With more of a feel like Budapest, Prague is a lively and busy city, with lots to do and approximately 300 beers to taste test. The Czech Republic consumes the most beer per capita in the world each year...we both thought it would be Germany. Exploring the streets was like walking back in time with cobblestone roads, uneven sidewalks, and an amazing cross section of architecture. We spent our days with the free walking tours exploring both the castle (more like a small village), the old town of Prague and the Jewish Quarter. There are several bridges crossing the Vltava river, the most famous being the Charles Bridge. It is now a pedestrian bridge with musicians, artists and vendors as well as a great view of the palace and St. Vitus’s Cathedral.
The castle sits up on a hill and explains a lot of the history of Prague, with the different families in power, architecture styles, and conflicts that give it character today. A portion of the castle continues to be used today for the offices of the president which we learned as we passed through security. Frank and I enjoyed the castle tour and agreed it was the guide that made it that much better, mentioning fewer dates and providing interesting side stories about the families and its members.
Our walks along the streets of Prague brought many highlights from checking out Old Prague Square, to looking for a few items from Atlas Obscura, and learning stories of WWII history. The old town square has the old municipal town hall with the astronomical clock, unfortunately it’s under restoration until this summer...one reason to return to Prague. The square itself is quite impressive with a lot of activity for tourists, open food stands, patios, historical buildings and sculptures. The tower of books at the municipal library is one of my favourites from the list of Atlas Obscura sights to see...take a look at the photos for more.
In our old town tour we learned about Pinkas Synagogue, the Jewish cemetery and a handful of educators in Terezin. Pinkas Synagogue houses an exhibit of children’s artwork that was saved from WWII. Started by Friedl Dicker-Brandeisova the art lessons were a method for the children to express their thoughts past and present about their lives, it slowly morphed into more thorough education classes with various educators working to provide education to the children in the ghetto during the war. Another exhibit in Pinkas Synagogue has the names of 78 000 Czech Jewish victims of the holocaust inscribed on the walls. The synagogues in Prague are quite well preserved considering the German occupation and the following communist years. All in all we learned a lot and may need to come back in the future to see the completed work on the buildings in the square and around the old town.
Pics to follow...trying to catch up