Prague Weekend!

August 8th-10th

Although I’ve been to Prague before, I was really excited about going a second time and being able to explore more of the historical side of the city. It took us quite a while to get there though…Our first train was great, but then our second train was delayed 40 minutes, thus resulting in us almost missing our bus into Prague. We originally had a 10-minute gap between our arrival in Nuremburg and our bus from town. Because of the delay, we were obviously stressed that we would miss our bus…well correction…Emilie and I weren’t stressed. We are pretty calm in stressful situations, which is one of the perks of traveling with her. Fortunately for us, a German family sitting next to us called the train station and asked them if they could hold our bus. Sometimes you meet the nicest people on trains! We arrived in Prague around 11 p.m. so exhausted and just wanting to get into bed. Thankfully we found our hostel rather quickly and called it a night!

We awoke the next morning around 8 and headed into the main square around 9 after grabbing some coffee and a light breakfast. I’m one of those people who love to aimlessly wander around a new place with a coffee in my hand, so I was down to do whatever the girls wanted to do—especially since this was their first time in the Czech Republic. After wandering the city a bit, we signed up for a couple of tours and grabbed a light lunch before heading back to the clock tower for our free tour!

Our free tour was so fun and actually quite good! It lasted over a couple of hours and we stopped at quite a few cool spots in the city. Our first stop was The Clock Tower of course where we received some fun facts about the astronomical clock, which has Celtic and Roman numbers etched into it. Every hour on the dot, the 12 Apostles pop out from the clock and circle around for a bit—quite the entertainment!

The Clock Tower in the Main Square 

Inside one of the most beautiful churches 

Crowds upon crowds upon crowds 

One of the entrances to the Main Square 

It's so pretty it doesn't even look real!

Erika and I in front of the astronomical clock! 

We also stopped by a really cute coffee shop and bakery, which is one of the most famous in Prague. The pictures below don’t do it justice though! Afterwards, we walked through the Jewish Ghetto, which has some very interesting history. When I visited Dachau Concentration Camp last year, I was aware that there were some Jews in the Czech Republic, but I had no idea that there was such a significant population. We walked by a closed synagogue and learned that Jewish war and holocaust victims’ names were written on the inside walls. I thought this to be a very touching tribute to those who lost their lives.

In the Jewish Ghetto 

The abandoned synagogue 

 Shortly after our free tour had ended, we headed out on another tour that cost the equivalent of 9 euro and led us to explore the castle grounds on the hilltop. It had breathtaking views and we had quite the workout! The church within the castle grounds was very gothic, which stood out like a sore thumb in contrast to the smooth architecture of the castle.

We had about a 15-minute break partway through the tour, so Jenna and I took pictures of the armor and explored a few shops, while Erika and Emilie stayed closer to the church. It was pretty cool to see preserved armor and weapons in these grand glass cases.

One of my favorite parts of the tour was walking across the Charles Bridge, which has many statues of religious figures, such as Jesus, King Charles, the Apostles, etc. There’s just so much to see that you don’t see in America!

King Charles of Prague 

Christ 

What a view!

Walking down from the castle 

I borrowed Erika's hat for a bit :) 

Inside the castle 

Such intricate detail in the gothic church

This is probably one of my favorite pictures: the gothic church inside the castle grounds 

13th Century-style armor 

View from one of the levels of the castle

The stormy weather matched the gothic style of the church 

Erika, Jenna, Emilie, and I <3 

Touch the gold for good luck..

Check out the color of the guard's uniform!

The statues look very Beauty and the Beast-esqe, don't they? 

Walking around the castle. What a crazy contrast?!

After our tour we headed back to our hostel to change for our boat cruise and grab a quick bite. Unfortunately, we got close to our hostel and then realized we didn’t recognize the area because we went back a different way than we left. Poor Erika was so hangry (slang for when you’re so hungry that you become angry) that she was the most determined to get back, and thankfully got us there safely. No matter how well you think you know the train system, there’s always something you miss.

Sooo eventually we made it back and freshened up super quickly in order to make it back in time for the cruise! We had the best time on the boat cruise and it was nice to have a couple drinks, dance to American music, and dress up for a change :) We met some chill people and had such a great time! 

We can safely say that it was another successful weekend away! :) 

One of my favorite pictures :) 

These ladies are such riots :)