Prague, Czech Republic
Prague (‘Praha’) is the capital of the Czech Republic and is divided by the Vltava River into two parts: the Old Town and the Castle District. We will start with the Old Town where I continuously got lost just walking around the charming cobblestone streets lined with vendors, restaurants, and stores. The only way I could get my bearings was by looking for the tall spires of the Church of St. Nicholas and Old Town Hall which are in the Old Town Main Square. Also in the main square is the Astronomical Clock, which was built in 1410 and the oldest clock of its kind that is still operational. It tells perfect time!
Travel Tip: I always try to take SANDEMAN’s New Europe Tours. They are available in 18 different cities (mostly in Europe) and they are FREE. You just tip the tour guide what you think the tour is worth and they do not disappoint. Prague was no different!
The SANDEMAN Tour takes you all around Old Town to the some of the places I mentioned above and then into the Jewish quarter (‘Josefov’) where all the Jews were required to live in Prague since the 13th Century. This section of town even survived Nazi invasion as Hitler proclaimed it a ‘Museum of an Extinct Race’. It is complete with 3 synagogues and the Old Jewish Cemetery that interns over 100,000 Jews. The government would not grant any more land for the Jews to bury their dead, so they just keep adding dirt and moving the headstones up… 12,000 headstones. You end the tour in Wenceslas Square, which includes a gigantic statue of Saint Wenceslas (my favorite historical character from Prague, he even has a Christmas song written about him) and the National Museum, which still has visible bullet holes in it from World War 2. Lastly, Wenceslas Square was the home to the final stand in the Velvet Revolution where thousands of people revolted against the communist rule in 1989. Yes, Prague was still communist less than 30 years ago. Wild!
The Charles Bridge connects the Old Town and the Castle District as it extends over the Vltava River and it was built in 1357. It is lined with 30 baroque statues, street vendors, and musicians. It was really cool to walk over, but one of the best things we did in Prague was rent a paddle boat and take in the views from the water. From that vantage point, you could see the Prague Castle, St. Vitus Cathedral and the Dancing House (unique architectural building). Lastly, you couldn’t beat the view from the Prague Castle looking down on the surrounding Castle District and over into Old Town.
Pilsner Urquell
BEER!!! The Czech beer is some of the best I have ever tasted. Pilsner Urquell, a Bavarian brewery in the nearby town of Pilsen, was the pioneer of the Pilsner/Blonde Lager. This style of beer is the inspiration of about two-thirds of the beer in the world today.
Because of recent technology, Pilsner Urquell utilizes ‘tank beer’ to serve its customers in most pubs and restaurants in Prague. Instead of beer being delivered in kegs to these establishments, it is literally piped in through the front door via gigantic hoses. Think fuel tanker truck, but with beer. The restaurants/pubs have stainless steel tanks that connect to the hoses and hold the beer. One kicker: the beer is unpasteurised. So, when you order a beer, your glass is filled with alcohol that has not come into contact with air yet so it is as fresh as you can get. Also, it is ‘still alive’ because of it’s unpasteurised state. The flavor of the beer can literally change the longer it sits in your glass. Pilsner Urquell is fresh, amazing, and probably one of the best beers I have ever had. Period.
Side Note: There are a number of pubs all over Prague that allow you to pour your own beer at your table and they digitally keep track of how much you’ve drank. These bars also have a projector screen that displays other bars around the city, namely the amount of beer each table at those other bars has consumed. So, quickly, it turns into a competition to see which table can drink the most all over Prague. We did not partake in the competition, but watching was pretty fun.
Below is a video tour of Ice Pub Prague. Super touristy attraction, but we had a fun time doing it. The whole bar is literally made out of ice. Ice sculptures, ice glasses, and ice bar. House music (per usual in Prague) and they give you parkas. Not the top thing on my list to do in Prague, but makes for good visuals and an interesting experience.
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