After an overnight train from Krakow, we arrived in Prague around noon (our train took four hours longer than expected due to some kind of accident somewhere). By the time we showered and got settled, we only had an hour or so before dinner to explore. My first impression of Prague: this place looks like Disney! I felt like I had walked straight into a fairy tale.
We started our exploration around the Charles Bridge. This bridge likes the Old Town and the rest of the city. It has these really cool statues along it that look down on you. Becky and I said that we definitely wouldn’t want to be walking the bridge alone at night in the Middle Ages. It has that amazing eeriness about it.
The bridge is lined with merchants who sell cool things. I didn’t buy anything, but we saw a man with a puppet and some neat artwork.
We also went to the Lennon Wall. Czech students were inspired by John Lennon in the 80s, in the midst of Communism. They rebelled by creating artwork and inspirational messages of peace on a wall in the city. The wall still stands as a testament to this time, and people still use it to spread love! It was a beautiful sight.
I tried goulash for dinner. It’s a traditional dish that resembles beef stew. I still think my mom’s is better, but this was still yummy!!
On Tuesday, we crammed in quite a lot. Starting with Prague Castle! This is a huge complex with a cathedral, palaces, and other awesome sights.
One of my favorites? Golden Lane! These teeny houses really accentuated the “fairy tale” vibe. I believe they housed palace workers at one point. Adorable!
Next stop was the Jewish quarter, with the oldest Jewish cemetery in Europe (and one of the oldest in the world).
One of the most moving parts of this trip for me occurred in the Jewish quarter. There is an exhibit with a couple hundred drawings done by children. These children were living in the ghetto during World War II. A teacher in the ghetto realized that these children were struggling with intense feelings of anxiety, alienation, and grief for their past lives. She essentially had them draw out their feelings and memories. The heartbreaking part? Most of these kids did not survive. They actually had approximate dates of death under each picture for those who did not. Children’s artwork is so poignant. Art portrays each child as an individual.
The teacher was eventually sent to a concentration camp (Auschwitz I believe) and killed. By chance, a briefcase of her students’ work was found, and these pictures are the ones in the museum. The fact that this inspiring mentor died makes the situation even more devastating to me. She really risked her life to give her students an emotional and creative outlet.
One picture really struck me. The child had drawn himself with a sad face while other children played around him. Jewish children were excluded from playgrounds, and this particular pictures was portraying his expulsion from his former school on the basis of his religious background. I’ll never forget his penciled frown. I am always deeply saddened at the thought of exclusion, so this struck a chord with me.
We ended our day with come comic relief in the form of a ghost tour. Prague is one of the most “haunted” cities in Europe, and has so many interesting legends surrounding it. Our guide told us some of these stories, while in costume…
She held up a noose throughout the tour, which obviously garnered some strange looks from clueless passerby. We could not stop laughing. A hilarious end to a great day!
Prague was a really quick stop, but I enjoyed every minute. Next up is one of my favorite cities (Vienna) and the Sound of Music tour! :)
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