Now that that's out of the way, let me tell you about my week long Prague experience. First of all, let me note that I chose to stay a week, instead of just a few days like many of the travellers I met there. There are many things you can see and taste in 3 days. If you were to search out some list of the top 10 spots in Prague, you could probably get pictures of all of them in 3 days. But...
If you really want to experience Prague, then you need to give it time to reveal itself to you. My experience became real for me on day 4 of the trip, which was one day after the dreaded Prague pub crawl, an essential part of any young tourist's visit. If that was the farthest one can get from the essence of Prague, my experience the next day was probably about the closest. I started the day off on facebook, where I began talking to a girl I met at the pub crawl. We decided we would meet for Czech food at lunch time. We found a beautiful restaurant in an old brewery building.
Drinking Pilsner Urquell, we order beef goulash with plain dumplings and bacon dumplings. Amazing food, completely cured any side affects of the previous absinthe-soaked evening. For the rest of the day, the heartiness of this meal spread to all of my impressions of Prague.
Afterwards we visited the Spanish Synagogue. The interior was beautifuly decorated with geometric designs and 'arabesques', but unfortunately we were asked not to take photos. You will have to visit for yourself. :)
After parting ways with my new friend, I went to an old church from the Twelfth Century. It is actually several chambers and a courtyard, which is near the Narodni Gallery. NOBODY was there, except for an employee at a gift shop at the end of a separating hall. I had the entire place to myself.
After the peaceful repreive to my otherwise quick-paced and social experience of Prague, I went slowly walking until I reached the old city centre. I arrived just in time to hear the great astrological clock announce a new hour. It was already the fourth time I had seen the show. Beautiful, but I wonder how many of those crowded-in tourists noticed anything past the cameras they held over their eyes.
Here is a 500 year old clock that is in perfect working condition, and can tell you the position of the sun, the moon, the stars, and the day of the month. As a nearby guide pointed out... let me see your IPod function 500 years from now!
I ended the evening by spontaneously buying a ticket to see members of the Prague Symphony Orchestra perform a selection. The performance was a wonderful way to cap off a great day, and to really do the city justice. Here is a great cultural centre of the European world. It came as no surprise, therefore, that I found a comic-book bar to be my favorite evening hangout! The bar is called Batalion, and is covered in the comic artworks of Kaja Saudek. If you get a chance check it out. www.batalion.cz
What can I say after such a day but jsem šťastný (I am happy)! :)
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