Czech it Out

I had no idea what to expect when going to Prague. My friends and I decided to go there because it was out of the European Union (aka no Euro!) and it is a part of the world we had never explored. Particularly, I was interested to go to a country that was once under Communist rule after taking courses about Communism. Even though, it is no longer under Communist leadership I was expecting Prague to be a gloomy city. I could not have been more wrong. The city was active, the people were friendly, and it had the most stunning and beautiful architecture. It was not as crowded or as lively Roma, but it still had so much to offer. Visiting Praha, made me want to explore further into Eastern Europe.

The first day we decided to go to Prague Castle. The Castle is a complex of different buildings, one of them is St. Vitus Cathedral. One thing you must do if you go is climb the three hundred stairs to the top. The view is breathtaking. I have to warn you this climb in my opinion was harder than the Duomo in Florence even though it had fewer stairs. The Cathedral has only one cramped spiral staircase to go up and down. There are many traffic jams and I spent most of the time trying not to get my feet stepped on. After our tour of the Praha Castle my friends and I decided to go see one of the many orchestra performances. We saw in the Lichenstein Palace a performace of works by Mozart and Vivaldi. It was perfect and relaxing plus something I would not have done unless I was in Praha. Later that evening we went to a restaurant near our hotel called U Medvidku. This is my favorite restaurant in Praha. It is not only a restaurant, but the smallest brewery in Praha. They brew there own beer called Oldsgott. Additionally, they have delicious Czech food. I had the garlic potato soup and goulash with white bread dumplings. Goulash is a traditional Bohemian dish that consist of beef in a thick gravy sauce on the side are white bread dumplings which are like taking the inside of white bread and making it into a more airy and spongy texture. They are plain by themselves, but taste delicious when mixed with the goulash gravy.

The next day we went to lunch at a place called Bohemian bagels right off the Old Charles Bridge. I had a bagel with cream cheese and lox, it was no H and H, but it hit the spot! The Charles Bridge is a beautiful pedestrian bridge, but with some creepy statues. I have to say while Old Town is beautiful, at times I was a little disappointed in how touristy it felt. At moments, it was like Florence with its endless touristy souvenir shops.

One of the most beautiful synagogues I have ever seen was in Praha. It is called the Spanish Synagogue. I would highly recommend spending a day in the Jewish quarter.

The most unforgettable day from the trip was our day trip to Terezin (Theresienstadt) Terezin was a former 18^th century military fotress that during WWII was converted by the Nazis into a concentration camp. Approximately, 33,000 people died here and another 87,000 were deported to other camps. As soon as I walked off the bus, I could sense this stillness and suffering in the air. It was as if the ground itself was mourning. It is a feeling to this day I will never forget and had never experienced before. This creepy and disturbing atmosphere was around me for whole portion of the tour. Our tour started in the Small fortress that was the Gestapo Police Prison. We were shown the barracks for prisoners where hundreds off people were crammed into a tiny room of wooden bunk beds. After the tour we went to the Main Fortress which was the Ghetto. This town is extremely eerie. There are about 2000 people who live there, however there are long empty streets and uninhabited buildings as if it were a ghost town. It was an extremely uncomfortable town. Our tour guide stressed the importance of never forgetting the atrocities and my visit to Terezin is something I could never forget.