Prague 1
Trip Start
Nov 14, 2008
1
40
102
Trip End
Feb 26, 2009
Prague,
Bohemia,
Czech Republic
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
Our stopoff for the day was in Dresden, a city with grand buildings that was carpet-bombed in WWII, yet was rejuvenated later to look like it did before the war. We spent most of our 2 hours here in the Christmas markets. My favourite stall was the one selling fruit skewers covered in chocolate - Mich had chocolate-coated strawberries, and I had chocolate-coated pineapples - delicious!
Prague Walking Tour
We reached Prague in the evening, and Vicki took us on a walk through the major sites. Our first stop was Wenceslas Square, where most of the cityīs major cultural and historical events (incl. the 1968 Spring Uprising) have taken place. For a country where the majority of people are atheists, the Czechs believe some very stupid things. For one, they believe that King Wenceslas will return from the dead, coming from the mountains to rescue Prague when itīs in trouble. That would be fine if people treated it as a myth, but under Nazi occupation and also under communism, people actually stood near the hills waiting for Good King Wenceslas to make his heroic return! This story may be familiar to you if you replace Prague with Jerusalem, and Wenceslas with the Messiah...
We walked along the Charles Bridge, where we followed another Czech superstition and rubbed a statue dogīs leg for good luck. In the Old Town Square, we watched the Astronomical Clock display on the hour, where a skeleton rang a bell and a series of saints appeared, a bit disappointing. The churches in the old area look awesome - many elaborate spires that make them look like a fantasy Disney castle. Itīs a beautiful city!
Our night
Vicki took us all to a rooftop bar with great views overlooking the old town, where I ordered a White Cloud cocktail. Iīve neglected to mention so far about how funny Daniel Tow is - I couldnīt believe his sense of humour at first, at home heīs so dry and sarcastic, but when travelling heīs hilarious! Even if most of it involves not telling us heīs quoting Scrubs, Family Guy and Simpsons, but thereīs also some original dark humour. A typical line he used on Deutsch: "Deutsch, youīre so full of shit. If you were a pinyata Iīd hit you and shit would keep falling out". In other news, Deutsch and Shanthi are together, inseparably, while Mich spends most of the time with Chris even though they havenīt got upto anything. Tow and I have become the 5th and 6th wheels.
