Being Bohemian: A Prague Adventure

After Christmas 2015, I had the wonderful opportunity to visit Prague in the Czech Republic. Prague always seemed like such a mysterious and exotic place to me. We learn about it briefly in history when it was referred to as Bohemia, but we never really know much more about it. In reality, we are exposed to Prague more often than we know. Prague is the backdrop for many movies and TV shows, but it is often disguised as another country. The TV shows Outlander and The Musketeers both recently shot in Prague with the setting in Paris in the 1700s and 1600s, respectively. The most recent version of Casino Royale was also shot in Prague, with the airport and a casino disguised as Miami and the National Museum disguised as James Bond’s hotel in Italy. Sneaky sneaky!

Must-see

Prague Castle Complex

The Prague Castle Complex is the largest in the world. It’s definitely not your traditional castle with the turrets and a moat, but more a series of buildings that form the castle. In fact, before the free walking tour I went on, I thought the castle was the St. Vitus Cathedral. The cathedral is just the centerpiece of the castle complex. The castle has similar guards in front of the entrance, similar to the Queen’s Guard in front of Buckingham Palace, but it’s not as popular or well known. The castle complex is free to enter. There are probably some good places to go into, but we were trying to fit in as much as we could into our day that we didn’t stop and peek in anywhere.

Nor did we got inside the St. Vitus Cathedral as you had to pay. I’m sure it wasn’t a large sum of money, so if I had the chance, I would like to go back and look inside. Fun Fact: The outside of the cathedral was used in A Knight’s Tale (as was the Charles Bridge) to look like medieval London! It is definitely the most beautiful building in Prague.

Vyšehrad 

It is legend that over a millennium ago, a Slavic princess named Libuše, who had visions, said, “I see a great city whose glory will touch the stars.” in this spot of Vyšehrad. Today, this location is toward the end of the main section of Prague and has a beautiful scenic view over the river. It’s a bit a far walk from the main part of the city. We walked from the castle complex down to the south and it was about a thirty minute walk. It doesn’t really seem very long though because it’s very calm and pretty walking down the banks of the river.

Be prepared. There are a lot of steps to climb to get to the cliffs. But at the top, you are rewarded with the Basilica of St. Peter and St. Paul, which allows you to enter through donations (not a fixed price) and with the fortress view over the cliffs. We happened to be there as the sun was setting, so it made for great daylight for taking pictures … as well as putting a different perspective on the scenery.

Wenceslas Square

Most of us know Good King Wenceslas through the Christmas song, but he was actually a very famous Bohemian duke who is considered the patron saint of the Czechs. Today, he has a square in his honor in Prague, with a statue of him riding a horse in front of the National Museum. The square is actually a long road that is filled with stores and buildings, and when I was there, a Christmas market. The National Museum behind his statue is also very beautiful (and as mentioned before, it was used as the hotel for Casino Royale, so you know it’s beautiful!) – it was closed for renovations when we were there, though.

It is quite famous throughout history, particularly in the last half-century, when Prague was in the midst of the Velvet Revolution. Many protests were held in Wenceslas Square – there is a little plaque in memory of two people, whom after we looked them up, set themselves on fire in protest during the 1960s.

Astronomical Clock 

The Astronomical Clock was first built in 1410 and is currently the oldest still-functioning clock in the world. There are two faces – the top face follows the movements of the sun and the moon and the bottom face contains the signs the zodiac. On either side of the top portion are the fears that people had during medieval times – vanity, lust, greed, and death. When the clock strikes the hour, the skeleton rings the bell and there are two windows that open up where you can see the Twelve Apostles.

I really loved looking at the clock. There is so much symbolism and many cool things to look at. It’s absolutely stunning in the sunlight. There are almost always people crowding around the clock to get a picture, especially when it is about to strike the hour. People start waiting ten minutes before to get a good look at the clock. It is located in one of the main squares: Old Town Square.

Lennon Wall

Across the Charles Bridge, on the same side as the castle complex, is Lennon Wall, dedicated in honor of,  who else, John Lennon. The wall first attracted graffiti in the 1980s and was used as a symbol of protest throughout the 80s. Today, it is full of graffiti about peace and love, what John Lennon was known for.

Last year, the wall was painted completely white in memory of the 25th anniversary of the Velvet Revolution, when Czechoslovakia was peacefully transitioned out of communism. The wall is constantly being painted over and filled with new art, but they always keep John Lennon’s portrait visible, if possible.

Charles Bridge

Ok, the Charles Bridge isn’t exactly a sight to see, but it kind of is. It is the oldest bridge in Prague, and until the 1800s, was the only means of crossing the Vltava River to get to the other side where the castle is. It is the busiest bridge in the city – you might have to keep your child on a lease to prevent them from getting lost when crossing over. The bridge is full of statues, although not originals, that represent different saints.

