PRAHA
Prague, Czech Republic
Prague is the New Black
Prague Quick Navigation
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Day 1: Arrival, Powder Tower, getting lost finding dinner (pre-tour)
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Day 2: Food tour, largest sausage ever (pre-tour)
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Day 3: Estates Theater, Charles University, Prague Castle Orchestra, Lennon Wall
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Day 4: Prague Castle, St. Vitus Cathedral, Golden Lane, Strahov Monastery, Charles Bridge
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Day 5: Jewish Prague, Pinkas Synagogue, Old Jewish Cemetery, Municipal House, Mucha Museum
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Day 6: Revolutionary Prague, Wenceslas Square, Velvet Revolution tour, Astronomical Clock, David Černý sculptures, Bethlehem Chapel, Bedřich Smetana Museum opera performance
PRAGUE DAY ONE
PHEW - I made it!
After a long redeye flight, a blood sugar crash on the plane, and attempting to enter Prague through the EU passport line, I was finally here. I was in Prague.
The entrance could not have been more magical. I hired a private transfer (based on the RS recommendation) and we wandered our way through the hilly streets under a light snowfall into Old Town. After checking in to my hotel, I grabbed my camera bag (pulling double duty as my day bag) and hit the streets.
It wasn't long before I came across my first heart-stopping, only-in-Prague sight: the Powder Tower.
Named because it stored gunpowder, this was designed as an entrance gate between New Town and Old Town, and is part of the original city wall. Rick refers to the Powder Tower as Prague's "front door" because the road that goes through the gate (constantly chock full of traffic!) led on to Vienna.
As I was there just before the Christmas holiday, I joined other merrymakers and entered one of the two Christmas Markets practically outside my door. It was here I tried my first roasted chestnuts. I learned later that you are supposed to peel them first...
That fiber-filled mishap aside, it was time for actual food. Turning to my trusty RS book, I found a pub nearby and decided to head over to U Zlatého Tygra (By the Golden Tiger). Now, I wish I could tell you how the restaurant was...but I somehow went to the wrong place?
This should have been immediately obvious to me, seeing as how this restaurant had about five tables and certainly didn't feel like a pub at all...but I swear I was in the right place and even saw a sign. After a delicious dinner at the probably-not U Zlatého Tygra, I kept wandering around taking in everything I could before turning in for a good night's sleep.
PRAGUE DAY TWO
After my slightly-disastrous food experiences the night before, I enlisted some professional help. I booked a food tour through Eating Europe and had a most excellent time eating and drinking my way through Prague with an absolutely hilarious Irish couple (and new Instagram friends) Conor and Elisabeth.
We ate at six total stops, including an adorable and tasty gingerbread shop, a Czech tapas bar (where I had my first sous vide duck and holy moly it was amazing), a family-run butcher where you can watch the action and try some Prague ham and Přeštice sausage, Sisters restaurant for the best open-face sandwiches called chlebicky, the famous Café Louvre, and a delicious gelato shop. After our tour we went to an Irish pub (rated fairly authentic by my new friends) and somehow had room for a late-night Christmas Market sausage.
PRAGUE DAY THREE
Day Three consisted of more meandering walking - just the way I wanted it. During the food tour we went past the Estates Theater, so I headed back there for some photos. The Estates Theater held the world premiere of Mozart's Don Giovanni opera in 1787 and La Clemenza di Tito in 1791.
Right near the theater is Charles University. During our RS tour, we went behind those big beautiful doors into the wonderful world of Czech academia. I felt smarter simply by stepping foot inside. But, for today, I enjoyed the university from the outside (as do so many people for whom a university education is not an option).
After a delicious lunch back at Sisters (I told you, those open-face chlebicky were amazing!) it was...
TIME FOR THE TOUR TO BEGIN!
Now, this was my first RS tour, and I had no idea what to expect. We all gathered in the lobby of the GORGEOUS K+K Hotel in Old Town and nervously began to chat with each other. Our guide, the incomparable George Farkas (pro tip: take whatever tour he's doing. If he's leading you into the seven layers of Hell, still go because you'll have a great time on the way down), immediately eased the room by giving a bit of his personal history and welcoming us all to Prague.
