Prague, The Czech Republic

Prague, The Golden City. (Photo Gallery)

Kidnapped by communism for 40 years, Prague has somehow stayed largely undamaged by WWII. It is characterized by it's many architectural treasures, it's compact medieval old town and churches beyond numbers all watched over by an 1100 year-old castle. Just like Paris, it straddles a river, called the Vlata River, the longest in Czech. Central Prague consists of 5 towns, Hradcany, the castle district; Mala Strana, the 13th century Little Quarter; Josefov, the former Jewish Quarter; Stare Mesto, the medieval Old Town and Nove Mesto, the New Town.

The Journey~
This time around, I decided to travel by train with 6 others as there was a special price on offer. The 4 1/2 hours journey ended when we reached Prague at 1 pm. We were greeted by Milo, our friendly guide who took us to our apartment and helped us plan our route. After changing the local currency, the Kc Milo led us to a restaurant for lunch. I ate like any other Czech, pork and dumpling washed down with a pilsner beer. It has got to be the cheapest food I have bought in Europe :)

The Route~
Day 1:
State Opera House -> National Museum -> Wencelas Square -> Main Street ->
Charles Bridge ->Little Quarter -> Prague Castle -> Wellenstein Garden ->
Petrin Hill -> Old Town Square -> Disco

Day 2:
Municipal House -> Powder Gate -> Old Town Square -> Rudolfinum -> Jewish Quarter -> National Theater -> Dancing House -> Vysehrad

State Opera House (Statni Opera)~
The first real nice building thrown at out sight was the State Opera House. This imposing 1886 neo Renaissance building has a nice facade. We did not stop long though as we were drawn towards the adjacent National Museum.

National Museum (Narodni Muzeum)~
Overlooking the Wencelas Square and the main street, the structure of this museum is magnificent but the same couldn't be said about it's content. We haven't got the slighted idea what was on display and thus spending 100 Kc doesn't seem to be a good deal.
Admission: 100 Kc

Wencelas Square~
This square which marks the beginning of the main street is dominated by an equestrian statue of St. Wencelas. It is a famous site for "the Prague Spring" demonstration in 1968 when thousands of demonstrators fighting for freedom and basic human rights were killed while clashing with security officers.




Main Street (Vaclavske Namesti)~
Stretching over half a mile in length, the main street of Prague and it's vicinity is studded with shopping complexes, bars, cafes and many souvenir shops. Of all the cities I have visited, Prague probably has the most souvenir shops selling stuffs from T-Shirts, perfume bottle, scafs to crystals. What makes the street more exciting is the fact that there were many artistic works on
display in the center of the street. This street led us straight to the old town. As it was getting late, we quickly cut through the old town and crossed the Charles Bridge to get to the Prague Castle.

Charles Bridge (Vltava)~
What caught me by surprise is that a bridge 500m long took us almost an hour to cross it ! One of Prague's distraction is that is that it is choked with summer crowds and most of them seems to concentrate on Charles Bridge. It is damn packed; tourist ambling slowly, locals trying to cross it, and street merchants trying to separate tourist from their Kcs.

We tourist, however could be forgiven considering the fact that the bridge is one of the most beautiful in Europe. It is decorated with 3 bridge towers, 16 pillars and 30 sculptures. A closer look will reveal that every arch has a statue commemorating some events in the Bible. Legend has it that touching the bronze statue of St. John of Neopunk is supposed to make your dream come true. I do really hope that is true :)

Little Quarter (Mala Strana)~
A turn into one of the many winding cobbled streets suddenly placed us in a quiet medieval charm as we traversed Nerudova Ulice, the main street of Little Quarter. There are still shops and cafes but somehow, pace of life seems to decrease tremendously. At the end of this street, you will come to a steep Royal Way as we climb to the castle. From here, you will get a panoramic view of the picturesque little quarters which clusters around the foot of the castle.

Prague Castle (Prazsky Hrad)~
Prague Castle claims its largest ancient castle in the world title by it's 570m long and 128m wide dimension. With a magnificent cliff-top outlook, the 1100 year-old castle is the one of the most
popular tourist attraction in Prague. For me though it is not the castle but more of the guards on duty at the main gate which attracts me. They could stand as still as rock for an hour before the next shift comes. At first glance, I really thought it's a mannequin ! Inside, St Virus Cathedral seems to be the crown of the castle. Anyway, we wandered around the castle for a while before decending down on the east wing and headed south for Petrin Hill.
Admission: 150 Kc

Wellenstein Garden~
Along the way, we stumbled across Wellenstein Garden. Part of the palace of the same name, it boasts statues of various gods and demigods and the unique Stalagmite Wall.

