Squares, Spires, and Snow!

Seriously friends. If you've never been to Prague, I highly suggest you get online right now and buy a ticket. This was the most beautiful city I have ever had the pleasure to visit and if that wasn't enough it snowed!! Completely picture perfect, think postcards. Especially with the wonderful dusting of snow we got on the first day there. To me, probably the coolest thing about it is how unchanged it seems (architecturally at least) from the Prague of the medieval period. It managed to remain pretty much unscathed throughout WWII and the Soviet occupation. Having only gained its independence recently, Prague is now fully in capitalism mode, with designer stores, souvenir shops, and of course, McDonald's.

This phenomenon is quite interesting to me as it has only been about 20 years since Czechoslovakia was very firmly under Communist control. As we walked through the Jewish Quarter, an area with some of the oldest synagogues in Europe, we saw a Gucci store, a Louis Vuitton store, Prada, etc. Very strange amongst the cobblestoned streets and historic buildings filled with stories from times past. Our guide was also telling us how, because of this complete shift in economic practices, Prague has gotten a lot more expensive. It was still much cheaper than Germany or London (wonderful for my wallet), but I wonder if I come back in two years what changes will I see. And I will be back. Maybe in the summer this time, the cold gets pretty old really quick.

I guess I should take some time to walk you through the sites. Pictures will follow. The highlights are: the Palace (of course), the John Lennon Wall, the Charles Bridge, the Jewish Quarter, Old Town Square, and St. Wenceslas Square. The cool thing about Prague is that you can walk to all of these places in a day no problem. The city itself is a maze of narrow streets and large squares but you can always find a landmark to orient yourself pretty quickly. Our hotel was extremely close to Old Town Square (I'm talking a one minute walk), which is home to an amazing Astronomical Clock, the Old Town Hall, and various restaurants and shops. The Palace is a sprawling complex with old buildings and new, perched at the top of a hill. Here we saw churches, dungeons, and great halls used by monarchs dating back into the Middle Ages. As it started to snow pretty hard while we were there, the descent from the Palace got a bit treacherous, but hey, what's a little danger to our adventuresome group. The Jewish Quarter was pretty humbling, as it there were tributes to the victims of the Holocaust and an incredibly old, incredibly full cemetery. The Charles Bridge is the oldest of many bridges in Prague, and the tower at the end offers a great view of the city. The John Lennon Wall is a free expression wall covered in graffiti, a must see if you're ever there. St. Wenceslas Square is a HUGE square with lots of shopping, but more importantly was the site of the Velvet Revolution and Prague Spring uprisings against totalitarian regimes, immortalized forever by students lighting themselves on fire in protest.

Also, the nightlife is awesome, but that's content for my next segment of "Gettin Lively in the Night".    Arrived in Nuremberg yesterday so stay tuned for my next post.

Here are some pictures. Until next time, Czech me out!

-RGIV