prague!

12Aug09

Ahhh Prague… Praga…. Praha… whatever you’re called.

Just like it’s name, my feels about Prague are a real mixed bag.  Depending on who I’m reminiscing with, I can either love it or hate it or just not care.  The city is beautiful, the people are nice at times and brutish at others.  But, one thing is for sure, it’s a photogenic city; so I’m happy.

The Old Town Square – A must-see because, well, everyone else sees it.  A real rip-off as is usual at tourist hot spots.  Beautiful, of course.  And, there’s interesting (yet expensive) snacks that resemble a churros meets pretzel.  But really, if you’re throwing this onto your itinerary, don’t bother, you’ll end up walking through this umpteen times along the way and there’s nothing worth setting aside time to see.

Case in Point: The Astronomical Clock.  What an astronomical waste of time (no pun intended)!  Tourist from across the world crowd around this to check out it’s hourly “show of puppets”.  Seriously, they make weird noises and move their articulated arms about… and that’s it.  Check it out on the half-hour when no one’s there… the mechanisms are cool, the hourly jigs are not.

Museum of Communism – Definitely not on any must-see lists and they don’t try to pretend they are.  Yet, this may just be one of the more interesting/educational sights I saw.  A small… very small… two room sized museum showing the rise and fall of communism in Prague.  Explains a lot.  Obviously, Prague’s no longer under communist regime as demonstrated by its love for Micky Dee’s!

But really, the main reason many people come to Prague… and by many I mean stags and stagettes… is for the beer.  Oh amazing ale’s that make you lust for more.  ‘Cept they’re so heavy that you can’t drink more than two.  Shucks!  Think Guiness and.. well yah.. it’s Guiness.. but not black… and it’s called Budweiser…. but it’s not Budweiser as we know it.  Confused?  Just drink.

Cesky Krumlov – After a few days in Prague, we ventured off to find the Budweiser brewery (see my previous point).  So we took a local bus to Cesky Krumlov.  Only problem is… we never made it to the brewery.  But, we did fall in love with this quaint town, with actual friendly Czechs, situated on the banks of a widing river.

We enjoyed meals by the fireplace and cooked on the fireplace.  Yum!

There’s no story to this picture.  I happened to have my camera on me when we rescued this snail from the scorching heat.

And, of course, can’t leave a new town without taking a jumping shot.  My little brother, Aidan (not so little anymore) doing us proud.

Pankrac Prison – And our last bit of history before we left was to check out the Pankrac Prison, where many died under German occupation.  There’s no denying that this was a fascinating yet horrifying visit.  Like I said in Vietnam, it’s scary to see what we can do to each other.

Prague Castle – And yes.. another “must see”.  In fact, you should see it, but don’t buy the tickets.  The best part of this place was St George’s Cathedral (pictured below).  And… it’s free to get in!  The rest of the castle you have to pay to play, but the Cathedral is what you’re coming for.

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Tags: prague, czech republic, praha, praga, cesky krumlov, prague castle, st michaels, astronomical clock, old town square