After leaving Nick and Al in Italy, I flew to Prague, Czech Republic to meet up with my roommates for New Years! We went on a walking tour and learned all about "Bohemia." (An area that refers to the entire Czech territory) It was apart of the Habsburg's Austrian Empire and until 1993 was Czechoslovakia before splitting into Czech Republic and Slovakia.
This is the Powder Tower, a Gothic tower that separates the Old Town and New Town. Kings would also use this tower to pass through for coronation ceremonies. It got it's name because it was used to store gun powder during the 17th century.
This is the Old New Synagogue (that's right) and Europe's oldest active synagogue completed in 1270.
Prague.
Hillary and Me in Old Town Square exploring the Christmas markets! The Church of our Lady before Tyn behind us.
We found the greatest things ever, as evidenced by Hillary's face! They are called trdlo or trdelnÃk, pronounced exactly as it looks....Czech is a whole nother animal!
Here is a video of it being made AND they put nutella in the middle!! Mmmmmmm
Me, Hillary and her sister, Catherine trying to stay warm with some mulled wine! Sidenote: this is the part of my trip when it started to get reeaaalllyy cold. I bought that hat and those gloves but it would definitely get colder!
Happy New Year! We are in Old Town Square with tons of other people watching fireworks go off and all of a sudden, it started to snow! It was so pretty and perfect!
Just minutes into 2016 with Crystal!
Catherine, Hillary, Crystal and Me excited for the New Year!
3/5 roomies!
Can you see the snow??
Crossing the Charles Bridge! The Charles Bridge crosses the Vltava River and connects the Old Town and Prague Castle. It was finished in the 15th century and contains 30 baroque style statues all along it.
This is St. Vitus Cathedral, a Gothic style cathedral that is apart of the Prague Castle grounds. It contains the tombs of many Bohemian kings and Holy Roman Emperors.
We were able to see the changing of the guards at Prague Castle which was very interesting. They have those rails up around them because unlike in England if someone comes up to try to take a pic with them, they don't just stand there, they have been known to hit tourists...
This is the John Lennon Wall by the Prague Castle area. Since the 1980s it has been filled with graffiti that changes every day! I went one day and came back the next and it was already different! In 1988 it was a source of frustration against the communist regime. Czechs would come every night and write their grievances on the wall along with Beatles lyrics. Every day the government would paint over it and this cycle kept repeating until the end of communism in 1989. Now it is ever changing but still has the common theme of John Lennon, love and peace.
Lovely day in Prague!
I think this was our second Trdlo of the day...:-)
I was pretty excited to go to the Museum of Communism. It was super interesting to learn about it from a country that suffered from it, fought back against it during the Velvet Revolution and is now a multiparty parliamentary republic.
After our tour of communism we decided to take a boat ride around Prague!
We got some mulled wine and gingerbread on the boat!
Our view of the Castle from the boat! Prague Castle dates back to the 9th century and is the largest castle in the world! It is now the residence of the President.
Charles Bridge and Prague Castle!
This is the Prague Astronomical Clock or Prague Orloj, it was first installed in 1410, making it the third oldest astronomical clock in the world and the oldest one still operating. It still uses most of it's original parts as well! Every hour, on the hour, it does a little "show." People come from all over to see it and are seriously disappointed. So, there are four figures next to the astronomical clock, two on each side, from left to right, Vanity, represented by a figure admiring himself in the mirror. Greed, holding a bag of gold. Then, Death, which is a skeleton that strikes the time on the hour by pulling on a string. The final figure is Lust. When the skeleton starts pulling the string, the other three figures start shaking their heads as if they aren't ready for Death. Above the clock are two blue doors, the twelve apostles all go around and then above that is a chicken, who come out a little and "clucks." Our guide said people sometimes wait an hour for the performance only to walk away going, "that's it??" But it is amazing to think it is still working after so many years! He also said that it is number two on TripAdvisor's list of Most Disappointing Things to do in Europe, right under the Mona Lisa...tough crowd!
Here is a quick video I found on YouTube of it because my video wasn't as clear!
The Christmas markets!
Freezing but loving Prague!
We had so much fun in Prague! I was glad I could meet up with my roommate Hillary for a little bit and meet her sister Catherine! Prague has such an interesting history and was so different from anywhere I had been before with it's architecture and medieval-ness. I would love to go back someday when it's warmer!
"Where we love is home - home that our feet may leave, but not our hearts." Oliver Wendell Holmes
