In Spring 2019, I took a 7-week walkabout to 12 cities in Europe. My fifth stop was Prague in the Czech Republic. I had a pleasant bus ride from Dresden. While in Germany, we rode through the yellow rapeseed fields I had become accustomed to. As we neared the Czech border, we went through several long tunnels in quick succession. When we emerged on the other side, the countryside looked totally different, with significant hills and more trees. I enjoy driving over a border and seeing the different road signs and languages. This was more than that, with a definite change in environment as we rode along.
One of the first things I had to do when I got to Prague was find an ATM. The currency for the Czech Republic is the Czech koruna or kc. The exchange rate is approximately 25 kc for every US dollar. I had seen the warnings that many ATMs, especially those not affiliated with a local bank, only allow you to take out large amounts of kc, which you will likely never spend and/or use a conversion rate set by the company not by your card. Doing research ahead of time, I found a nearby ATM in a local bank that allowed me to take the small amount of kc I needed for tips and other small expenses. I used my spare debit card that I typically would only use if I had trouble with my main debit card and had no issues.
I stayed in Old Town, a couple of blocks from the Charles Bridge. The room was in the attic of an old building over a restaurant and bar. It was noisy, but it was clean, functional, and you couldn’t beat the location. I could walk in any direction and have plenty to see. Within a 5-minute walk were my two favorite food finds. The first was Alriso Risotteria Italiana. I have celiac disease and have to be extremely careful what I eat, or I get very sick. This was a 100% dedicated gluten free restaurant that had amazing, authentic Italian food. I ate there all 4 nights, working my way through its delicious menu, but had to go early to get a table. They were packed each night. The other find was the Choco Café on Lilova St. where they serve all kinds of chocolate treats. While I unfortunately could not eat the cakes or pastries, I did indulge in their delicious chocolates and the most amazing hot chocolate I’ve ever had. It was so thick that I used a spoon.
Hot Chocolate 
Panna Cotta
The famous Charles Bridge had a mysterious romantic feel to it. It was very crowded. It connects Old Town to Prague Castle and Little Quarter. As you cross the bridge, you can see the Prague Castle up on the hill. Musicians are placed strategically so that there is a constant sound of music as you stroll slowly across the bridge. One day, a group of musicians was playing American Dixieland, which made me smile.
Prague Castle sits majestically up on a hill on the other side of the Charles Bridge. The castle was the traditional seat of Czech rulers. The day I went was cold and rainy, but that didn’t stop the crowds. Touring the Castle is quite inexpensive. The most expensive ticket, which granted access to the Old Royal Palace, St. George’s Basilica, Golden Lane, St. Vitus Cathedral, The Story of Prague Castle exhibition, and the Rosenberg Palace, cost 175 KC or $7.66, for those over age 65. My first and most favorite stop was the St. Vitus Cathedral.
St. Vitus Cathedral is the most important and largest church in the country. It is a wonderful example of Gothic architecture and contains the tombs of a number of Bohemian kings and Holy Roman emperors. Construction began in 1344, but was delayed due to multiple wars, and was heavily damaged by a great fire in 1541. In 1844, a major effort to finish the cathedral began and the construction was finished in 1929, almost 600 years after it began. In 1954, a government decree transferred all of Prague Castle, including the St. Vitus Cathedral to all the Czechoslovak people. The art inside is amazing and well worth the wait.
Near the Prague Castle, in a small, secluded area is the John Lennon Wall. Beginning in the 1960s, the wall had been decorated by love poems and political messages. Following the 1980 assassination of John Lennon, an image of Lennon was painted on the wall along with some lyrics. New images and graffiti were added regularly with a focus on freedom and love. After my visit, the government adopted the Lennon wall as an open-air gallery with an effort to protect some of the existing images and add images in different mediums to the existing white space. Note: My pictures show the wall before the change, as I saw it on my visit.
The day I visited the Astronomical Clock was very crowded because that weekend was the Prague Marathon which finished in the Old Town Square where the Astronomical Clock is located. I did get a better glimpse of the clock as I walked back to the train/bus station on my way out of town. The Astronomical Clock was first installed in 1410 and is the third oldest astronomical clock in the world and the oldest still operating. In 2018, the clock was reconstructed replacing an electric clock mechanism that was installed in 1948 with a traditional mechanism from the 1860s.
The background of the clock is stationary and represents the standing earth and the sky, and the current time. The four main moving components are the zodiacal ring, an outer rotating ring, a representation of the sun, and a representation of the moon. Together they represent the current state of the universe. There are also animated figures that represent Vanity, Greed, Death and Lust. Every hour a skeleton strikes the time and the figures shake their heads from side to side. In addition, the twelve statues of the Apostles appear in the doorways above the clock. Old Town Square itself is a great place to sit and people watch – and on the hour, crowd in to watch the activity at the clock.
On my last day in Prague, I visited the Jewish Museum, which is housed in several synagogues which were shut down in World War II because all the congregants were part of the almost 80,000 Czech and Moravian Jews imprisoned and killed during the Holocaust. Collectively, the separate parts of the museum document the history and customs of the Jewish Czech people and preserve important artifacts. One of the most striking parts of the museum is located in the Pinkas Synagogue. The names 77,000 Czech area Jews are written on the walls of the museum as a memorial to those who suffered and died. The volume of space that those names take up is staggering and heartbreaking.
All in all, my time in Prague was very thought provoking – the tragedy of the Jewish Museum, the romanticism of the Charles Bridge, the opulence of Prague Castle, the science of the Astronomical Clock, the love and peace of the John Lennon Wall, and the current runners in the Prague Marathon running a route that connects it all in this now modern city.
Next stop – Salzburg.
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