Dos dias en la República Checa

 Between visiting Munich and Berlin, we swung over to the Czech Republic to visit the city, Prague, for a few days. Prague was a an absolutely beautiful, old city with cobblestone streets, a castle, and cute little Easter Markets. It was also unfortunately very very touristy, but we made sure to wander down some of the less traveled streets to see all of Prague's charm. We had to get used to the currency, Krowns, and the Czech language, but it was pretty easy with almost everyone being able to speak English there! Overall Prague was a very welcoming and magical place. 

I don't know if all of the markets covered in Easter decorations were seasonal or if they are always there, just with the added decorations for the Easter season! Either way, they were probably my favorite part! They sold things from woodwork, crafts, clothing, souvenirs, hand painted eggs, and DELICIOUS FOOD!

 The buildings were very unique colors which made the wandering the streets a very enjoyable experience. Prague is definitely a city of atmosphere!

 I was very silly and forgot all of my hats in my room in Spain...so I had to make a quick purchase of this very fashionable Prague hat to keep me from getting super burned!

The hat was not needed much longer as it soon began to hail and rain like crazy with high winds and a very cold temperature. Let's just say, we were soaking wet, shivering, and trying like crazy to keep a smile on our face as we enjoyed the city.

Me trying to look normal with Prague castle in the background

How I really felt!

 We made our way to the famous Charles bridge. This bridge was constructed by King Charles IV in the 1300's.

 The bridge had lots of neat statues along it as well as great views of the city!

After crossing the bridge we made our way over to the Prague Castle. The castle dates back to the 9th century and is where the current president of the Czech Republic resides. The castle isn't really what we think of when we think of a castle. It was a large complex with palaces, churches, and other buildings. The most castle like building was the beautiful cathedral.

The entrance

A courtyard inside

The guards on duty. I accidentally made eye contact with one and he awkwardly shifted his gaze...hehe:) 

St. Vitus Cathedral was one of my favorite parts. It was huge and beautiful and looked like a castle!

The side of the Cathedral

Back of the Cathedral

The stained glass was amazing!

The Royal Palace was the next stop in our Prague Castle adventure. It was built in the 12 century with Gothic and Renaissance styles. There is no longer a King in the Czech Republic, so it is just used as a museum and for inauguration ceremonies.

A hidden treasure room!

St. George Basilica! 

The last stop in our journey of Prague Castle was Golden Lane. This is a small street of old fashioned houses that used to be the dwellings of the servants and guards of the castle and their families. This street was adorable! Some houses were decorated like they would be back then while others had actual shops inside selling different old-time crafts and goodies. There was even a torture museum!

Just busy guarding the castle :p 

Clocks being sold everywhere, they are sure Prague's thing!

My new freind :)

Scary looking torture stuff!

An old-time house!

Ewwww...

Since the castle is up on a hill we snapped some good pics outside!

To satisfy our appetites we went to a cute Czech pub and got their famous goulash! This was a very popular dish and was so delicious!

Because Sarah was a a big John Lennon fan, we made sure to make our way down to the famous John Lennon Wall. This wall is one of the coolest places I visited on our trip. To understand it here is a bit of history of the Czech Republic, which many Americans don't know much about:

The Czech State dates back to the 13 century. By the 1600's it was taken over by Austria and then in the 1800's it became part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. After the defeat of the empire in WWI the Czechs and Slovaks became an independent country known as Czechoslovakia. During WWII Czechoslovakia became split up and then restored again...this poor country! Then as a restored country in 1946 the Communist Party won the elections.

Now is where this wall comes into play. During the 1980's the country was going through a revolution called the Velvet Revolution. Mainly consisting of students, there were many protests against the Communist government which eventually lead to the formation of the Czech Republic and Slovakia as parliamentary republics. This wall was an important tool in the protests. The wall would fill up with John Lennon inspired quotes and other graffiti to protest the Communist government. The gov. would paint the wall over and by the next day it would be filled with statement pictures and words again.

 Now, most of the original graffiti is covered up by new designs. The wall still keeps its theme of world peace and love. How cool!!

My addition to the wall with the pen I found in my purse :)

There is even a restaurant dedicated to the man!

I love Prague!

I learned a lot of my Czech history at the Communist Museum. It was a very interesting perspective on what the Czech Republic went through in the 1900's.

Interesting sign to have at the work place...

We then ended our day at a local Czech pub outside the tourist center. The menu was in Czech, so we had no idea what we were ordering for most of it... It was a great time!

Coffee flavored beer!

Fried chicken and little potato ball things!

Potato pancakes and french onion soup!

The next day was still very cold, but not raining at least! We spent the day walking around and exploring more of the city.

The creepiest statue I have ever seen!

We went to old town square to walk around all of the little markets. It was so fun!

Easter Decorations!

                         

So many yummy treats throughout the day! (Not pictured is a delicious Kebob and yummy  hot wine to warm us up!) 

Cream Cheese and raspberry tart 

Actual grilled cheese with garlic sauce :)

Trdelnik! It is just a large, heavenly doughnut in a hollow ring shape!

We then visited the Old Town Hall with the Astronomical Clock. It is so beautiful!

At the top of the tower we got a breathtaking view of this amazing city.

After seeing some odd cosplay going on at the top, we decided to take the elevator down (we took the stairs up). We got on with thankfully only one other person and with our great luck we got stuck right at the bottom!! We tried to open the doors of the ALL GLASS elevator but they wouldn't budge. With my irrational fear of elevators I was trying so hard not to have a breakdown right there. Luckily Sarah was very calm and made me feel better with her light attitude. Many people came up to the elevator tried to press the button to open it, realized that we were stuck with our hand motions, and then just laughed and walked up the stairs...ummm help!!! Finally after pressing the emergency button a million times a mechanic came a half an hour later. He tried to open the doors, couldn't, and so shrugged his shoulders and walked away. HELP!!!! Thank God he came back just five minutes later with help and finally got us out. I have never been so happy in my life. The mechanics proceeded to keep looking at the elevator and took no notice of us. There were no apologies, refunds, gifts, nothing! In the US they would be apologizing like crazy so they wouldn't get sued by us! Haha different cultures are so entertaining.

Sarah and I at our low point with our new friend from China. 

More pics from strolling around the city with the sun out for a little bit this time!

Prague City Museum

Na Poříčí, a main shopping street!

Charles Bridge

Because of how cold it was we decided to end our day with an inside activity-a classical concert in a beautiful, old church!

St. Nicholas Church where we saw the concert!

What a talented group of people. We were the youngest people there, but had a blast anyway :)

I love her!!

Even with the bad weather and bad luck in the elevator Prague was still a magical city that I woulId love to come back to some day. Until we meet again, Prague!