Fun Fact: Green Bay Packers fans are everywhere in the world, and there is likely a dedicated Packers bar in whatever major city you're visiting. Two of my tourmates are also from Wisconsin, and during introductions, pointed out that they had already found where the bar was and that I was welcome to join them for that night's Week 16 game against the Chicago Bears. I haven't even introduced myself yet and already I had two friends. Thanks Tom and Sheri!
Now, if you haven't been on a Rick Steves' tour yet - let me introduce to you one of the best aspects of their program: the buddy system. Each tour member buddies up with someone else on the tour - but the caveat is you can't buddy up with someone you traveled to the tour with: no couples, no mom/daughter duos, no friends, etc. This is brilliant for three reasons:
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You know someone is always looking out for you (and that you're always looking out for someone)
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You start the tour knowing someone (great for a solo traveler like myself)
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Inevitably, if you buddy up with someone who has a travelling partner, you get to know their travelling partner...and their travelling partner's buddy.
My buddy was Heather from Calgary, AB, Canada who you'll see later in a candid shot I absolutely love.
After finishing introductions and a few welcome potent libations (some more potent than others) it was time to hit the road with our trusty headsets. (Rick: I know you're not 100% sold on the headsets, but they were fantastic. They gave us freedom to wander a wee bit from the group to really explore something in detail without missing out, and absolutely saved our guides' voices.)
At dinner, we were treated to a fantastic performance from the Prague Castle Orchestra, a group well-known to anyone who's watched Rick's Prague episode. You can watch one of their performances here, or see what we saw down below at your own risk...
After dinner, we took a quick peek at the Lennon Wall before heading back to our hotel. The Lennon Wall is a spontaneous, guerilla-like art piece that will be different each time you see it. It sprung up after The Beatles' John Lennon was killed in December 1980. Each day the police would cover it up and each night new artwork would appear. I learned on this trip that the Češi - the Czechs - prefer very peaceful protests and uprisings...the rebellion this wall displayed was about finding peace in war, and hope in despair and love in pain.
PRAGUE DAY FOUR
Today we were up with the sun (not quite as impressive a feat in December) and raced our way up the hill to the Prague Castle.
Now, I've worked in some pretty cool government buildings before...but nothing like this complex. It's massive and downright gorgeous.
Our first stop was the St. Vitus Cathedral, as imposing a Gothic church if there ever was one. Because we got to the Castle complex right at opening, we had everything to ourselves for a few precious moments.
After touring the Cathedral, it was time for a holiday snack! Best Tour Guide ever George arranged for us to have a delicious treat - Trdelnik, and for some, hot mulled wine (yum). Trdelnik is actually a Hungarian treat (don't tell the Czechs!) and is a delicious dough cooked outside and sprinkled with spices and sugar. Absolutely delicious - if you can find it outside of the Christmas Markets (of which there was one at the Castle), you must try it.
Full from our snack, we toured more of the Castle and then headed to Golden Lane. I have vague memories of this from my 1998 tour, and when I got back to Wisconsin I found a postcard of Golden Lane from my Auntie Nelda from around the same time, tucked in with the items my mom saved from my trip. Golden Lane is a medieval merchants' street consisting of small houses/buildings all connected to one another. Most of the storefronts are souvenir shops now, but it's still fun (and very busy) to wander through.
After Golden Lane, we headed to the nearby Strahov Monastery for lunch and tasty, brewed-onsite beer! Being a brewer myself, this was something I was very much looking forward to. Lunch was served family style, with groups blending together over delicious food.
When lunch was over, we were free to get ourselves back to the hotel as we chose. This was one of the best things about a Rick Steves' tour: a great blend of structured "tour" time and free time - perfect for a wanderer like me! Naturally, I headed to the brewery at the Monastery to get a sneak peek at what was, well, brewing. Their brewers were even kind enough to let me peek in the tanks! The smell was amazing - nothing beats the smell of grain!
PRAGUE DAY FIVE
This was a hard day.
