Adventures in Prague: Lennon Wall, Markets, & The Czech Beer Festival

I've just got a few more sights to show you from our trip to Prague...then I swear I'll move on to some less Bohemian posts. After leaving the castle, we began our search for the infamous John Lennon Wall. This wall was birthed out of rebellion from the youth of Eastern and Central Europe in the early 80's. Western pop music was banned by Communism at the time, so the youth of Prague began painting images of John (their so-called pacifist hero), Beatles song lyrics, and political messages on this wall. Despite continually painting over the graffiti, the secret police could never keep the wall clean for long. The Czech people like to think of it as Prague's equivalent to the Berlin wall. While I think that's a bit of a stretch, it could kind of be true. Some believe that the "John Lennon Peace Wall" helped inspire the non-violent Velvet Revolution that led to the fall of Communism in the former Czechoslovakia in 1989. Whatever the reason it still exists, it's a part of Prague's rich history and definitely worth a visit. Truth be told, this wall gave us a run for our money...unusually hard to find. It's tucked away in a little corner of the Lesser Quarter behind an old church. If it hadn't been covered in graffiti, we would have missed it altogether. Thankfully, you have me! Now you'll know exactly where it is and how to find it (click the link above for the metro stop info). You're welcome. :)

Ooo, before I forget...again (this was supposed to go in the previous post)...we also made a quick stop at the Old Jewish Cemetery. It's located in the Jewish Quarter just outside the Old Town Square area and is one of the most historic sites for Prague's Jewish population. Tombstones in this graveyard date back to 1439 and burials here took place until 1787. Today it contains some 12,000 tombstones, although the number of people buried here is much greater. According to Jewish law, Jews must not destroy Jewish graves, especially the tombstone. When this particular graveyard started to run out of burial space and there was no more land available to purchase, additional soil layers were added on to existing graves and the old tombstones were taken out and moved upward to the new layer of soil. This is why the graveyard looks so crowded and unkempt. Historians believe that the grave area is about 12 layers deep, with tombs stacked on top of one another. It's a very eerie sight to see.

Havelské Market is located just around the corner from the Old Town Square. It's a permeant market that showcases the locals handicrafts, produce, and postcards. Definitely worth a stop if you're looking for quick souvenir or a fresh snack. Don't those berry baskets look to die for?!

The last stop of our vacation in Prague was the Česky Pivní Festival...also known as the Czech Beer Festival! It was no Oktoberfest, but the beer was not too shabby! Of course as with any beer festival, there were drunken crazies everywhere, but they made for excellent people watching...especially when they turned an empty area of the Festhall into an obstacle course. Would you guess that it was a group of Germans getting rowdy? Those Germans continue to surprise me. :) Kudos to our friend Matt for finding this fun way to end our time together in beautiful Praha!

Adventures in Prague: What to Do-Part 2

Aside from Old Town Square, another beautiful area of Prague is Charles Bridge. It connects the Lesser Quarter (where Prague Castle is located) and Old Town Prague. The views from this bridge are absolutely breathtaking. I'll let the photos speak for themselves.

{Entrance to the Charles Bridge from the Old Town side. On the particular day we were in Prague, a processional for Jesus was making its way through Old Town to the Charles Bridge and into the Lesser Quarter. They were waving ribbon flags, playing horns, and shouting for Jesus! It felt like I was right in the middle of a weird combination of Jesus Christ Superstar and Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat musicals. Very cool to see.}

{Views of the Lesser Quarter from the Charles Bridge}

While wandering along Charles Bridge you can see in the distance a structure that's quite large sitting atop a hill. That massive compound is Pražsky hrad, more commonly known as Prague Castle to us Americans. Inside the castle walls holds a large-scale composition of various palaces, government buildings, and churches, all beaming with amazing architecture. Our first stop within the castle grounds was the Cathedral of St. Vitus, the largest and most important temple in Prague.

There are many more things to see in the Prague Castle compound, but we decided there were a few other things around the city we'd rather see. On our way out of the castle area we did stumble upon some gorgeous views and a beautiful vineyard (called St. Wenceslas Vineyards...you know the holiday song, "Good King Wenceslas looked out, on the feast of Stephen"...yeah that guy apparently was from Bohemia, so his name was everywhere in Prague).

Gorgeous, right? And how much whimsy does that little floating balloon give the whole city? I felt like I was in a fairy tale...and then subsequently became obsessed with taking photos of the Prague skyline and that adorable balloon. I literally have 50 photos. Don't worry, I won't bore you with all of them. Wanna ride in that sweet balloon? Click here for info! I swear, next time we're in Prague, I'm doing it!!

Ok, so there is still so much more to show you guys. Insane, I know. FYI, this is how jam packed we fill our days exploring new cities. See why I'm always exhausted? It's serious business, you know. If you don't have bleeding feet and aching bones by the end of the day, you're not doing it right. Ok, maybe you have bad shoes like me and we should probably go shopping for some better ones...but, you get the idea. Check back later this week for more sights from Prague! 

Happy Tuesday, y'all!

