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some-thoughts-and-crosses · 6 years

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Praha(ha!)

Easter fell over the end of March and beginning of May, and with a public holiday in sight, a trip was the obvious conclusion. I decided on Prague…having heard just how beautiful it was, and being drawn to the idea of Easter markets. I thought it would round up my Budapest Christmas market experience nicely. I was joined by my lovely colleague, Ecuadorian Cecilia.

We arrived on Saturday afternoon and had an evening tour – Prague’s tales of the mysterious! The concept sounded fun – a walking tour of some Prague sights, hearing folk tales ranging from grisly to grotesque. In reality, it was somewhat cheesy…but then, I like cheese. In fairness, it was difficult for our guide to maintain a dark and mysterious demeanour, when all around us drunken revellers in costumes were passing by. It seems that Prague is a premier bachelor party destination!

The next morning we went on a walking tour – starting in picturesque Old Town Square, moving to the Jewish Quarter, crossing the Charles Bridge, and ending at Prague Castle. Our guide, Katerina, was lovely - and so was the tour. Cecilia is an INXS fan and educated Katerina about one of their videos that was shot with the Charles Bridge as backdrop. The Australian family on tour with us appreciated this.

Old Town Square

Famous in Old Town Square is the Astronomical Clock. Sadly, it is currently undergoing renovations until September. There was a projection showing what it would look like though, and I took in the most magnificent Prague views from atop.

View of Old Town Square from above the Astronomical Clock tower:

Down below is this pretty buiudling. Apparently Walt Disney was inspired by the turrets when designing his famous Disneyland Castle.

I loved the festive Easter vibe. The markets were indeed lovely…lots of food and souvenirs and keepsakes unique from other cities I’d come across so far. Random purchases included little ceramic houses you can use as candle holders, to nut crushers in the shape of mushrooms. Don’t judge me.

Still in Old Town Square, this beautiful building deserved a pic. Apparently there’s a German town with many such buildings, painted with fairy-tale scenes.

Charles Bridge…lined with statues and touristy trinkets

Below, the John Lennon wall…it is constantly painted and repainted, and musicians can generally be found busking in front of it. Apparently when Lennon died, people started this wall to commemorate him, and it turned into a symbol of freedom for Prague’s youth.

Here be moody and magnificent Prague Castle!

After many kilometres, respite was found at a delightful little café. The coffee deserves a pic because it’s the first time I was ever served coffee with sugar syrup.

This hotel in New Town reminded me of a Wes Anderson movie…

We heard about the Golem while in the Jewish quarter, and I am closing with it since it struck my fancy. We even bought some biscuits – they were delicious.

Prague is beautiful and it was a lovely weekend…it was slightly marred by some unfriendly vendors though. Our tour guide mentioned that many older people are pretty racist and have trust issues, as a throwback from Stalin’s time. It’s often hard to tell whether people are racist or just miserable jerks though. This is a general observation. Overall, my experiences are still far more good than bad. They’d have to be.

Disclaimer: “The information posted on this blog reflects my personal views and opinions and does not necessarily represent those of my employer.”

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