It's always hard to face atrocities larger than one can imagine, and that's exactly what this day was about. This was the day we walked through the Jewish Ghetto and learned about the persecution of Prague's Jewish community that started centuries before the barbarity of the Holocaust during World War II.
The Jewish diaspora dates back to centuries before Christ's birth. Jews first came to Prague in the 10th century and were given the worst geography - marshland near the river bend - for their community. 200 years later, the Crusades saw the declaration that Jews and Christians were forbidden to live together, and the Jewish community was walled in and its members tagged with yellow badges. In the 13th century, Jews from Prague and also Moravia, Germany, Austria and even Spain were forced from their homes and relocated into this three-block area. The name of the Jewish Ghetto - Josefov - came in 1848, when Emperor Joseph II ordered the walls torn down and the community incorporated into Old Town. Nearly 50 years later, the entire neighborhood, excepting the synagogues, was razed and turned into an Art Nouveau neighborhood.
And then World War II hit.
According to Rick Steves' Prague book, there were 55,000 Jews living in Prague at the start of the war. Only 10,000 survived to liberation, and only 1,700 live in Prague today.
Two of the most poignant stops on the tour were the Pinkasova synagoga (Pinkas Synagogue) and the Old Jewish Cemetery. If I had to use one word for the Pinkasova synagoga it would be "haunting". The main floor of the synagogue features names of Czech Jews who succumbed to the Holocaust. Upstairs features artifacts recovered from the camps, many from children who perished there. The Old Jewish Cemetery, in operation from the 1400s to the 1700s, winds visitors through narrow, crowded pathways where stacks of Jewish headstones are on full display. Because of the lack of space given to the Jewish community, and traditions who prohibit the destruction of old graves, new soil was placed atop old graves to allow for new burials while preserving ancestors buried below. The effect is a wild grove of headstones grouped together, as if hoping their closeness will protect them from the coming atrocities.
After the heaviness of the morning, I certainly needed something to lift my spirits and remember there is beauty in the world. What better way to do this than with music?
Onward to the Municipal House (Obecní dům) we go!
This gorgeous performing arts center, located adjacent to the Powder Tower and out hotel, features the Smetana Hall (Bedřich Smetana is considered to the father of Czech music), several restaurants and cafes, a beer hall (three guesses as to where I ate dinner that night!) and gorgeous Art Nouveau work including some by our friend Alphonse Mucha.
To learn about Mr. Mucha, we then ventured on to the Mucha Museum, where we could explore on our own. While we could watch a video in the back of the museum about his famous work, the Slav Epic, the piece is so large that it literally will not fit in the museum.
It was, unfortunately, during this video that I learned that I snore...oops. However, the museum itself (and the part of the video I did catch) was very well done and interesting. I highly recommend going - and visiting the great gift shop - if you are in Prague.
Dinner this night was a solo affair - I hit up the Plzenska Restaurant underground at the Municipal House for some traditional Czech food (and beer - it's a giant beer hall). The service was less than stellar (something I experienced as a solo diner throughout my entire trip, unfortunately), but food and beer were very tasty!
PRAGUE DAY SIX
Our last day in Prague was spent learning about the last days of Communism in the Czech Republic. On November 17, 1939, Nazis stormed the University of Prague in retaliation for protests against the Nazi occupation of the country, which led to the death of student Jan Opletal and worker Václav Sedláček. Nazis rounded up 1,200 students, sent them to concentration camps, and closed the universities in the country. Nine student leaders and professors were executed immediately.
In 1968, the "Prague Spring" began with the election of Alexander Dubček as the First Secretary of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia. He was a reformer, and sought to bring rights to the Czechoslovakian citizens, ease restrictions on the media and on travel. Rick describes the "Action Program" as a tiptoeing away from the strict Communism the Czech people had seen. The plan worked from January until August, 1968. On August 20, more than 200,000 Warsaw Pact troops, guided by Moscow, invaded Czechoslovakia and arrested Dubček and his team.
Czechs protested what was happening, and were gunned down by the tanks. Dubček stepped down and went into exile in the country, while Communist hardliner Gustáv Husák became First Secretary and later President. Protesters, aghast at what was happening around them, took extreme measures to protest the crackdowns. Student activist Jan Palach, inspired by the immolation of Buddhist monks a few years earlier, set himself on file on Wenceslas Square in January 1969. A month later, another student, Jan Zajíc, did the same.
