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Having loved Hungary so much we figured that it would be awesome to check out a little more of Eastern Europe - this time venturing to The Czech Republic (Prague), Poland (Krakow) and Berlin.
Learning our lessons from previous road trips, we decided night driving really wasn't the most relaxing way to go. Setting out early in the morning, we made our first stop about 1/2 way from Oxfordshire to Prague, at a fantastic hostel in Mainz (near Frankfurt).
We're telling you - if you haven't tried them yet, hostels are the way to go! This one catered to families, had a little restaurant/bar, bathroom in room and breakfast included for only 24 Euro/person (No they're not paying us to say this)! Anyway - after a quick rest we bypassed the Gutenberg museum and finished trucking the 850 miles to Prague (Praha):
The capital of the Czech Republic (formerly Czechoslovakia), Prague is a beautiful and ancient city. Despite a complex history (as true for nearly all eastern European cities), the buildings and architecture of Prague practically untouched by wars and the post-soviet "smartening-up" of the city has left Prague with nearly the same level of grandeur found in Paris or Vienna:
The beautiful Jubilee Synagogue (with detail below):
Always one to shun the glitz (well - always broke is more like it), we opted for more modest accommodations during our time in Prague:
From our hostel in central Prague we set off by foot to explore many of the local sights including Wenceslas Square (National Museum is in the background):
Prague Castle with the River Vltava in the foreground:
Funky stalactite rock wall thing in the Wallenstein Garden:
Random mall art:
Tourist traps aside, we spent a day in Josefov, the former Jewish Ghetto:
According to Wikipedia: "Jews are believed to have settled in Prague as early as the 10th century. The first pogrom was in 1096 (the first crusade) and eventually they were concentrated within a walled Ghetto. In 1850 the quarter was renamed "Josefstadt" (Joseph's City) after Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor who emancipated Jews with the Toleration Edict in 1781. Two years before Jews were allowed to settle outside of the city, so the share of the Jewish population in Josefov decreased, while only orthodox and poor Jews remained living there.
Most of the quarter was demolished between 1893 and 1913 as part of an initiative to model the city on Paris. What was left were only six synagogues, the old cemetery, and the Old Jewish Town Hall.
With only six synagogues, the old cemetery, and the Old Jewish Town Hall the Nazi German occupation could have been expected to complete the demolition of the old ghetto. However the area was preserved in order to provide a site for a planned "exotic museum of an extinct race". This meant that the Nazis gathered Jewish artifacts from all over central Europe for display in Josefov."
Today those artifacts are housed in the remaining synagogue/museums - but unfortunately no pictures are allowed inside the buildings:
The Old Jewish Cemetery, dating back to 1439 and used until 1787 (an estimated 100,000 people were buried here by that time):
Being in Prague for only a few days, we didn't get to see everything the city had to offer - but we certainly tried to hit many of the highlights, including traveling by the super efficient and clean metro system, a legacy to the Communist era:
Traveling by metro, we ventured out of the city one night to visit the Zizkov TV Tower:
Originally built by Soviets to jam West German TV transmissions, this tower now is home to some of the most bizarre installation art we've seen so far...
(It was a little too dark to get a good shot of the creepy crawling babies...)Sunset over Prague, from the Zizkov tower - you can just make out the castle in the center:
If we had to rank Prague in terms of "favorite cities we've visited" - we'd honestly put her towards the bottom of the list. We're not sure what we were expecting, but certainly the hordes of British tourists out for some cheap beer wasn't it... (not that we're complaining about the beer - in fact, Czech beer might be some of the best in the world - we came home with cases of it!!! Below is a shot of Kim enjoying a "Flek" - a dark carmel concoction brewed at u Fleku since 1499):
I guess our point is that nearly everywhere we went we were treated like tourists - handed english menus, etc., and we really struggled to get a true sense of the city. Perhaps we simply need to return with someone who can give us the 'inside scoop' on Prague. Of course, that's not to say the city is all bad! Our favorite moments in Prague occurred when we wandered off the beaten path - in this case accidentally stumbling into a small wine bar filled with locals gathered for a weeknight "sing-a-long". No English was spoken here, but a warm smile beckoned us in and friends were quickly made as we sang "Take Me Home, Country Roads", in whatever language worked best for you... (you MUST click on this link!)
Jesse was pulled into the band as the honorary rice-can shaker...
All-in-all, Prague was a lovely start to a fantastic two-week journey. More to come soon!
