting demands of its occupants and conquerors over the last millennium. 

St. Vitus Cathedral

At the center and highest point of the castle complex is the St. Vitus Cathedral. The cathedral's dramatic Gothic spires and flying buttresses are visible all over Prague. The original construction of the cathedral began in 1344 and the building was never completely finished until 1929. The Cathedral contains a royal crypt and mausoleum where  Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian II, Charles IV, Wenceslas, several Bohemian kings, and many other historical figures are buried. On our tour we walked around Strahov Monastery founded in 1140 and is still active today.  We stopped to take pictures of the Old Royal Palace, which is the former residence of Bohemian princes and kings.
The Palace is now used as royal apartments, presidential elections, and for representative events. During our tour we learned the term defenestration. Throughout the history of Prague there have been 3 separate occasions where corrupt leaders have been defenestrated or thrown from windows to courtyards within the castle complex. After enjoying picturesque views from the castle complex we headed down the hill to an Italian restaurant aptly named Marina. This restaurant is a housed on a large covered pontoon boat. We were lucky enough to have a table by the window where we dined with grand views of the Charles Bridge and Prague Castle.

Prague Castle

Prague Castle Complex

Looking down on the city from the Castle District

Ceremonial Hall

On Monday after saying goodbye to our wonderful host we spent our last hours in Prague further exploring the Jewish Quarter. We toured the Ceremonial Hall (built in 1911) where we saw displays of artifacts of Jewish medicine along with ancient death and burial practices. The Ceremonial hall was used as a mortuary for deceased Jewish dignitaries before they were taken for burial.  Next we walked through an old Jewish Cemetery where the oldest tombstone dates back to 1439. The tiny walled ground contains approximately 100,000 bodies and is a dreadful picture of the lack of space the Jews where allowed to bury their dead within the walled Ghetto. This cemetery was used until the late 1700’s and contains 12,000 tombstones. The plaques within the cemetery claim the dead are buried in 12 different layers and the tombstones mark only the coffins in the very top layer. After wandering through the cemetery we wandered through the Pinkas Synagogue. This Synagogue is dedicated to the Jewish victims of the Holocaust. The walls of the synagogue are covered with the names, deportation dates, and death dates of Czech Jews. It is hard to describe the atmosphere within the synagogue and how we felt reading the thousands of names handwritten on the walls. We had a wonderful time taking in all the beautiful views and architecture of the city.

Old Jewish Cemetery
 

We enjoyed the learning the history of Prague and dining on traditional Czech dishes. I would recommend the bed and breakfast we stayed at to anyone wanting to visit Prague (Dům u velké boty). If you are interested in pictures of the bed and breakfast or learning more about it you can visit their website: http://www.dumuvelkeboty.cz/.

Prague

Prague At Night

Prague

Looking up at Prague Castle from the Mánes Bridge