Prague is a Cinnamon Roll

To continue with my breakfast food analogies of cities I have visited, I have decided that Prague is a cinnamon roll. It is a beautifully ´´sweet´´ city with its wonderful architecture and picturesque bridges over the Vltava River. History is very well-preserved here and you can peel back the ´´layers´´ to discover its unique and rather complicated past. As a center of intersecting trade routes, travellers from all over the world brought goods, including ´´cinnamon,´´ to this cultural hotspot of Europe. After the end of communism, Prague has ´´risen´´ again to a sought after destination for tourists and is now the 6th most visited city in Europe.

Ok, and now for the details of my trip:

1. A Rough Night at the Airport
2. Ugh, Tourists
3. GHOSTS!
4. A Full Day of Prague-ness
5. Synagogues and Fairy Tales

1. A Rough Night at the Airport
I left Thursday evening with three other girls for the Valencia airport where we caught a plane to Milan. Since we arrived close to 1 in the morning and left at 8:30, we decided we would spend the night at the airport which was. . . an experience. We were not the only ones camping out at the airport and all of the seats were taken due to transportation strikes in Madrid. We ended up finding one of the less stickier floors and bunkered down with our backpacks for a restless night of one to two hours of sleep and the peskiest flies I have ever encountered. Despite our lack of sleep, we still stayed pretty positive and at one point, probably due to how tired we were, we just started gigglying and could not stop.

2. Ugh, Tourists!
When we arrived in Prague that morning, we dropped off our bags at The Little Town Hotel Hostel (I would definitely recommend) and then went out to walk around and familiarize ourselves. We walked over the Charles Bridge and around the Old Town Square with the Astronomical Clock. After a picnic in the park, and some more exploration, we started to encounter hoardes of tourists. I know it is hypocritical of me to be bothered by all of the tourists when I myself was one, but in my mind I had envisioned the four of us girls wandering around in a foreign city inhabited by Czechs- not other Americans. Oh, well. It was still really great.

Later in the afternoon, we headed back to our hostel for naps and a chance to freshen up after walking around in the heat (mid 90s.) For dinner, we went to a Czech restaurant where I ordered a plate of tomatoes, peppers, mushrooms, and onions that had been sauteed and flavored with olive oil. Yay for vegetables! Word to the wise, do not order water. It is such a rip-off! A pint of beer costs a little over 1 U.S. dollar whereas water was almost three times as much. Anyway, I learned my lesson and decided that the next time I would order iced tea which was still a little more expensive than beer, but not nearly as pricey as the water. I know the Czech Republic is supposed to have amazing beer, but after I trying a few sips of the different varieties the other girls had ordered, I decided I am not a beer fan.

3. GHOSTS
Instead of going on a traditional city walking tour, we decided to wait until dark and take one of the McGee´s Ghost Tours of Prague where we learned about the ghosts and legends of Old Town. It was a lot of fun! Our tour guide was from Nebraska but had lived in Prague for four years and was very helpful. We saw some interesting parts of the city, learned some history, and heard some of the traditional old tales of the city. Before heading back for the night, we stopped in quite a few stores where the other girls bought souvenirs for their families. We were suprised at how late the stores stayed open since they are usually closed by 9 in Valencia and people like to stay out very late in Spain.

4. A Full Day of Prague-ness
Our hostel was really nice. It was the perfect location, quiet, and even had a kitchen in each room and a little balcony where we ate our breakfast we had bought from the grocery store (whoo hoo for oatmeal!.) The hostel also offered free internet and had a lot of books and games to borrow.

We left fairly early on Saturday morning to walk up the steep hill to Prague Castle with a history dating back to 870 and the famous St. Vitus Cathedral. Even though I am getting a little tired of cathedrals, this one was really unique with its stained glass window. The pieces of glass were very small and colorful and depicted scenes of mercy in the daily lives of the Czech people: people feeding the hungry, providing comfort to widows. . . We paid to visit the castle where the famous Defenestration took place, a basilica, the Noble Women´s Institute, and the Golden Lane which unfortunately was closed for reconstruction. The Defenestration was in 1618 and the shortened-condensed version is that there were a lot of power struggles going on between the Protestants and Catholics and the Protestants threw a bunch of the Catholic Reagents out of the Castle window, but all of them survived because they happened to land on soft manure. This was the start to the 30 Years War throughout Europe.

After another park picnic, we walked around the city in some areas away from tourists and in the shade and saw the Lenin Wall, the opera house, and the Dancing House which is supposed to represent Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. We shared some refreshing gelatto and sat in the shade of a little cafe. Later that evening, we walked through some nice, very natural parks on the hills surrounding the city. The tranquility was very nice after the crowds of the castle, and it provided a great opportunity to see views of the city from higher ground.

We ate a late dinner in the lower level of this really cool restaurant in the Jewish Quarter, and one of the girls shared the best soft pretzel I have ever had. After meandering back to our hostel, we played several games of speed scrabble and went to bed tired and sweaty but very pleased with everything we had gotten to see.

4. Synagogues and Fairy Tales
On the Fourth of July, we set out again to do some more exploring and took a lovely stroll through one of the parks. The parks there were very different from other European parks, and it was a nice change. They were left very natural with woods and forest-undergrowth and grass. Eventually, we wandered out and went to the see the Spanish-style Synagogue in the Jewish Ghetto. We were not allowed to take pictures, but I do not think I will forget what it looked like. It was so beautiful and intricate, and I enjoyed seeing something different than another cathedral. We also learned a lot about the history of Jews in the Czech Republic. Later that afternoon, we had our last picnic in a different park and enjoyed Kolaches which are a type of Czech pastry. Unfortunately we could not find a bakery and had to purchase them from the grocery store, but we wanted to experience one last aspect of Czech cuisine.

Before picking up our bags at the hostel and heading back to the airport, we walked up and down the steep hills of the park through the forests and apple and cherry orchards. With the sound of music floating down the slopes, the dirt paths winding around the old trees, and the intermitent views of the beautiful city, we felt as if we were in a fairy tale or on a great quest.

The plane ride back to Valencia was a direct flight, and we did not have any problems.