Prague

For those Harry Potter fans out there, Prague is the city for you. The neo-Gothic architecture is among the most beautiful I have ever seen and I literally can't get enough of it. Every time I walk by a church with gargoyles, over Charles Bridge, or past dark brick structures, I expect Harry or a number of witches to fly down from the naves and whiz by my head. Instead, pigeons typically perform the aforementioned act. At any rate, this is definitely one of the most amazing countries I have ever visited. Though it is becoming a more and more popular tourist city, Prague - unlike Western Europe - has retained so much more of its "Old Europe" and medieval feel.

I arrived in Prague late Thursday night and managed to get all the way from the airport to my hostel without paying anything. Though unfortunate, the Czech Republic doesn't have a very efficient system of transportation set up, in that everyone just hops on the bus or walks through the gates into the metro. The system of inserting one's transportation card appears to be optional. (ha). At any rate, I arrived to the main square in Old Prague and after many wrong turns, arrived safely at my hostel.

My first day's adventures took me to see the Astronomical Clock, Tyn Church, Charles Bridge, St. Nicolas Church and Prague Castle - the largest castle in the world. St. Nicolas Church was absolutely breathtaking. The pink and white marble, gold accents, and painted ceilings were unlike anything I've ever seen. From there I spent nearly 5 hours in Prague Castle, with the highlights being St. Vitus's Cathedral and Golden Lane.

Day Two brought me to Petrin Tower, which was built in 1891 based on the model of the Eiffel Tower. The tower itself is only 60m high, but when you take into account the mountain of a hill you climb to get there, it stands about as high as the Eiffel Tower. Then today I walked around all quarters of the city (Prague 1, 2 and 3), seeing the Jerusalem Synagogue, Henry and Powder Tower, and eating a typical street kielbasa. I even sent a few postcards, though I am not holding my breath on any of them actually arriving. The lady at the post office told me to stick them in the orange box outside and upon locating said boxes, there were 3 and each had 2 slots. Rather than taking a number and waiting again, I randomly selected one orange slot, so please - if you receive a postcard from Prague, do let me know, as I will be amazed.

After all of these activities, I decided to pay an arm and a leg in Czech crowns to see the Old Jewish Cemetery. Stones there date back to the early 15th century with a few old relics from the 14th century that were excavated from an earlier cemetery located beneath the New Town section of Prague. The stones are literally crammed in the cemetery and it's estimated that there are as many as 12,000 people buried there, a feat accomplished by stacking the graves one on top of the other, as many as twelve deep.

A note on food and spirits:
My first day's meal was a leg of lamb and spinach potatoes surrounded by roasted tomatoes. Delicious, to say the least. I topped it off with Czech's most famous beer, Pilsner. Beef goulash and pork shoulder are other very common and tasty dishes here. But above all else, I have been indulging in 2 very unusual treats: hot wine and trdlnek (or something of that nature, as its spelling varies). Hot wine is just as it sounds: red wine often flavored with spices of some sort and served hot.. The Czech equivalent of hot chocolate or coffee sold by street vendors. Trdlnek is dough flavored with sugar, cinnamon, almonds, or varying combinations therein, and roasted on a spit of some sort. It might be dipped in some sort of other sweetness, who knows. At any rate, it is literally one of the most delicious things that has ever entered my mouth.

So between hot wine, trdlnek, Gothic architecture, and gorgeous churches, I have had an amazing time. This experience has been even more interesting as I am 50% Slovak (on my mom's side). My grandparents were from Czechoslovakia, though I think, based upon the food here versus what my grandma would make, that they are more from what is now considered Slovakia. Regardless, I can't count the number of women who have stopped me on the street here, asking me for directions (or God only knows what) in Czech. After looking blankly at them, I then say in English that I don't speak Czech, to which they look blankly at me and mumble oh, and continue on their way. Even at the market today, a couple told me in Czech something about their products, and only after I didn't respond did they ask in English if I spoke Czech. Strange. Apparently I blend into the local population much better here than I do in Spain :)

I fly back to Madrid tomorrow, but hopefully I'll be able to see a few more things before I go. This trip was definitely worth every dollar/euro/Czech crown I paid, and I would come back in a heartbeat. I wish all of you could see this place, but for now these few photos will have to suffice (and for more, please see Facebook, where I have posted hundreds).
Love you all!