Petrin Hill (Petrinska Rozhledna)~
This 318m hill is great for postcard-perfect views of the city. You can tone your thigh muscles hiking up or simply take the cable car. We prefer the latter. On top of the hill is Petrin Tower
which you have to pay 50 Kc just to climb up. For your labour, it offers in return the famous view of the "city of 100 spires" and all the old bridges. My eyes says it's well worth it but my feet could not concur :( We stayed till the sun sets so that we could get a night view of the city. In summer that would mean 10 pm !
Admission: Cable Car 20 Kc; Tower 50 Kc

Nighlife~
As the moon slowly replaced the sun, the nocturnal nature in me suddenly sprang into life. This is helped by the fact that Prague has one of the most vibrant nighlife in Europe. Discos, bars & strip
clubs are aplenty here. What impressed me most is that you can see guys carrying mobile LCD screens on the street promoting the strip clubs with probably live streaming video of what's happing inside the club ! Imagine you are in the club and your parents could spot you when they are walking on the streets ....hahahaha...unbelievable :)

We decided to give the discos there a try. Not just any disco but the biggest in Central Europe !
The club we went, called Karlovy Lazne has six floors of dance area with different music type ranging from nigga's music to techno. In contrast to the city's venerable past, Prague's social life is incredibly youthful, mixing young Czechs in search of urban adventure with hordes of 20-something tourist in search of the romanticism. Before long, we took to the dance floor. There was this hot Vietnamese chick who came to me and asked if we could dance together. Whoah !!!!!!!!! By all means.....OBVIOUSLY YES !!!! hahaha.....No juicy stories though... :) We had to leave early to catch up on some sleeping time.
Admission: Cover Charge 120 Kc (excluding drinks)

Municipal House (Obecni Dum)~
Built between 1905-1911 this splendid art nouveau building now houses art exhibitions and has murals and stained glass by important Czech artists including Alfons Mucha. The Municipal House stands on the site where in medieval times the Royal Court was located and adjoins the Powder Gate, part of an original fortifications of Old Town built in 1475 and renovated in the nineteenth century.

Old Town Square (Staromestke Namesti)~
The centrepiece of Stare Mesto is the huge 1.7-hectare Old Town Square surrounded by 10th and 12th century architecture. There are cafes spilling out onto the pavements & souvenir stalls everywhere.
The best view comes from a disneyland-like tower with a backdrop of puffy clouds on blue sky. However, The main object of interest in the square is the Astronomical Clock, on the side of the town hall. I never knew how 2 read it.

Rudolfinum~
The Rudolfinum on the commemorative Jan Palach Square has at it's centre the Dvorak Hall, home of the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra. It marks the site where the student immolated himself in protest at the 1956 Soviet invasion. The event was a key image of the soviet era and remains a moving reminder of what that time was about.

Jewish Cemetery~
This melancholic Old Jewish Cemetery of 120 000 graves for the Holocaust victims were perversely preserved by Nazi leaders, who declared them to be a 'museum of an extinct race'. Instead, all have survived is the memorial to seven centuries of oppression. It costs 450 Kc for a visit but we somehwat found hole to peep in :) It's good enuff...hahaha.
Admission: 450 Kc

National Theatre (Narodni Divadlo)~
The National Theatre in the New Town overlooks the River Vlatava. This is one of the finest nineteenth century Czech buildings. Built between 1868-83 it is a demonstration of the idea of a "total work of art" exemplifying the achievemnts and collaborative efforts of architects, artists and designers in realising a National stage.

The Dancing Building~
Located in New Town, this is probably the most modern building I have seen in Prague. It is also the weirdess.










Vysehrad~
Just off the attraction areas, stood Vysehrad, the old burial place of kings and Czech national
figures including the composers Smetana and Dvorak. By now the blue sky had already faded to grey as if ushering us out of Prague.

That marks the end of the trip. With some time left, we went back to the main street and did some shopping just to clear off whatever Kc we had left. All in all, I had pleasant experience in Prague, the Golden City. It was a pity that I wasn't ecstatic about Prague as my other friends because in my mind........there was only ROME which I will conquer in the weekend...............

But, there is an unexpected twist to this....The Rome trip was cancelled :(

more pix...