Prague Walks

Prague

We left Prague two days ago for Salzburg, Austria. It ended up as a longer stay than we initially planned for several reasons. One was simply that it is a great city; beautiful, with a lot of history and interesting architecture, and it is in a relatively compact area, lending itself well to walking. Another was that it was affordable. After Norway, that was a big plus. Norway was a wonderful country, but it was painfully expensive. Everything cost 2-3 times as much as you would normally pay in the US, and about 4 times as much as in Prague. Buying the cheapest sandwich that you could find in a convenience store (they have 7-11 in Norway, also) would set you back at least $10. Even Norwegian products that you can buy in the US are a lot more expensive in Norway. Hmm. There’s an idea. Maybe I’ll start an import business shipping Norwegian products back to Norway.

I have wanted to visit Prague for many years. I had heard shortly after the fall of communism back in 1989 that Prague was one of the great cities of Europe, but that it had become quite rundown under the communists. Fortunately, a long enough time has gone by that it has had extensive renovations and really looks nice. It was interesting talking to some of the Czechs about the differences in people, as well. Older people, they note, walk around with an unhappy look on their face, unsmiling and unfriendly, and are more pessimistic. Of course, I was only able to speak with younger people, as older people do not speak English, English being something introduced into the curriculum more recently.

Prague had three main highlights. The Karlova Bridge, the Prague Castle, and the Old Town Square. The bridge was built in the 1300’s and has continued in use until today, though now as a pedestrian bridge. The bridge is lined with statues, as well as vendors selling their wares, and entertainers. With its wonderful views, it was enchanting place, one that we visited at least once a day, and sometimes as many as four times. The castle was not simply one building, but a complex of many buildings, and is the largest castle grounds in Europe. In addition, no castle in Europe has served as the site of it’s government as long. It also included a large, beautiful gothic cathedral from the 1300’s. The Old Town Square is a large open area with an old astronomical clock, a large beautiful Baroque cathedral, several monuments, and is surrounded by quaint narrow streets and shops. The astronomical clock is quite the wonder. It was the first of it’s kind in Europe. The king who commissioned it was so pleased with its uniqueness and beauty, that he decided that no other city in Europe should have one, so he had the clock’s builder blinded. Talk about being rewarded for your good work! The clock builder was, understandably, not so pleased with the turn of events. To get back at the king, he thrust his arms into the gear works of the clock. This lead not only to the clock not working for several years while someone figured out how to repair the clock, but to the clockmakers death; a great example of cutting off your nose to spite your face.

With the compactness of sites in Prague, we were able to see everything on foot. It did make for lots of walking, though. I had several days where, counting my time running in the morning, I spent 10-11 hours walking. Of course, one of those days was because I got lost in the maze of twisting, narrow streets in the old town. Fortunately, there was a lot to see, even if it was not listed in the guidebooks.

-Mitch