Walking Prague

From suggestions by Christina and Caz, we registered for a walking tour of Prague today. The tour is free but they ask you to give a tip at the end in whatever amount you think the tour was worth. We found it to be well worth taking and, hopefully, tipped our guide in kind. His name was Karel (Charles in Czech) and he was so knowledgable about every facet of Prague, including its history, people, education, economy, pop culture, religions, traditions, etc. It was really fascinating! The tour lasted over three hours and we focused in depth on the old part of the city, the Jewish Quarter, and the riverfront. What was advantageous was that it dovetailed nicely with the things we had already seen and learned about and added another layer of depth to the experience of this charming city.

In the Old Town we saw the Carolina University, the oldest higher education school in central Europe and where Franz Kafka and Albert Einstein studied. We saw the Opera House where Mozart performed several of his pieces while living in Prague for four years. We saw the oldest open market which has been going on since 1232. We saw parts of the city where movies such as The Bourne Identity, Mission Impossible, Amadeus, and Casino Royale were filmed. Always, the most impactful things we were told and shown were around the occupation of the land by the Nazis and Communist Russia. The Czechs have endured a lot of invasions and control from other people over the centuries.

Along the same lines, much of what we learned while walking in the Jewish Quarter was about how the Jewish inhabitants of Prague were oppressed by different regimes over time in addition to the awful treatment at the hands of the Nazis. There are gold plaques, called “Stumbling Blocks, or Stones,” inserted into the sidewalks throughout the district with the names of Jews who were taken from their homes at those locations to the concentration camps during World War II. The information includes dates they were taken, where they were imprisoned, dates of deaths, if known, and if they were able to return to their homes after the war. Eighty years later, it brings home the horror of these atrocities in ways we can’t begin to explain. Among several neighborhood synagogues, we also visited the Old-New Synagogue, the oldest active synagogue in Europe. It was completed in 1270!

Along the river, where our tour ended we were able to take in views of the famous Charles Bridge and an impressive scene looking up to the Prague Castle looking over the city.

One last thing of note today was that we had a late lunch/early dinner in our first restaurant which featured mainly Czech food. Ryan tends to like meat and potatoes, root vegetables, cabbage and the like much more than I. But, when in Rome… As it turned out, Ryan was so disappointed in his Goulash, dumplings, and potato pancakes. He described them as “fatty, dry, and tasteless”. But, my “Pivrnce Farts” (sounds tasty, no?) was absolutely one of the best dishes I’ve had. Before you let your imaginations get ahead of you, I’ll tell you that it consisted of pork tenderloin pieces with Olomouc cheese (kind of like an emmenthal) melted on top, in a mushroom and thyme sauce – yummy!!! Maybe my Czech roots do come through more than I know.