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| Hanging out in Old Town Square |
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| Horses in Old Town Square |
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| Berries at the market |
After a few snags in my travel plans, I successfully arrived in Prague on Saturday June 24th. Since then I have pretty much spent my time wandering the city and getting all of the tourist locations out of the way. At this point I have visited Old Town Square, the Astronomical Clock, the John Lennon Wall, Prague Castle (which includes the Old Prague Castle, St. Vitus Cathedral, the Golden Lane, the Czech Crown Jewels, St. George's Basilica, and a ton of other historical museums and towers), a market, the Charles Bridge, the Jewish Quarter, and the giant Prague Metronome. I've also found the building where I'll be studying with the Prague Shakespeare Company and saw a production of Blood Wedding at the Estates Theatre which is part of the Czech National Theatre.
I have to say that after only a few days, I have officially fallen in love with this city! The architecture here is beautiful and there is so much appreciation for the arts, it's incredible. In Prague, people respect artists and the fact that they've chosen to make a career out of being an artist. No one asks "What are you going to do with that major?" or tells you to not put all your eggs in one basket. Artists are respected and appreciated.
So far, I think my favorite places have been the giant metronome (and the park that goes with it) and St. Vitus Cathedral at the Prague Castle. Both places have amazing views over Prague and the history behind them is incredibly interesting.
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| St. Vitus Cathedr |
St. Vitus Cathedral is a Gothic style church built in 1344 but it wasn't officially finished until 1929. When I first got there, I wasn't going to buy a ticket (which includes the entire grounds of the castle). I thought I would just wander the parts that were free and if I had time, go back later to see the rest. The cathedral was the first thing I saw and when I walked through the doors, I immediately wanted to see the entire church. So I bought a ticket. And you know what? It was totally worth it! I spent way longer on the grounds of the castle than I intended. While I was touring the inside of the Old Prague Castle I didn't realize that you weren't supposed to take pictures until after I had already taken a picture. Oops... No one said anything so I didn't delete it. Near the cathedral and the Old Prague Castle is a small museum containing the Czech Crown Jewels. According to the church, the cross on the top of the crown contains a preserved thorn from Christ's crown of thorns. Pretty cool.
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| The picture of Old Prague Castle that I wasn't supposed to take. |
The giant metronome is an actual working metronome that was erected in the 1990s to replace a giant 75 foot statue of Joseph Stalin that Czech citizens blew up in the 1960s. The statue of Stalin was supposed to stand for all time but obviously that didn't happen. The metronome now symbolizes time continually moving on. It's surrounded by a park that is now a popular spot for the younger generation to hang out. I'm definitely going back at some point.
I also found out that the Estates Theatre, where I saw Blood Wedding, is the theatre where Mozart premiered Don Giovanni. Pretty darn cool.
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| More Market berries |
Tomorrow the plan is to visit Kutna Hora to see the Church of Bones and St. Barbara's Cathedral. If I have enough time, I may visit the silver mine as well.
Xoxo,
Jackey
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| This is the front of my hostel by the way |
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