Czeching out Prague

Our travels went smoothly and we arrived Tuesday night to Prague. A little disorienting being in a country where we don't speak a word of the language and are unfamiliar with the currency, but that's all part of the aventura! Our first night we stayed with Gillian's camp friend who's studying there. One thing we noticed right away was the climate change...Prague was freezing and snowy! The next morning we took the metro into Old Town to check into our hostel. This was my first hostel experience so I was a little nervous, but it ended up working out really well. It was located a few minutes walking from the center of old town, and we shared a room with two older girls traveling together (one from Northbrook!) and a boy studying abroad in Rome and traveling by himself. After checking in, we walked to old town square to meet up with my friend Sara who is studying here for the semester. Side note: having friends in so many European countries is the best! She took us to one of her favorite lunch spots, then we went up to the top of the astronomical clock tower in old town square where we got some awesome views of the city. Afterwards, we walked by a "sex machine museum" and thought it would be a good idea to go in. Ummm I'll keep the summary to a minimum cause Papa Bill might be reading this but basically it was terrifying and we all left semi-traumatized. Soo to lift our spirits we walked around the Easter market that was set up in old town square! For our afternoon snack in the market we got trdelniks, a typical Czech pastry. Yum. In the afternoon we went to the Kafka museum, then back to the hostel to rest a little. For dinner we went with some Prague abroad friends to a really good vegetarian restaurant and then out to some bars.

View of the Easter market from the clock tower

The next day, Gillian and I walked to the Charles Bridge and over into New Town. There we went to see the John Lennon wall, which people have created graffiti art on since the 1980s. Then we came back into old town for lunch and went to see the Jewish quarter. We went into a synagogue that was built in the 13th century which was really cool. I don't have so much knowledge about Jewish history in central Europe, but it always amazes me how Jewish life has existed in so many parts of the world. I happened to overlap in Prague that night with one of my closest Ramah friends, Ilana, who's studying abroad in Jerusalem, so I met up with her for dinner which was so much fun.

Music on the Charles Bridge

Making my mark on the Lennon wall!

Despite the cold, Prague was a really cool city to visit. I think my one complaint would be the smoking indoors. I didn't realize how much I appreciated Madrid's ban on indoor smoking until I noticed it in Prague...after every dinner and bar my clothes and hair were soo smoky! Yuck. After dinner with Ilana, Gillian and I came back to the hostel to pack up for our morning train ride to Vienna. Wien here we come!