After saying some final goodbyes to many of my fellow volunteers, 8 of us departed from Krakow on Tuesday afternoon. Our destination: Prague, the capital of the Czech Republic.
Compared to Krakow, Prague is a much larger city, and there was so much to do there! The city is divided into 3 "sections" - Old Town, New Town, and Lesser Town. From Wednesday to Sunday, we spent a lot of time touring the sites and attractions, walking the cobblestone streets, and eating delicious Czech food and beer. We climbed up to Prague Castle and were awed by the massive St. Vitus Cathedral; we walked through the Jewish District and the famous Old Town Square, and passed by the famous Astronomical Clock (which tells over 20 different things, including the location of the tropics and signs of the zodiac); we stood by the giant metronome that counts down the time lost to communism; we visited the Kafka Museum, the Lennon Wall, and so much more!
The greatest thing about Prague is that it's so well preserved and original. Unlike Warsaw, Berlin, and other prominent cities that were destroyed during WWII, Prague was left mostly unscathed. In fact, Prague was one of Hitler's most beloved cities, and he wanted to make it his capital after conquering all of Europe. He spared it from destruction.
The beer/pub culture in Prague is also fantastic. Three days in a row - Friday, Saturday and Sunday - we had three unique experiences that revealed this fact. On Friday, we ate at a restaurant where the mugs of beer were delievered on model trains; the tracks wind all throughout the restaurant! On Saturday, we visited a place where each table had its own draft, and we could pour our own beer. There was also a big screen at the front of the room that listed all the tables in all the franchises around Europe, and how many liters they had poured; somehow, a table in Berlin had over 65 liters of beer! On Sunday, it was just Taylor and me (the rest of the group had left Prague to go home or travel further) and we stopped by the Prague Beer Museum (which we found by chance!). There was a huge bar with over 30 kinds of beer (mostly from microbreweries in the Czech Republic), and we had the opportunity to taste-test several of them.
However, Prague also has a downside. The city is very touristy; in fact, if you ask a question in English, there's a good chance that someone will understand you. Many restaurants and parts of the city catered to the tourist culture - overpriced food, tacky souvenirs, etc. In addition, the people in Krakow/Poland were more friendly and open (perhaps not because Prague was much worse, but because Polish people are so much friendlier than anywhere else I've been or anyone else I've encountered). In addition, the nightlife in Krakow was more exciting, but maybe that was because we had a group 22 Americans walking from club to club at the same time! Nevertheless, most of my friends agreed that Krakow was the favorite city we visited.
Eventually, my LE friends left one by one, until it was just Taylor and myself wandering through the streets of Prague late Sunday night. Around 2 a.m. it was my turn to go, too. With one last goodbye, I left the Chili Hostel, walked down to the bus stop (towing a suitcase that had grown heavier day by day), and made my way to the airport with Coldplay melodies whispering in my ear.
PHOTOS OF PRAGUE:
