This post is all about the amazing time
I had in Prague back in May and June 2016
Oh Prague, how I loved thee so much
more than Rome! Prague fit me very well. I loved my time spent there
and I would go back in a heartbeat!
Out of all the places I went to in
Europe during this trip Prague is the one place that I didn't
actually know too much about and the one with the language I wasn't
even going to try to attempt, but I wasn't worried. My heritage is
Czechoslovakian (although when they split my family was on the
Slovakian side by only a few miles) so I felt comfortable there and
at least there I looked like all the locals. I found that out when
tourists kept asking me for directions which helped no one at all
because it was always when I was a bit lost too!
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| Charles Bridge from the Bank |
My time in Prague was relaxed. I did
not want to repeat of my time in Rome, where I seemed to be
constantly walking but miserable. I chose to go to Prague because of
Laini Taylor's book Daughter of Smoke and Bone
which is set there. Taylor's words made Prague seem magical and it
turned out to be true. It is a unique place that is hard to describe,
but she managed it far better than I could ever hope to here.
Most of my time in
Prague was spent wandering around with no real place in mind or
sitting somewhere filled with history, people watching and just
soaking up the atmosphere. I loved Charles Bridge and the Old Town
Square the most.
Charles Bridge is a
large part of Taylor's novel and I spent hours there. It is more than
just a bridge, it is a gathering place for the Artistic of Prague.
The people on the Bridge were selling everything from CDs of their
music to paintings, and weird musical instruments to handmade
jewelery. I walked up and down two or three times. I stopped at every
booth, at every peddler, at everything. I wanted to just remember
what it felt like to be on that bridge. The coolest part of the
Charles Bridge isn't actually all those people though. It isn't like
any bridge I have ever seen. It is foot traffic only and to get onto
it you pass under this magnificent arch. And the bridge is lined on
its balustrade with 30 statues of Saints and other Christian
Religious Figures. They loom over the crowd and despite having all
those people there the Charles Bridge always feels a little creepy.
At one point I looked down at one of the river banks and saw a group
of people painting en plein aire the bridge so I made my way down
there, too. I sat near them on the bank and sketched for a while. It
is my favorite place in Prague.
The other place I
spent a lot of time at was in Old Town Square where the Astronomical
Clock is. The clock was pretty cool, but the square itself was
better. I sat there for hours. When I was there there was some kind
of music festival going on and people had flocked to it. There were
children, tourists, the homeless, peddlers, dogs, couples, some odd
individuals, a couple of teens giving out free hugs, and people like
me taking everyone else in. In this square I started a photo project
of taking candid shots of people enjoying themselves. I cherish those
photos because they aren't of anything really touristy. They just
feel like the Prague as I knew it.
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| Me with my finished Marionette! |
The biggest,
coolest, most amazing, and strange thing I did in Prague was making
my own marionette at a Truhlář Marionety workshop! While
researching in one of my travel books I saw this shop mentioned and I
made it my mission to do it. Marionettes are a huge part of Daughter
of Smoke and Bone and I wanted nothing more than to make a puppet
of one of the characters while in Prague. Zdenka and Pavel helped me
achieve just that. They welcomed me graciously into their studio and
helped me make Zuzana, a character in the book who makes a giant
marionette that is controlled when she pretends to be the puppet
herself. The whole experience from painting her face, to choosing her
clothes, and actually putting her together was one that will forever
be one of the best things I have ever done. I actually told the
Author when I met her what I had done and gave her the photo and she
hopes to one day do the same!
On my last day in
Prague I trekked to see the Petrin Tower, which is loosely based on
the Eiffel Tower and has one of the best views of the city.
Originally I was going to try to see the castle as well but after
walking up hill for an hour and still not finding it I realized I
didn't want to go IN the castle I just wanted to see it, which I
could from the tower. It is in a park and the whole walk was
beautiful. On my quest to find Petrin, I started another photo project. Prague has some seriously unique door knobs. I actually got yelled at by the US Embassy for taking a photo but when I showed the angry woman the photo of their door knob she was too confused to make me delete it and I scurried away!
I also went to see
the National Marionette Theatre's production of Don Giovanni! I was
stunned. It was in Italian so I didn't understand what they were
saying but I followed to plot. However, the plot didn't even matter!
The mastery of the crew had over the puppets was incredible! Never
have I seen such skill! I spent the whole time watching the hands
above do the work. The mannerism and body language of the puppets
were surreal!
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| The view of the Castle through some haze from Petrin Tower |
I loved Prague and
I completely plan of going back one day. It fit my speed more than
Rome did. It just had a different feeling to it. Probably because
while it is a tourist destination it is not THE tourist destination.
There still aren't too many people who go there and I think that made
all the difference. I wish I had spent even more time there though.
It was a lovely place and I still have so much more to see!
~Laura!
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