Czeching out Prague!

Pretty Prague: Land of castles, old bridges, gothic churches, Kafka and the famous astrological clock. We happened to be staying right around the corner from another landmark, the “Dancing Building,” designed my Frank Gehry (he also designed some fancy jewelry for Tiffany & Co). But maybe even better than that was the little Czech restaurant across the street from our hostel. The tall Pilsner’s only ran us $2 a piece. Plus the food was great (I highly recommend the potato pancakes with bleu cheese).
Our first day, we hit up Prague castle which sits stately up a hill watching over the city. It’s a long walk but well worth the view. To get there you cross over the landmark St Charles Bridge. On it, statues line the whole thing. But one in particular is special because it signifies the spot where a watch-guard was thrown to his death for not revealing the extramarital affairs of the Queen, racy thing that she was. Once inside Prague Castle you walk through the cathedrals, museums, down golden lane, and to the former torture tower. After I got us thoroughly lost on the way down we walked back up to check out the “must see” singing fountain. Well, it doesn’t sing. And it’s itty-bitty. So, maybe not so must see in my book, especially since it meant climbing the 300 some stairs back up to the gardens. Jeff will never let me live that one down. Now, as far as the other “must see” in every travel book is the Old Town Hall Astrological Clock. Supposedly, the town officials loved it so much that they thanked the artist by cutting out his eyes so that he could never make something more beautiful in another town. Lovely little story, huh? So there we are at noon, with the other throngs of tourists, pushing and shoving to see this clock work its magic. It rings, doors slide open, apostles slide past, and then….nothing. Jeff looked up and said, “Seriously?” Now, I know I’m making Prague sound a little overrated, but I assure it is not. One of the best possible things to do here is just take a walk. Most historians agree that Prague is architecturally one of the best preserved towns in Europe. It also has a thriving art community and rich recent history. Among other things, it boasts the oldest synagogue and Jewish cemetery in Europe. Josef, the Jewish sector, has an excellent little church, Pinkas. In which, 80,000 Czech Jewish holocaust victim’s names are written out with their days of birth and death. Very moving. Prague is so rich culturally; you could skip all the “must sees” and still have a very full and memorable agenda. I would definitely go back again, especially with a couple of neighbors.