Prague

Next on our trip was Prague, which was the shortest leg of our trip (Friday morning to Sunday morning). It was also probably the most foreign to me. After we arrived in “Praha” on Friday, we napped for a bit at our airbnb, which was a little outside the city center but near two metro stops and trams. We got trdelinks (a sort of cinnamon and sugar pastry baked on a rotisserie) and hot wine before our boat tour that night. The tour was short and very cold but it was worth it to see the so-called Paris of the East lit up at night. As we were walking back at night we ran into several modern art installations that were a part of the city’s SIGNAL festival.

boat tour

Saturday was a whirlwind. You could say that we did Prague in a day. We started out relatively early to the Old City and climbed the massive hill to the castle complex. We got a student pass that was the equivalent of about €5 which gave us access to the castle, St. George’s Basilica, and Golden Street. I’m glad we went early because by the time we left it was getting pretty crowded. We saw the window in the castle where the protestants were defenestrated, eventually leading to the Thirty Years’ War (shout out to Mr. McCormick’s ninth grade honors history class).

St. George's Basilica

Next we set out to the Royal Gardens, which have been around since 1534. Again and again I was surprised by the age and rich history of Prague. Next we headed to a café for a warm lunch. My friends had beef goulash and I had a toasted panino. Then we headed up the hill some more to a monastery and then an observatory tower that looked like the Eiffel Tower (again Paris of the East reference).

view of the castle from the Royal Gardens

Next we hiked back down the hill to the John Lennon wall, which was a lot smaller than I thought it would be. Other students from JFRC happened to be there as well. I think the most memorable graffiti tag read “RE: REFUGEES WELCOME.” I wrote “we are all human. no one should be illegal.” My friend wrote her twitter handle. A group of American boys wrote “SMU FIJI 2K15.”

signing the John Lennon wall

JFRC crew at the John Lennon wall

Next we walked over the Charles Bridge, which is also very old and was filled with street vendors. Then we snuck onto a guided tour of an old library (Klementinum) and an astronomy observatory tower. I think the tour guide knew we weren’t “officially” on the tour but none of us had enough money left so I didn’t mind.

After all of that we went back to our airbnb and cooked dinner and rested. If you thought our time in Prague was over, you’re wrong! We met some of Dana’s friends who were studying in Barcelona who were staying closer to the city. Nikki, who is from Michigan, was able to watch some of the University of Michigan versus MSU football game, which basically made her night.

Next we headed out to the largest dance club in Central Europe. It was six levels, each with a different theme and genre of music. It was a little overwhelming, but I had a pretty good time.

Prague was unexpected- and cheap. I was able to do everything (minus the boat tour which we paid for in advance) for €50, which is around 2,000 Czech crowns. Although I do think we hit most of the city’s highlights in one day, I would definitely go back to Prague, if only for the trdelinks.

trdelinks!