Everywhere you turn, it’s charm exudes relentlessly. The details on the buildings are spectacular and the enchanting plazas are everywhere. We think it is “the” city of architectural splendor. The picture perfect Old Town, where we are staying in a lovely, totally remodeled apartment, has Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque churches, town halls and towers that make for wonderful photo opps. Whether you visit Old Town Square at dawn, dusk, or any hour in between, you can’t fail to be impressed by its pristine beauty. The city’s astonishing prettiness can make Prague resemble a toy town at times. The Prague Castle, the most significant landmark and tourist attraction, sits across the Vltava River on its lofty hill.
The Czechs have done a wonderful job of embracing the West since the fall of communism in the 1989. Prague has been able to maintain its character amongst the MacDonalds and H&M’s and the city really doesn’t appear to have the unfortunate side affects of the capital’s new Westernised identity.
Wednesday was our first full-day in Prague and, as usual, we took a walking tour. We started out walking over to the beautiful Astronomical Clock in the magnificent Old Town Square. Our guide said that it is the most overrated attraction in all of Prague. Every hour, two doors open and the figures of the Apostles revolve around for less than 15 seconds. Later in the day, we just happened to be walking in the square and couldn’t understand the huge crowd – it was because the clock was ready to open it’s doors! It probably is overrated, nonetheless it was charming to watch.
Old Town Square is bursting with tourists, horse-drawn carriages and loads of Segway riders. The center is a wonderful mixture of cobbled lanes, courtyards, cathedrals and countless churches. The medley of stunning architectural styles represents Czech’s long history. This afternoon, we did our favorite past time in Old Town Square-sitting at an outdoor cafe with drinks and people-watching. Our tour guide mentioned that Czecks love their beer as it is usually cheaper than water. She also said that we should pay no more than two dollars for a large beer (except if you are having drinks in touristy Old Town Square). David is currently experiencing beer ecstasy!
Connecting Old Town and “Lesser Town” over the River Vltava is the 600 year old Charles Bridge. It is a pedestrian bridge with a myriad of vendor stalls and musicians. The bridge is Prague’s most iconic landmark. While it is quite striking with its 30 Baroque statues, most of these statues are quite blackened from age thus making them rather difficult to photograph.
One of our last stops was the Jewish Quarter in Prague, known as Josefov. It is located between the Old Town Square and the Vltava River. Today, the area is full of Prada, Gucci and other top designer shops. The most heartrending, tragic visit today was to the Pinkas Synagogue in the Jewish Quarter. There is a permanent exhibition that displays children’s drawing which were created by children deported to the Terezin ghetto between 1942 and 1944. These drawing were made during art classes that were organized by a woman painter named Friedl Dicker-Brandeis. The pictures the children drew depicted everyday ghetto life, holiday celebrations and the dreams that the imprisoned children had of returning home. Terezin served as a way station to the concentration and death camps where the children finally ended up. Another very emotional experience for us.