Fun Fact: Czech legends say that King Charles consulted “experts” to find the perfect day to build the bridge. They told him to built the bridge on July 9, 1357 at 5:31 AM 09/07 at 5:31 in the year 1357. He wanted it to follow numerology to give him extra power.

Food

Vegetarians are not very welcome! Czechs (and most of Eastern Europeans) love their meat. The first night in Prague, I had ham that was being slowly cooked on a rotisserie outside. For lunch the next day, I had ribs (I can never resist ribs!). My favorite thing was the Svičková, which is a meat served in a cream dish and bread. There was actually more bread than meat. But after walking all up and down creation that day, the bread was very welcomed.

I also enjoyed several Trdelník, which is a sweet pastry. It looks almost like a slinky! You can order it in many varieties: cinnamon, with chocolate, nuts … those are just a few of the options. It’s a nice sweet treat that makes for a good afternoon snack.

Although it’s not technically food, the Czechs love their beer. Czechs drink the most beer per capita than any other country in the world. Yes, they even drink more beer than the Germans. Beer is sometimes cheaper than water, and is almost always cheaper than getting a Coke. Unfortunately for me, I don’t like beer, so I didn’t get to partake in this Czech pastime, but if you love beer, then Prague is definitely for you. The term “pilsner” comes from a place in the Czech Republic, a fact they are very proud of!

Transportation

Prague is a very walkable city. I got a Fitbit for Christmas, so everyday I was breaking new records and went way beyond the 10,000 daily steps. If walking isn’t your thing, they have trams that go up and down the city. I was never very familiar with the metro system, as I only took it to get to and from the bus stop that then took you to and from the airport. The tickets were not very expensive, but you have to make sure you validate your ticket before you ride or you may get stopped and fined.

Currency

The currency in the Czech Republic is not the euro. Although they are a part of the European Union, they use their own money: the Czech koruna. One euro is just under 30 korunas, which is really strange when you have to pay 500 korunas for a meal. Some places do accept the euro, like tourist shops and hostels, but I preferred to have the currency of the Czech Republic just in case.

New Year’s 

New Year’s was definitely an interesting experience. We first went to Old Town Square (where the Astronomical Clock is) and they had a little concert going on. They alternated between a DJ and these strange older Czech guys that played guitar to classic rock songs. Other than the fact we kept getting run over by the super drunk people, it was very fun. We met another American girl and some cute German/Dutch boys too. 😉

The crazy part though started when we left Old Town Square to go to the Vltava River and see the fireworks at midnight. They launch the fireworks from Charles Bridge, so we went to the bridge next to it to get the best view. Well … we have no idea which were the official fireworks because everyone walking around had their own fireworks and was launching them over the bridge, into the street, setting off the bottle rockets, sparklers, the poppers … it was like a war zone! We definitely heard a lot of sirens throughout the night.

Also, they shut down all their public bathrooms! They already make you pay to go to the bathroom, but now they shut down all the bathrooms. What a misery for the drunks! I wasn’t drinking, but I had to go to the bathroom at one point and it was difficult to find somewhere. They placed eight port-a-potties in the Old Town Square, but by 11 PM, it was a 20 minute wait for them!

The one thing that made New Year’s though was that it started to snow. It didn’t stick to much, but it was so nice to witness snow falling, and on New Year’s, no less. It did cover the grass and cars a little – a light dusting, but that was all. I can’t even imagine what it would have been like though if it had really started to come down.

In Conclusion

I have only scratched the surface with things to do in Prague. I was only there for two and a half days, but there is a lot to do! Before I went, I met a girl who said that Prague was so small and that you can see it all in one day. What a lie! Prague is actually a fairly large city and has a population over a million people. I never saw any museums, I didn’t get to take a lot of time to enjoy the landmarks, and there is a lot of food I never ate. I never got to appreciate the Jewish Quarter, either, just in passing as we went on our free tour.

Also, Prague is full of all different types of architecture, from Baroque, to Neo-Classical, to the Gothic, etc. There are also some towers around the city which you can climb for about three euros to get a panoramic view of Prague. I went in the Powder Tower, just a short walk away from the Old Town Square and got some excellent shots.

Prague is full of beautiful buildings, cathedrals, and murals. It has shed much of its Soviet history and is a very lively city. There is something for everyone there! Although I didn’t love it like a lot of people do, I really did enjoy the beautiful sights. Now I will have to pay closer attention to movies and TV shows to see if they are shooting in Prague!