Czech it out!

Leigh and I went on our first trip in Europe outside of France just before Valentine's Day. The criteria for the trip was that it had to be a city that we didn't mind seeing when it was so cold. That narrowed the search down to Eastern Europe for the most part, and we decided on Prague in the Czech Republic. Leigh had been there while she traveled through Europe in college, but I had never been.

On the banks of the Vlatava River next to the Charles Bridge

We rented a little apartment for three nights just off the Old Town Square. It was a really relaxing trip. We didn't have any set agenda and instead just enjoyed going on long walks and getting lost in Prague's winding and almost thousand year old streets. I was shocked at how beautiful of a city it was. Everyone told me how old Prague was before I visited, but seeing it firsthand was really cool. The city saw almost no destruction from either of the World Wars and therefore appears to not have changed since the 1200's. I keep telling people that it looks like a Disney movie set. Paris is an old city, but you can see buildings that have been built in the last hundred years here. I don't think I saw but a handful in Prague. The fact that the Czech Koruna (CZK) is 24CZK to 1 Euro helped us enjoy a little more than if we had gone to another city.

First dinner was a street vendor that Anthony Bourdain visited on his travel show.

Incredible sausages and really cheep beer.

Our first full day we went on a bike tour. It was a good ride and orientation to all the major sites, but it was cold. Paris had warmed up to 50 degrees when we left, and Prague was a frigid 25.

While on the tour, we rode by the Lennon Wall. A wall in the city that became an impromptu graffiti memorial to John Lennon after his death. The art, and quotes weren't well received the communist government and it created quite a bit of controversy. Today it changes regularly and is full of several different Beatles inspired art.

We saw several David Cerny statues across the city as well. He is a really interesting sculptor. The peeing man fountain below is an interactive statue. The hips swivel, and if you send a text message to a hotline, the statues will begin to write your message in the water. The hanging man is supposed to be Sigmund Freud displaying "the human condition to to consciously make the decision to live life or to let go." Go figure. Click each picture to see a larger version.

The food in Prague was really fun at first (at least for me). Lots of sausage, pork, and beer. By the end of it we were ready to have some more veggies though. We did have a great Czech meal one night in a famous beer hall.

Smoked Old Prague Ham

One afternoon we walked through one of their markets. Leigh bought a Christmas ornament. She has decided to start a collection from all of our travels.

One of the highlights was walking from our apartment in Old Town across the river into New Town and the Prague Castle. We walked across the famous Charles Bridge that was built in the 1300's and is decorated with several statues of Saints and other popular religious figures.

Street musician on Charles Bridge

Beautiful stained glass inside St. Vitus Cathedral inside the Castle walls. The original cathedral was built in the 900's.

Click to see the glass zoomed in, it's very impressive.

Leigh with the Prague Castle in the background

View from the Castle back towards Old Town

My niece Ella had sent us Flat Stanley to take along on our trip. Unfortunately it didn't arrive in time and the only thing we could color a print-off with was highlighters. Here is Leigh and I with Flat Stanley in Prague's Old Town Square.