Perhaps it is for this reason that, when discussing with the renowned Brent Allen my travel plans for the remainder of the time left on my EURail pass, I was taken aback when that sweet Georgian boy gave me his humble advice. He said, and I quote (with a slight southern twang):
"Why don't you go East?"
"East?" I thought. Well, that would definitely be different. For some reason Eastern European countries didn't really make the cut when I was deciding where to go and visit during my time abroad here. Actually, it was more like they didn't occur to me. As much as I had heard about the beauty of Prague, the Golden City, a history museum in and of itself, it seemed that I wouldn't make it over there unless I "had time." There were much more obvious cities to visit: Vienna, Paris, Amsterdam, and, even though I haven't make it there (yet?), London, Barcelona, Venice, and Rome.
So, this Friday, I struck out on that midnight train to Praha, heading East (although, technically, Vienna lies more to the East than Prague, so I had been "East" before--but for sake of this blog's theme, we will ignore these details of longitude and stick with our preconceived notions of "Western" and "Eastern" Europe [as myopic as that may be]).
Before arriving in Prague, I had to make a slight pitstop in a city called Fulda. The only reason why I had heard of Fulda was because there were Bishops' Conferences held here during the Nazi Regime (for more information, come and see my oral presentation on the relationship of the Catholic Church with the Nazis on Thursday at 4:15PM German time [subtitles not included]). And by pitstop I mean that I had to theoretically wait about an hour and a half for my train to come at its scheduled time. I say theoretically because it came early, which is good since the McDonald's in town, the only thing I was brave enough to set out to find, closes at midnight (my train was supposed to leave at 12:45). Always...no, never, rely on globalization.
But, at about eight in the morning on Saturday, I arrived in the Czech Republic's capital city. I immediately found the subway and set out to find the meeting spot for free walking tours that started at 10:30 and 2 everyday (apparently universal tour times [give or take a half an hour ;)]), the morning tour covering the right side of the Vtlava River and the afternoon tour covering the left side. Luckily I had about two hours to stumble across the right meeting spot, and, having found it, promptly rewarded myself with a ham omelette and a few glasses of orange juice. I only wish I knew how to say "thank you" and "delicious" in every language. I left a significant tip instead. Everyone I know speaks that language.
My tourguide's name was Veronika--she had a very strong accent but spoke English very well (and very quickly) while covering a lot of information on the two tours. In addition to telling us about the architectural and social importance of each building, she also covered a lot of Czechian history. I'll try my best to share when writing lengthy captions for the photos below. You know the drill.
Although I thoroughly enjoyed the tours, my feet were essentially frozen solid by the end of each one. In between tours I took advantage of the Christmas market on the city square that sold mulled wine and bratwurst. After the second tour I found the shelter of tourist stores selling marionettes, scarves, absinthe, blown glass, t-shirts saying "Czech me out!", and millions of those doll-things that fit inside one another (I saw a set of 18--the biggest one was probably a foot tall, and the smallest went down to about two centimeters--with the same painted detail as the largest one). After wandering around another Christmas market in Wenceslas Square, it was just about time to exchange my kurony for Euro and head back to Deutschland.
Statue of John Hoos, who was one of the main figures of the Protestant Reformation in Prague. Apparently he was really short and fat, but that Prague people saw him as a sort of hero, and therefore portrayed him as someone strong and powerful instead:
Christmas market at the Old City Square (taken from my personal helicopter).
Old City Hall
In 1848 There was a nationalist movement in Prague against the Hapsburg empire. 27 men that invaded the seat of the regime were beheaded--these white crosses commemorate their efforts. Also, twelve of their heads were hung on the tower of the Charles Bridge as an example to the rest of the Prague citizens.
Astronomical Clock--I posted a video below that shows what happens every hour. 
One of the two buldings that was destroyed in WWII--this ghost of an extension that used to be a part of City Hall was used by the Nazis to store all of their archives during the war. The Nazis blew it up to destroy evidence. The other building that was destroyed in Prague was a church destroyed by an American pilot, who thought he was in Dresden. Everyone makes mistakes, right?
Tyn Cathedral
Back to the Astronomical Clock--there are so many details about it, but one thing I can distinctly remember is the white circle on the outside, where names are written showing the Feast Days of Saints.
St. Nicholaus--the Baroque style was encouraged when the Hapsburg Empire called for the re-Catholization of the Prague citizens after John Hoos's came with Protestantism. Apparently it was easier to convert individuals with prettier buildings. I mean, if you work in the fields all week long and your only joy is going to church, you're probably going to want to worship in an ornate building. Just a guess.
Veronika showed us this building to give us an example of how copying Roman architecture was very popular back in the day, even though these arching pavilions were not very practical for the cold weather in the Czech Republic. No siree.
I don't remember the name of this church, but the facade is incredible.
House of the Black Madonna--an archetypal example of Cubism that originated in Prague.
Muncipal House
Powder Tower
An example of the small houses that used to frequent Wenceslas Square in front of the museum, pictured below--with the juxtaposition of the museum with these small houses it became "necessary" to rebuild the entire street with bigger buildings.
