Old town square
Originally uploaded by SaurabhA.
We arrived in Prague on Thursday afternoon on a train from Vienna. After checking into our hotel, we decided to walk around the town to get a feel for the city. Our first stop was Wenceslas Square, which is really more like a wide boulevard with shopping than it is a square (picture). From Wenceslas Square, we continued walking to the Old Town Square (picture) and then to Charles Bridge (picture). The Old Town Square is the heart of Prague, with restaurants, horse and carriages, and the Tyn church providing a gothic backdrop. It also contains the famous Astronomical clock (picture). The Charles Bridge is an old pedestrian bridge lined with statues and entertainers such as fire throwers and musicians.
On Friday, we took a trip up to Prague's Castle area (Mala Strana - picture) which boasts spectacular views of the city, the Stahov Monastery, St. Vitus Cathedral, St. George's Basilica, and Golden Lane. The Stahov Monastery is located on a hill above the Castle area and is much less visited by tourists. Also located up near the monastery is a statue of Kepler and Brahe (picture). The walk from the monastery to the castle area has some beautiful scenary and provides a nice little getaway from the hustle and bustle of Prague. The Castle area contains the castle (not that much to see in there) as well as the St. Vitus Cathedral (picture), which can be seen from pretty much anywhere in the city. After spending a couple of hours in the Castle area (and watching the changing of the guard - picture), and visiting Golden lane (on which Franz Kafka's house is located - picture), we then strolled down through the Little Quarter, over the Charles Bridge, back to central Prague. For dinner, we went to a restaurant in the Old Town Square. The food was OK but, more importantly, the ambiance of the area was great; especially the buildings all lit up at night (picture).
On Saturday, we spent the day at only a couple of sights, including the Municipal House (picture), Communism Museum, and Havelska Market (picture). The rest of the day, we spent just strolling casually around the city, visiting some of the shops and generally taking it easy. For dinner, we went to a Thai restaurant which served the best Thai food we've eaten since leaving Vancouver; this was quite a treat.
Sunday was our last day in Prague and, since many other sites were closed, we saved all of the Jewish sites for this day. Prague's Jewish Quarter (Josefov) is said to be one of the best Jewish sites in all of Europe. It is comprised of a number of synagogues and a remarkable cemetary. We started our tour by visiting the Maisel Synagogue; here we purchased a Jewish museum pass which covers most of the Jewish sites in Josefov. The Maisel Synagogue was more a museum than a place of worship. Inside, were a number of Jewish artifacts and information on the symbolism that is part of the faith (such as the Star of David) and information regarding the Holocost and what life was like for Jews before and after WWII. After seeing the Maisel Synagogue, we walked over to the Old Cemetary and Pinkas Synagogue (we skipped the Klaus Synagogue). The Old Cemetary was very interesting. This was one of the only places in Prague where Jews could bury their dead and, as a result, the cemetary is layered with years of burial plots and the headstones are extremely close together (picture). The Pinkas Synagogue is a tribute to the Prague Jews that were killed in the Holocost; the walls are lined with the names of all those that perished and a voice over the speakers reads out all of their names. It was quite a touching experience to feel the scope of the tragedy and suffering. The final Jewish site that we visited was the Spanish Synagogue. This is built in a Moorish style and I found the architecture and decorations to be extremely interesting and rich (picture). For anyone that visits the Josefov, this is a must-see site.
