Oh Prague.
In the morning we woke up to the happiest of sunshines and began our visit on foot. The Praguian sun really was wonderful, following us on all of our Czech adventures, curving the sides of our lips upwards. After a quick and tasty stop at Bohemia Bagel we entered Prague Castle, which sits majestically high on the horizon. The domain is huge -- my favorite pauses were the St. Vitus Cathedral and the Golden Lane. My visit to the Cathedral forced some contemplation - Chris and Isa were being audio guided while my lack of finances left me to gaze at the architecture and create stories of my own. At one point my legs guided me to sit down on a ledge in front of one of the chapels, which led to some interesting encounters.
A large group of touring Italians walked by me (a phenomenon that we encountered in every city of the Hapsburg Triumvirate) and two of them paused to take my picture. I smiled shyly as the flash went off. They passed, a good 10 seconds went by, and they hurriedly came back, this time with one of them taking the picture as the other posed with me. Cue them leaving, another 10 seconds, and another hurried return. This time they switched places. Keep in mind, until this point, no words had been spoken - just confused facial expressions and a few hand movements. I finally asked where they were from and then asked for some pictures of my own - I thought it was only fair that I get a few too. We said our final goodbyes, which ended with Roberto's assertion with his charming Italian accent that "Today, you are the symbol of this church" - not going to lie, it kind of made my day.
Then we went to the Golden Lane, which became the golden lane to my heart. It is on this magnificently cute street, lined with colored historical houses, that I fell in love with Mucha. There was a hole-in-the-wall shop that was covered with his art --- posters, necklaces, lamps, notebooks, postcards --- everything Mucha and everything beautiful. I browsed the postcards for approximately 37 minutes before choosing six that met my fancy. I had previously met Mucha when one of my cousins told me that I could have been a model for him, so I was predisposed to love his stuff. The color, the shapes, the designs - super inspiring and super great.
After the Prague Castle we made our way to the Old Town Square, via the statue lined Charles Bridge, crossing the Vltava {the river that cuts through Prague}. On the way to the square, which houses the Astronomical Clock (!!), I was a bit culture shocked. Persons lined the streets forcing their flyers on you, just as in Paris, however, these people are advertising not clubs nor political parties, but orchestra concerts, it's quite charming.
We paused at a restaurant for a mid afternoon brew - a place where my Czech skills progressed. Not only did I learn my favorite word na zdraví, or cheers, but I also fell in love with our Czech waiter. One day I'll go back for him.
It's quite interesting walking around a city that was on the other side of the Iron Curtain. Chris and Isa made me realize that when you look into the eyes of the older Czech people, you are looking into the soul of one who lived under Soviet communism. You could definitely tell that Prague didn't have the same upbringing as Paris. It's a beautiful city, covered with its spectacular green roofs. It almost felt medieval, well, I don't really know what medieval feels like, but I'm pretty sure this was close. Smoking is permitted indoors in Prague {as it is in the other Hapsburg capitals, as I learned later}, and that seems a bit ancient, and smoky.
The spectacular moment of our second day was our lovely gaze at the John Lennon wall. There were some recent graffiti addings that rendered it a bit altered from the famous image I had in my mind, but I loved it all the same. I even got to do a little graffiting of my own with "positive thoughts make positive things happen - ffg" - had to. We also passed by the Love Bridge and marveled at the many locks engraved with lovers names.
Our trip in Prague was spotted with many delicious dishes and lots of Pilsner. We kind of found "our" bar, a smoky establishment to which we returned twice, where we enjoyed a few pints. Beware: they charge for the pretzels that top each bar table - those irresistables were 15 koruna each. The exchange rate is about 27 Kč to 1 € - my mental math skills were definitely worked on.
Our last shabang was Letna Park, where we watched the Praguian sun go down and the night lights go up. We spent a good two hours on that hill, it has made its way into my spirit for life.
{photo credit to Isabella Snyder}
And then three little parisians awoke Wednesday morning to board a train to Vienna.
that first pic of you is reallllly good!
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