Daivd Cerny--whose other works you will see later--sculpted this upside down-hanging horse on which St. Wenceslas sits to criticize communism in the 1980's.
Our Lady of the Snows Cathedral
Mozart was here! Apparently Mozart used to live in this part of Prague, but then it was too noisy and disruptive for him, so he moved...
Another Cerny statue--this is Sigmund Freud hanging from the window. Random? Yes.
Until 1754, Prague didn't have house numbers. Instead, there were these signs to indicate where a letter or a visitor should go to--"house of golden snake," for example.
Or "house of the blue fish."
Kiernontinum, I think. I don't remember/know how to spell that one. I need to brush up on my Bee skills.
Charles Bridge--this is where those 12 heads were hung.
Bethlehem Chapel--now part of Charles University.
The oldest synagogue in Europe! Built in the 15th century. Alt Neu Schul is its name.
Jewish Town Hall. Jews were sanctioned off to one part of the city, which is now known as the Old Jewish Town.
Notice the Hebrew numerals on the clock.
Rudolfinum--this is where Reinhard Heydrich, a Nazi leader, was stationed in Prague. If you notice the statues on the end of the building, they embody famous composers and artists, one of which was Mendelssohn, a Jewish composer. Heydrich ordered two Nazi soldiers to destroy the statue. But, since the soldiers didn't know what Mendelssohn looked like, they decided to destroy the statue with the largest nose. Instead of destroying Mendelssohn's statue, they got rid of Richard Wagner's, who was a famous German composer and a favorite of both Heydrich and Hitler. Ha.
Antonin Dvorak, a famous Prague composer ("New World Symphony"!)
An example of the statues.
Looking across the Charles River
Prague Castle in the distance
Monument for those who lost their lives during WWII.
Another work by Cerny. Yes, that is a man peeing. And the base is a map of the Czech Republic (upside down from my angle). There's also a number you can text with a mesage of your choice that both of the men, whose hips turn, can write for you. Marriage proposals, anybody?
Small street--notice the streetlight. It's too narrow for more than one person to go through, so you have to wait for it to be green.
Named something like the Devil's River because of all of the water wheels along the way that powered all of the mills.
Gate of the Charles Bridge.
National Theater--this was very important in the latter half of the 19th century, where the Czech language was almost lost due to the Hapsburg empire, which enforced the German language on its citizens. Barely anybody spoke Czech anymore, except mostly lower class individuals, so with the national "revolution" of 1848, reinforcing the language became a huge deal.
The Charles Bridge! The first stone was laid in the year 1357, on the 9th day of the 7th month at 5:31 AM. Look at those numbers: 1 3 5 7 9 7 5 3 1. Nine, which is at the pinnacle of that pyramid, was considered a "lucky" number that would prevent the bridge from being destroyed. More important were these wooden pillors in front of the archways that prevented ships without captains from running into the bridge.
Our tourguide made an effort to show us this gate, because apparently Tom Cruise touched it. It's featured in one of the Mission Impossible movies.
This wall is where the first resistance to communism was visible in Prague. Whenever anybody wrote any graffiti, it was immediately painted over--only to be replaced by more graffiti shortly thereafter. Now, it remains a place where anybody can write anything, symbolizing the freedom of speech welcome in democracy.
Strahov Monastery? I'm unsure of the name. If only I knew Czech! All I learned was that "Ahoy!" is hello. Easy enough to remember
Another St. Nicholaus church, this time on the left side of the river.
Climbing the stairs to get to the Prague Castle
Apparently Prague's equivalent of the Eiffel Tower, although not as tall, is at the same elevation as the one in Paris.
Cathedral in the Prague Castle
One of the courtyards
The Czech flag--which is shown when the president is in the country. I didn't see him that day. Or get a bloody nose and get treated by his personal doctor. Can't win them all.
Unfortunately the cathedral wasn't open...I would have love love LOVED to go in!
Another St. Nicholaus church, this time on the left side of the river.
Climbing the stairs to get to the Prague Castle
Apparently Prague's equivalent of the Eiffel Tower, although not as tall, is at the same elevation as the one in Paris.
Cathedral in the Prague Castle
One of the courtyards
The Czech flag--which is shown when the president is in the country. I didn't see him that day. Or get a bloody nose and get treated by his personal doctor. Can't win them all.
Unfortunately the cathedral wasn't open...I would have love love LOVED to go in!
Here is a video, as promised, of the Astronomical Clock...look REALLY closely. The twelve apostles come by those two windows up top, while the skeleton (right lower side) nods his head and rings his bell to indicate that death is nearing. Next to him are other statues shaking their heads "no," indicating that they don't want to die. Freaky.
On the way home, I met two girls studying abroad in Freiburg, which is really close to the French/Swiss border. One, Jude, was from Scotland, and the other, Helen, was from Dublin, Ireland. We exchanged jokes from our favorite comedians, and are now Facebook friends (they found me...I don't know how, but they found me [name that film]). I now have more potential travelling buddies that really, really like Mitch Hedberg. I may or may not be responsible for that.
Peace, love, and beer that's cheaper than the water,
Amanda
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