Prague, Czech Republic

Photo credit: lonelyplanet.com

As I write this post, I'm sitting in one of the gardens of the Alhambra, where the sun is shining and it's warm enough to not need a coat. Prague already seems like so long ago, but it was only about two weeks ago that we boarded a bus to trek from Germany to the Czech Republic. And thus started my favorite leg of our journey.

At some point during that bus ride, I was startled awake by the bus driver making an announcement in German or Czech, I don't even know which, as we pulled off the highway. The only word I could figure out was "police." So I immediately figured that there was some runaway on the bus and things were about to get exciting. But to my dismay, the police only wanted to check all our passports. At least I assume that was the reason. As none of the girls on the trip spoke any of the languages of any of the countries we went to, a lot of times we just played the guessing game.

Hours later, we arrived in Prague.

A panorama of the Old Town Square.

1. The city

Prague is absolutely gorgeous. The buildings are colorful, old and very intact, and the reason for the latter is quite interesting: Prague was Hitler's favorite city, and he told his soldiers not to damage the city because he wanted to visit it after the war. Therefore, while many other major cities in Europe have been rebuilt with many modern buildings alongside older buildings that do look a little damaged, Prague is still very old and traditional.

The astronomical clock in the Old Town Square.

2. The Art Hole

We were all a little weary about this hostel because of its name, but it turned out to be a fantastic place to stay. I don't have much experience with hostels, but I'd still be willing to bet that this is one of the best hostels out there. It had everything: friendly staff, great location, free breakfast, family dinners, large rooms with common areas and a great atmosphere. This was the only hostel we stayed in where it was very easy to meet and make friends with the other travelers staying there.

One of the colorful kitchens in the Art Hole.

3. Chris the tour guide

OK. This may be my only complaint about Prague. Granted, all the city tours we took were free (although a tip was expected at the end), but this guy was a little hard to bear. I surmise that Chris was a theater major, because he treated the entire tour like he was on stage, complete with elaborate gestures, huge fluctuations in voice and he even acted out the Astronomical Clock's "show" that happens on the hour. Most of these antics were met with silence, or a few sympathetic chuckles. But even though it was kind of a painful tour, the awkwardness was a little amusing.

Chris and his unforgettable strut.

4. Mozart

I love classical music, and I was really excited for the Vienna portion of this trip because Vienna is a big fine  arts city. But to my surprise, Prague has a lot of musical history as well, specifically relating to Mozart. (I do have to give credit to Chris for enlightening me with that information.) We passed by the Estates Theatre, which is where Mozart premiered his opera "Don Giovanni." It was there that Mozart got a standing ovation for 30 minutes, whereas in his home country, in Vienna, the same opera put the emperor to sleep.

A statue outside the Estates Theatre commemorating the "Don Giovanni" premiere.

A view of the front of the Estates Theatre.

5. Prague pub crawl

So Illinois has bar crawls, and cities here have pub crawls— you pay about €10, which includes some free drinks and free entrance to pubs and clubs. All while having someone leading you from place to place so you don't get lost. It sounds restricting, but it's actually so much fun. What you end up with is a ton of travelers looking to experience the nightlife of the city. Prague's pub crawl ended at a club called "5 Story," which was right along the river. It actually was five stories, with a different theme in each floor.

6. Exploring the city

We had a whole day to do whatever we wanted, so we made our way over to the Prague Castle, where the president of the Czech Republic lives. There, we came across a museum that holds original scores of works by composers such as Beethoven and Mozart. It cost a little more than I wanted to spend, but I've made a mental note to go back there if/when I visit Prague again. 

Later we saw the John Lennon wall, which is basically just a spray-painted wall with a small painting of John Lennon. Here's a little more information if you're curious what John Lennon has to do with Prague... But we had a lot of fun with a mini photo shoot there.

Next stop: Vienna, Austria