Adventures in Prague: What to Do - Part 1

Prague Pub Crawl

Now, this is not something D and I would normally plan to do in a foreign country we've never visited before. We usually stick to the sight-seeing by day and a nice dinner with drinks out on the town by night (or on the nights we're too pooped to get dolled up and find a place for dinner, we do room service and spend hours laughing at the TV shows that other countries come up with...we're simple people). But on this particular trip to Prague, our friends and frequent travel buddies, Matt & Jenny, thought we'd do something a little unique our first night out. I mean, we were already staying in a brewery, why not add a little more character to this vacation?! Prague Pub Crawl for the win! I must say, we had a blast and a half. We got to wander around Prague, try 4 wildly different bars and Czech beers, and sampled Prague's alcohol claim to fame, Absinthe. This girl right here, not a fan. I don't like anything that tastes like anise or looks and smells like jet fuel. Needless to say, I didn't bring a bottle home with me as a souvenir. Although, you could buy a bottle in almost every shop in Prague. Czechs love them some Absinthe. Blech.

From 8pm to midnight we crawled our way around Prague's night clubs, sipping drinks and laughing foreigners...which, by the way, were out in full force. I'm not sure there was a single Czech person in any of these bars. Mostly Germans, go figure. We even struck up a conversation with a big group of Germans who ended up buying us all a round of beers. It's funny, we always seem to find ourselves amongst the Germans every where we go and all they want to talk about is Peyton Manning. Do we know him? Do we like him? Have we been to Indianapolis for the Super Bowl? Umm, really? No, no, and no. Truth is, all we Americans want to talk about is what the German word for shit is. No, really. We've gotta know all the dirty German words there are, so how else would we learn them? Oh to be a fly on the wall of that bar, huh? Alcohol induced conversations with foreigners are the best. Wanna know what's even cooler? We all got free t-shirts. Well, they came with the $25 pub crawl package (along with that free shot of Absinthe and a welcome beer at each bar)...but, hey, who wouldn't want a Prague Pub Crawl t-shirt? No one, that's who. Friends, if bar hopping in a foreign country is your cup of tea, I'd definitely recommend the Prague Pub Crawl. It'll bring you right back to your college days in 2.5 seconds. Promise.

 {Our German friends. That guy in the front...yeah...we didn't talk to him much. For obvious reasons.}

 Ok, now for some slower paced touristy things to do in Prague. How about a stroll through Old Town Square, one of the most beautiful and historic areas of central Prague?

 

Make sure you stop and check out the Old Town Hall and the hard-to-miss Astronomical Clock plastered to the facade of the building. The clock was installed in 1410 and is considered the 3rd oldest functioning astronomical clock in the world. One of the coolest features of the clock is the "Walk of the Apostles" that happens on the hour, every hour. All 12 Apostles make an appearance across the front of the clock as well as other moving sculptures, like a skeleton (who represents Death) striking the time and a zodiac calendar dial covered in medallions to represent the month.

As you keep walking through the Old Town Square, you'll notice a commanding, gothic inspired church hovering over the square skyline called The Church of Our Lady Before Tyn or Tyn Church. Tyn Church is quite impressive, having two unsymmetrical spires that can be seen from almost anywhere in Prague. As lovely as it is to see during the day, it's the nighttime sky and uplighting along the church walls that creates an ethereal ambiance that beckons you to the town square by night. Oh and if you're an astronomy nerd, you'll appreciate seeing the grave of famed Danish astronomer Tycho Brahe below your feet as you walk through the church.

Hungry? No, we're in Prague people. Ha...see what I did there? I kill myself. Anywho, if you do need to eat, I know of a lovely restaurant in the heart of Old Town Square that you've gotta try. Ladies and gents...Il Toro Negro Steakhouse. The restaurant has an AMAZING view of the astronomical clock and is in the perfect spot for my favorite vacation pastime...people watching! Come on, you guys know you do it, too. Some of the best people watching in the world happens while you're on vacation. It's a fact, but I digress. We dined al fresco on blackened tuna with olive tapenade, chargrilled bacon burgers, and one of the yummiest berry mojitos I've ever put in my mouth. With such an amazing view and reasonable menu prices, I'd say Il Toro Negro is worth a stop, even if it's only for one of their giant ice cream sundaes. Holy cow, they looked amazing.

As if a tuna steak in the middle of Prague wasn't already delicious enough, if you walk around the corner, towards the back side of the Town Hall and astronomical clock, you'll find this stand:

Trdelniks. Confession: I ate 3 of these while in Prague. They are outta this world! Basically, a Trdelnik is a sweet pastry made from rolled dough that's wrapped around a stick, then grilled and topped with a sugar/walnut topping. People were flocking to these sands by the dozens. And rightly so. They're addicting and quite possibly my favorite stand food ever. Take that, German pretzels!

 Ok, I think that's enough info for one post. We'll continue our tour of Prague later...you've barely seen anything yet! Now, D and I are off to Ramstein to do some shopping and enjoy our time NOT TRAVELING on this 4 day holiday weekend. We had plans to jet off to Belguim for the Brussels Beer Festival, but cancelled our trip last minute. We're pooped, guys. After traveling and entertaining friends for the last 4 weeks, Team Coté needs a break. Not to mention my poor apartment looks like a nuclear bomb went off in it. So, we're taking this long weekend to relax, recoup, and clean...obviously. To all my friends and family...and all you lovely people out in blog land, HAPPY LABOR DAY to you! Enjoy your last official weekend of summer! BRING ON THE FALL, BABY! :)