In 1989 - 50 years after the Nazi invasion and 21 years after the Prague Spring - the Nazis were gone but the Soviet Communists remained. In what was originally slated to be a pro-Communist rally, anti-Communist student activists quickly took over and changed the entire shape of the event (and, we would learn, history). Keep in mind this was only a few weeks after the fall of the Berlin Wall, and Communist regimes across Europe were on high alert. The march was supposed to end at the Vyšehrad Castle cemetery, the students proceeded to march on to Wenceslas Square in New Town. As the crowd of nearly 50,000 neared the Square that evening, they were met with "Red Berets" riot police, who trapped the students in a passageway-turned-gauntlet. The students only escape was through the passageway, where they were beaten from all sides.
The next day, the protest began anew with additional students and theater actors. The day after that, parents - horrified that their children had been brutally beaten by the riot police during a peaceful march - joined in and began rattling their keys in protest, symbolically telling the Communists "Time to go home".
Just six weeks after the Velvet Revolution began, Czechoslovakia had thrown off the shackles of Communism and elected a new president, Václav Havel.
The Guardian (UK) has a great roundup of their coverage of the Velvet Revolution, including the text of the articles that appeared. Unfortunately, the fight for true freedom continues in the Czech Republic, as it does for so many in the world. And the Russian influence in this country remains.
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One of the most fascinating parts of the entire tour was sitting in a cafe listening to our guide Lanka talk about her family's experiences under Communist rule. The nervous tension in the room was palpable, and not even our tasty coffees and cakes could sweeten the mood. Was it appropriate to ask her about what life was like? What if she answered that Communism was great - would we still continue with her as our guide? Could we? My generation of Americans - the generation that remember President Reagan demanding Mr. Gorbachev tear down the wall - was taught from an early age that Communism is the devil's playground and under no circumstances should we ever think/act/view/speak of it in even a neutral light, let alone a positive one. For many of us in the room, this was our first experience with someone who lived under Communist rule.
Thankfully, Lanka (and George as well) were open about their experiences. They were both children under Communism, only a few years older than I, and the wall fell right as they were developing into young, freer-thinking teenagers. It was also fascinating to hear that there is quite a generational divide within families over their views on Communism. For the youngest generations, Communism meant national holidays with big parades and fun songs to sing. Older generations, who shielded their children from the realities of the world around them (as parents around the world do, I imagine) may have held a very different view, however some may have appreciated the stability Communism provided (you had a job, your heat was paid for, your life was very regimented and structured, etc.).
I wish I would have had my camera out to record the conversations and to try and document the lift that occurred in the room when we collectively realized it was alright to talk openly - and always respectfully - about the subject, but I was too engrossed in the conversation to dare disturb anything.
" Give a culture the benefit of your open mind. See things as different but not better or worse. Any culture has much to share. Globetrotting destroys ethnocentricity. It helps you understand and appreciate different cultures. Travel changes people. It broadens perspectives and teaches new ways to measure quality of life. Many travelers toss aside their hometown blinders. Their prized souvenirs are the strands of different cultures they decide to knit into their own character. The world is a cultural yarn shop. Back Door Travelers are weaving the ultimate tapestry. Join in!"
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After our second heavy day, a group of us headed to the Bethlehem Chapel to visit their Christmas exhibition. Everything in the exhibition, located deep underground of the Chapel, features traditional Czech Christmas decorations - and everything there must be handmade. This felt like what Christmas Markets were before they became popular tourist traps. It was a perfect transition from the more somber discussions earlier in the day.
Dinner this evening was our final group dinner in Prague. After, we headed to the Bedřich Smetana Museum (Muzeum Bedřicha Smetany) for a private Opera Concert, featuring soprano Soňa Godarská, baritone Vratislav Kříž, accompanied by Lenka Navrátilová. The trio performed a full concert of operatic music by Mozart, Antonín Dvořák, and of course, Bedřich Smetana. Their talent was overwhelming and being able to see their expressions so close was truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
