Justin's Blog: Our trip to Prague

We arrived in Prague on Friday morning after a 4am flight from Athens, and were very happy to find out that our hotel room was ready when we arrived. After a morning nap, we went out to discover what Prague is all about--cheap beer and food :) We had a delicious roasted chicken leg and a 0.5 liter of Hoegaarden (yes, I realize its not Czech, but it is one of my favorite beers) for less than $10 each. We were then off to the castle (see picture above), walking across the famous Charles Bridge into the Little Quarter. The castle is one of the largest in all of Europe, and also the best preserved because it avoided Nazi bombs during WWII. While the views outside are spectacular, the tour probably isn't worth the price of admission--it was only a couple of rooms and nothing to special. After a delicious dinner and 2 liters of beer for less than $15, we wandered the streets of Prague and headed home for a good nights rest.

The next day we did some shopping and sight-seeing in the Old Town, starting at the Old Town Square and off to the Havelska Market before seeing the Museum of Communism. Old Town Square is the location of the Jan Hus Memorial, as well as Tyn Church and the Astronomical Clock (see the pictures below for more detail).

The communist museum was very interesting, as it outlined the 40 year history of Soviet rule over Czechoslovakia until the Velvet Revolution in 1989. The Soviet propaganda posters were probably the most alarming artifacts in the museum, and the video at the end of the Communist Party riot police beating students (including women) that were non-violently protesting. As an aside, the museum is located above a McDonalds and next to a casino--talk about a change from 20 years ago.

On Sunday we spent the afternoon at the Jewish Museum. The museum is located in the Josefov (Jewish) quarter, and has many sites. The first we visited was the highly emotional Pinkas Synagogue, which contains the names of the approximately 80,000 Czech Jews who were sent from here to the gas chambers at Auschwitz. On the second floor the Terezin Children's Art Exhibit displays the drawings of the the almost 10,000 children imprisoned at the Terezin Concentration Camp. Only a few hundred of these children survived the holocaust.

After walking through the Old Jewish Cemetery (the only burial grounds allowed for Czech Jews from 1439 to 1787), we entered the Maisel Synagogue, which was contained many Jewish history exhibitions. This was actually the place where all Jewish artifacts were stored during WWII, as the captive leaders of the Terezin Ghetto convinced Hitler to create a "Museum of the Extinct Jewish Race." Quite an emotional afternoon.

Statue on the Charles Bridge

Memorial of Jan Hus, overlooking the Tyn Church in Old Town Square. Hus was burned for condemning the corruption of the Roman Catholic Church (100 years before Martin Luther)

The 15th century Astronomical Church strikes at the top of the hour

Four statues surround the clock. A figure staring into a mirror represents vanity, a Jewish moneylender is greed, a Turk playing the mandolin stands for hedonism. All are reminded by death that these are only worldly goals. When death tips his hourglass, the 12 apostles pass by the window above, the rooster crows and the hour is rung.