Today was our first day in Prague! This is my personal favorite city thus far. The cobblestoned streets and extremely old buildings were very reminiscent of Venice and Florence in Italy, which were my two favorite cities on that trip. We awoke this morning to find a very diverse and delicious breakfast waiting for us downstairs. After eating and getting some advice from the tourist information office, we began strolling the streets of Prague. The first major point of interest that we hit was the Powder Tower. It is very close to our hotel and is clearly very old, but we are not yet sure any of its history. We continued on to our first destination of the morning, the Old Town Square. We got a little lost on the way; the street names here change with every new block, which was another aspect of the city that reminded us of Italian cities. The Old Town Square is one of the largest in Europe, and has many tourist-aimed restaurants and shops. The main sites to see in this square are the Astronomical Tower, the Church of Tyn, the St. Nicolas church and the Old Town City Hall. We climbed to the top of the Astronomical Clock to get our first glimpse of the city as a whole. It was a stunning view, and it helped us to orient ourselves. We rushed down after climbing to the top to catch the “show” that happens from the tower at the turn of every hour. The “show” consists of two little blue windows towards the top of the tower opening when the minute hand hits 12, and then the twelve apostles each peek out of the windows. Then, someone trumpets from the top of the tower. It was not really much of a show, but it was very cool because this tradition has been occurring every day since 1410. We then made our way through the Jewish quarter, which used to be a Jewish ghetto during WWII. There are many old synagogues there, and a large cemetery where all of the gravestones are crooked, apparently because they filled it with so bodies. We did not actually go in, but our quick peek through a window in the surrounding wall was rather daunting.
We walked along the river until we reached the famous Charles bridge, which was built in the 14th century. It is very cute and provides a great view of the city on both sides of the river. Many musicians and artisans line the sides of the bridge, and it created a very cute atmosphere. We continued exploring on the other side of the river, pausing for some gelato, and just wandering through the streets. Eventually we decided to head towards another tower, the Petřín Lookout Tower, which is located high in the hills and strongly resembles the Eiffel Tower. My dad chose to walk up, while the rest of us rode the funicular instead. We found a beautiful garden at the top, where we spent some time just sitting and relaxing, saving our energy in the broiling heat. Nora and my mom wanted to continue resting, and opted not to climb the tower. There were a great many stairs, but the view of Prague at the top made it worth the effort. After more ice cream, a brief adventure through a fun mirror maze, and finally lunch, we headed back to the hotel for a quick siesta. Later in the evening, my mom, Fiona, and I headed out again to eat and to get an opportunity to see the city at night. We went to the Charles bridge, and found an exquisite view of the lights of the city reflecting off of the water. It is a gorgeous place, and I am very excited to see more of it tomorrow.
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