Destination: Prague

PRAHA ON MY MIND. That’s one saying I identified with, being born in Atlanta where our state license plate reads “Georgia on my mind”. It was there, in that Golden Lane touristy shop on a freezing day the last weekend of October, that I smiled to myself.

Prague was the last stop on our fall break vacation—first Budapest, then Vienna, now the Czech Republic’s capital. I had been once before with my family, but that was back when I was 13 and all I could remember was seeing Owen Wilson in a bathrobe and slippers at our hotel’s brunch.

Before returning back this time, however, it was clear to my friends and I that Prague was a tourist destination in eastern Europe not to be missed. We had, in fact, planned our trip around it. Everyone that I talked to—in France and back at home in the US—seemed to rave about the city. Was it the tourist attractions? The food? Or the fact that it was perhaps very accommodating to Americans? Only time would tell…

We first checked in at our hostel, the Czech Inn (get it?), the nicest we had stayed at during our 2 week trip. What an awesome morning brunch they served. If you happen to stay there, we ate dinner at a great local spot the first night—Nakozacce.

Things to do during your trip
-Definitely start off with the Free Walking Tour of the city: the morning one starts at 11am and lasts 3 hours but that includes a 20 minute bathroom stop where you can also grab food if you forgot to eat breakfast. Great tourguide and perfect way to get a real feel for the city. Did I mention it is completely free?

-Sites include: the Old Town Square & Astrological Clock, Charles Bridge, House of Black Madonna & Museum of Cubism, Church of Our Lady before Tyn, Prague Castle & St. Vitus’ Cathedral, Old Jewish Quarter, Old New Synaogue & the Golem, Spanish Synagogue, Czech Philharmonic, St. Nicolas’ Church, Kinsky Palace, Wenceslas Square, Art Nouveau Municipal House, Power Tower, Statue of Jan Hus, WWII Prague Uprising

-Walk across famous Charles Bridge: our walking tour guide Colin had previously mentioned that it when it was made, the builders threw cheese, eggs, and wine in it! Just an interesting sidenote

-Visit the Jewish Quarter and Museum
-The museum is full of artwork done by Jewish children in the ghetto before they were taken by the Nazis or escaped
-See the Old/New Synagogue
-Beautiful old cemetery from the first half of the 15th century, holds over 12,000 bodies

-Go to the John Lennon Wall, right off of the Charles Bridge

-Spend a half-day exploring Prague Castle: on our way there we stopped at the Church of St. Nicholas in Mala Strana (The Little Quarter) which had awesome Baroque interior
-The area includes a guard walk, St. Vitus’s Cathedral, St. George’s Basilica, Old Royal Palace, the crown jewels, and Golden Lane which is full of touristy shops

Eating
-Bohemian Bagel: MUST GO
-U Bulinu
-Klub Architektu: awesome restaurant that was literally an underground cave, menu was huge and so many local specialties it was hard to decide what to eat
-Cantina: craving Mexican? Go here (it’s right off of the John Lennon Wall)

Going out
-DEFINITELY do a pub/bar crawl. We stuck with all the other Americans our age in choosing “Prague’s Hottest Bar Crawl” but in a foreign city that I didn’t know much about, I wouldn’t have done it any other way. The crawl met at astrological clock at 9pm and between then and 2am, it took us to four different places—a truly amazing way to see the city and what the nightlife was like. Spots included Molly Malone’s (pub), Nebe (cocktail and music bar with underground lounge), Chapeau Rouge (all underground), Club Roxy (techno dance party)
-Zlaty Strom: this is where we celebrated Halloween. Had many different rooms, even some dancers