The Bean Leaves for Madrid!: Prague

After an hour and a half on my flight from Rome next to two immature Italian teenage boys, I was ready to get off the plane and see my long awaited destination...Prague! I had heard from several people who have studied abroad that Prague was one of their biggest surprises and it was a must see on any traveler's list. Although I knew nothing of Prague, I took their advice and found a way to go without spending absurd amounts of money on flights.

I walked into the tiny airport on the outskirts of Prague and paid 27 CZK (25 CZK = 1 Euro) for a bus and train into the city. (Thank god I had done some research on Prague and visited the tourism office in Madrid before going. There were other buses trying to sell tourists 100-200 CZK rides into the city. It was dark and raining riding into the city, but I was so excited I didn't care.

My first stop off the train was the Four Seasons, since I knew Katie wasn't arriving until about 9-10 p.m. and it was only 5 p.m. My pictures weren't fabulous because of the rain so I went inside to see if I could purchase a postcard or some photos of the hotel. The concierge gave me free postcards since the giftshop was closed and I snapped a few photos of the beautiful interior. After that I roamed the city center for a little while, taken aback by the little russian fairytale I seemed to have dropped into. I figured I would try and check into the hostel because of the rain and my backpack even though Katie's card was used to reserve the room. I made my way easily by use of the maps from the tourism office I visited in Madrid and was allowed to check in. I attempted to do a little homework but failed miserably and fell asleep. Katie didn't stroll in until 11 p.m. and boy was it great to see her!! It was the first time in 8 months we had seen each other and a spring semester of being inseparable. We went out for dinner at a restaurant to fill our empty stomachs, listening to a live band play traditional American songs while we caught each other up on the events in our lives over the past several months.

I had visited the tourism office in Prague Old Town center during my free time and found a walking tour for the next day. It was about 300 CZK for students for a 4 hour tour of the city, a CD of professional photos (thats my favorite part of this specific tour) and an English tour guide. We were extremely pleased by our decision to buy the tour. Katie and I knew very little of Prague history so the tour guide's information was extremely helpful in understanding the significance of the statues and buildings around town.

Now to explain Prague a little. Prague is divided into two major sections: Old Town and New Town. There isn't much to see in New Town for tourists so the majority of our time was spend in Old Town. Old Town itself consists of the town square where the famous Astronomical Clock is located along with tourism shops, restaurants, the daily food market, and all museums/theatres. What is left to see? Across the Charles Bridge is Prague Castle. It's absolutely beautiful and a must see for any Prague visitor!

After our tour we asked our guide for a restaurant recommendation. Coincidentally she asked if we liked vegetarian food (Katie is a vegetarian and it was Friday so I couldn't eat meat). She advised us to go to this cute restaurant a few streets away from the center. The food was awesome and perfect for travelers like us who had eaten very little throughout the day. We loved it so much we returned the next night!

That evening Katie and I went to see an opera, Carmen...my first opera! Carmen just happens to take place in Sevilla, Spain even though it was performed in French. I was embarrassed because I wore jeans and sneakers to the opera house (I had a very limited wardrobe since I only brought a backpack), but I still thoroughly enjoyed it! I would love to go see another one although may a Mozart next time.

We returned to the hostel and yet again asked for a restaurant recommendation from the desk attendant. After an hour of laughing our butts off with the absolutely hysterical San Diego native, he recommended a cheap Thai restaurant next door. Katie and I were completely exhausted by this point so we ate quickly and returned for a relatively early night's sleep for college students.

The next day we visited a few places I had found through the information from the Madrid office, including the Prague Museum of Science where I learned of Katie's love for rocks, the New Town Hall, and the Official Prague Opera House. On our way back I snapped a few new photos of the Four Seasons in the sunlight to replace my dreary photos from a few days before. For lunch we toured the Old Town Market where I finally got my Ham on a Spicket! In the middle of the town square there are a bunch of little stands that sell traditional Prague food and little souvenirs. One of those stands smoked large hams and literally cut pieces off the roasting meat, placed it on a plate and handed it to you. Ever since my first night in Prague I had been DYING to try the ham and I was not disappointed. I must have looked like such a savage walking around eating my extremely large portion of ham because I received quite a few looks from people laughing, including a woman at a stand we were visiting. To my defense, there were no available tables to eat and Katie wasn't ready to purchase her food yet.

Anyways, after eating lunch (fried dough with nutella smeared on it) we went to the top of the Astronomical Clock Tower. My friend had told me that this tower offered the best view of the city, but from our observations throughout the last two days Katie and I knew we had to go at about a quarter to the hour to avoid the rush after the clock went off. (The clock goes off every hour and a crowd always forms to observe this intriguing fixture. After it does its little performance, people always decided to go to the top of the tower and a line instantly forms. After 30 minutes or so the people clear out and you can walk right in.) Boy was my friend right! The view was stunning! We spent twenty minutes taking in the beautiful sights around the tower, finally understanding why Prague is called "the city of 100 towers".

Katie and I did a little bit of shopping after wards and ate dinner before my departure. Around 7 p.m. I left Katie and Prague for the airport. It was sad to say good-bye but I was so glad I made it to Prague and I knew I would see Katie in two weeks time in Scotland. I flew into Frankfurt-Hahn where I spent the evening at a family run "hostel". The hostel was more of half their house renovated into rent-able rooms and a restaurant on the bottom floor. I slept comfortably in my private bedroom with a newly installed private bathroom. The next morning I had breakfast in the restaurant. As I walked in I was welcomed to a breakfast buffet with Hungry Eyes from Dirty Dancing playing softly in the background. I was alone in the restaurant and ate peacefully, reflecting on the events of the past weekend. I finished my meal, picked up my stuff, and made my way back to the airport for my return to Madrid.

Now just so you can understand a little about the pictures of the clock. The top portion of the clock demonstrates the hour, whether the sun is out or has retreated for the day, and the astronomical sign for the day, along with a bunch of other things I wasn't informed of. The bottom portion indicates which saint is honored on the day (yes there are 365 names inscribed around the bottom circle) and a picture describing the type of activities that should be occurring in Prague during that month (such as harvesting, planting, resting, ect...). It goes off every hour and two windows open up at the top and little figurines spin around, like in It's a Small World at Disney, to celebrate the new hour.

Here are some PHOTOS from this beautiful city:

Prague Castle