Our Trip To Prague

Since it was still early, our room was not yet available. We therefore left our bags and were directed to the Old Town Square, very close by, where we would be sure to find a cup of coffee. Nelson and I meandered through the street and found Old Town Square. How beautiful it was. Right before us was the Old Town Hall and Astronomical Clock (1364), the Church of Saint Nicholas, and the Church of Our Lady before Tyn (late 14th century). We were indeed in another century and another world. It was breathtaking. Needless to say, in this area, there were many restaurants with their tables and chairs outside (in spite of the cold). We had a delicious breakfast, all the while, enjoying the marvel of culture and architecture right outside the restaurant's window.

Fighting jet lag is not easy but we have learned that a good way to fight it is to just keep going. And so off we went across the famous Charles Bridge to visit the Prague Castle, founded around 870, where we explored St. Vitus' Cathedral, St. George Basilica, and Golden Lane. We then had fun exploring the streets and ended our day having a traditional Czech dinner. We knew we were going to enjoy this city. There were horse drawn carriages and the narrow streets had checker board cobblestones. There were spires all about and we felt that witches and bats were due to appear at anytime. As it had been a long day, we headed back to the hotel and had a good night's sleep.



On Thursday, November 25th, we wished each other a Happy Thanksgiving and continued our exploration. We climbed the stairs of the Astronomical Clock Tower all the way to the top which allowed us a beautiful view of the town. We then took a tour of the Old Town Hall and visited the 12th century dungeon in the basement. While we were in the Hall, we were fortunate enough to see the trap doors open and the wooden statues move (we saw them from outside, as well, but it was pretty cool to see them up close). We visited Old Jewish Town and saw the Old-New Synagogue which was built around 1270 and is the oldest synagogue in Europe. We saw the Old Jewish Cemetery and Jewish Town Hall which has a Hebraic clock whose hands turn anti-clockwise. We enjoyed a classical concert that night in an old Church, Church of St. Martin in the Wall, and had a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner eating the best Lebanese food ever.

On Friday, November 26th, we visited the Communist Museum, which is ironically built above a McDonald's. We had an early dinner at the Pilsen restaurant, located in the basement of the Municipal House. We had a delicious Czech classical meal in this Art Nouveau period restaurant. We walked around and shopped. Nelson (not me, if you can believe) bought a pair of shoes. We then went back to the hotel where Nelson took a little rest while I took off and explored the town. I treated myself to a beautiful garnet bracelet (Czech lands are famous for burgundy-red Bohemian garnets) and bought some amber pieces (from the Baltic Sea). I then went back to pick up Nelson and we went to see a best of Mozart concert at the Municipal House. It was another wonderful day.

On Saturday, November 27th, we took a bus tour to the fortress of Terezin which was built in 1780-1790 and was meant to protect access to roads against hostile troops that invaded Bohemia during the Prussian-Austrian wars in the 18th century. In modern history, in 1945, it was used by the Nazis as a concentration camp for Jews. It was a place of suffering, courage, self-sacrifice and never-ending struggle to save those who were meant to fall victim of the Holocaust. Out of the 87,000 prisoners who left on the transports, less than 4,000 survived. The victims also included thousands of children who left behind drawings that became for the whole world a symbol of the monstrosity of the Final Solution, and an ever-lasting reminder to the post-war generations. It was a very moving experience to witness this tragic and extremely sorrowful site. After our tour, Nelson and I continued our exploration of the wonderful city of Prague. We had our best lunch this day—a kielbasa with delicious mustard—right on the street (like our frankfurter stands, but theirs is larger with counter space to place and eat your food).We then went to a jewelry store and Nelson bought me a beautiful garnet ring. That night, we enjoyed a goose dinner. There was a full moon that night and we kept waiting for witches and bats to appear among the spires. We thought of Katie and knew she would just love these gothic sites on this mysterious night. It was all so beautiful.

Thanksgiving Dinner at a Morrocan restaurant in Prague.

Sunday, November 28th, was our last day and I was trying to memorize the beautiful sites so that I could remember them for a long time to come. We visited the Alfons Mucha (1860-1939) Museum where we saw beautiful works by this most famous of all Czech artists. There was a street market that day where I bought a puppet (also very traditional in Prague) and Nelson bought a motorized flying balloon. We had a delicious meal at an Italian restaurant. That night, we walked over the Charles Bridge again and visited the Old Town Square to say our fond farewells and thanks for such a beautiful stay.

On Monday, November 29th, we headed home feeling enriched, happy, and grateful for the opportunity to visit such a wondrous city. My Nelson and I had another wonderful vacation.