Prague

Standing on Charles Bridge with Prague Castle in the background

I am finally getting time to blog again. I must fill you in on our first trip to Prague! We met early on Thursday morning at the train station. It was quite a long train ride to Prague, about three hours. When we arrived, we went straight to our hostel, I stayed in a room with three other girls. The toilets and showers each had their own rooms. There were only mirrors in the shower room, so it was hard for all us girls to get ready. We were also on the fourth floor and if you didn't run up the stairs you wouldn't make it! Shortly after arriving we met as a group to take a walking tour with our faculty sponsors, Martin and Jan. We walked through town to the main square, which was only a few blocks from our hostel. We saw the astronomical clock and of course, Charles Bridge! It was beautiful. While on the bridge,  I had the overwhelming feeling that I was standing where some of my ancestors had stood. I was standing where my mom and grandma had been. The view was amazing, especially the view of Prague Castle. We spent some time taking pictures and walking on the bridge. We then headed to the John Lennon wall which was right around the corner from the bridge. The wall was made after Lennon's death in the 1980s. It is a big mural of spray painted drawings and inscriptions of hope and love. It was really unique to see.  After the tour, we had the afternoon free. We walked around and checked out the souvenir shops. Later, we went to dinner in a little pub. We always eat at places away from the square, because it is so expensive to eat near the main tourist areas. 

Astronomical clock in Prague's main square

St. Vitus Cathedral in Prague Castle


 The next day we got up early to go to Prague Castle. We took a subway, my first subway ride! I didn't like the dark and jerky movements of the subway train. We toured the castle and saw the cathedral, the monastery, and some rooms in the palace. The most interesting room contained the Window of Defenestration. Throughout Czech history, it has been a custom to throw unfavorable people or criminals out windows. So, it is a joke in the Czech to say if you make a Czech mad they will throw you out a window, we all found that funny but kept our distance from windows. Haha. The window is famous because usually when people were thrown out this window, there were guards with spears waiting below the window to kill you. It wasn't the fall that killed you, it was those nasty spears. The story of this window then: Several Protestant clergy decided to "get rid" of two disliked Catholic nobles. The clergy threw the nobles and a clerk out the window. However, there was no one with spears waiting below, so the nobles survived the fall. The nobles ran to a nearby house and hid from the other men. The clergy could not find the nobles so they gave up and went home. People saw this situation as God saving the Catholic nobles.The nobles were praised and they ended up punishing the Protestant clergy for trying to murder them. The situation is quite humorous. A good Czech story. We also got to see the changing of the guards at Prague Castle, it was very ceremonial. After the castle we walked by the US Embassy and saw another church. We broke for lunch and had the rest of the day for free time. We did a lot of shopping that day, so Prague's economy benefited from me that day. We were worn out from shopping so we just hung out at a pub that night.

Piece of Berlin Wall in museum in Dresden, Germany


Saturday morning we took a train to Dresden, Germany. Dresden is much newer than any city I have seen so far. Dresden was completely destroyed by American bombs at the end of World War II. We visited a newly opened German war history museum. It was a very well put together museum with 5 floors of history, artifacts, and interactive displays. It was a beautiful day out and we went straight to the main square after the museum. They were able to reconstruct several historic buildings including their Lutheran church. You could see the randomly placed dark stones that they were able to salvage. Martin Luther is a famous monk who broke away from the catholic church in the 1500s and started Lutheranism. Dresden's church in the square was Lutheran and there was a statue of Luther as well. I had a lovely lunch with some of the girls. We ate outside because it was such a gorgeous day. We had wine and I ordered my first plate of sausage and sauerkraut. I loved it. The sauerkraut was sweet and really flavorful. Not the sour taste like it is at home. Shortly after we had to catch a train back to Prague. Saturday night we went out to the five story club in Prague. They had different genres of music playing on every floor. I lost my voice from yelling over the music and caught a cold shortly after. The cold has been going around the group though, so I was bound to get it sometime. 

Entrance gate to the Jewish quarter

Sunday we visited the old Jewish quarters. The boys had to wear the Kippah, a Jewish hat that covers the top of the head. The Nazis deported and killed 80,000+ Jews from the Czech Republic. Only 20,000 survived. Inside the Jewish quarter is a building with all the names and dates of those who were killed in concentration camps. It was really unsettling when I found several Rosenbaums on the walls. Some were from Ostrava. Afterwards we saw the cemetery within the quarter. There were hundreds of head stones. Because they had so little room they had to build up the ground and bury people in layers. There were head stones completely covering the ground, many were leaning in all directions. For Jews, they place little slips of paper with prayers written on them on the headstones. They also place little rocks with well wishes for the dead on the tombstones as well. There was a large group of Jewish boys from New York who would stop and do a prayer chant where they would pray loudly and rock back and forth. I'm glad we got a chance to see the Jewish quarter. Prague is a wonderful place but you have to remember its negative history as well. We had a break for lunch and took a train back to Olomouc.  I was really looking forward to seeing Prague, especially after lots of people told me how great it was. My favorite parts of Prague were Charles Bridge and the Lennon wall. However, I didn't like Prague as much because it was so touristy. People were everywhere and you have to keep a good hold on your purse and camera so they don't get pick pocketed. We talked to one German lady who had her camera taken from her hands while trying to take a picture. She seemed pretty  shaken about it. I think all the souvenir shops and touristy things ruin the beauty of Prague. People are just trying to make money and almost exploit the city's sites. I bought my fair share of souvenirs though, so I shouldn't complain. At the end of the day, I missed my little safe home of Olomouc. All of us really love this town. It isn't touristy and the people are wholesome and kind. More updates soon!