Prague: Day 3
12 May 2007
I’m safe and sound in Erfurt, Germany now. But lets not get ahead of ourselves; I still have to tell you about my final day in Prague.
I awoke early Friday morning and began with a stroll across the Charles Bridge. It’s fun every time you walk it, so I did it as many times as possible. I began on the Stare Mesto side of the bridge and made my way over to Mala Strana to check out Kampa Island. They say its an island, but I actually think it’s somewhat like Coronado, just a long peninsula. There is a nice little park there, but I have no girlfriend, no picnic basket, and no bottle of wine, so I didn’t stay long. Near the island is the John Lennon wall where Prague hippies and police waged a long war; the former trying to graffiti the wall, the latter trying to cover it up. It’s a lot of graffiti, nothing too spectacular. There is something like a clay bust of John Lennon’s head on the wall. I went from Kampa Island up to Petrin Hill where you will find a cool little wooden church, the Church of St. Michael and also a miniature Eiffel tower on the top of the hill, giving one a breathtaking view of Prague’s skyline. I didn’t stay long on the tower because it was a windy day and the entire tower was moving and I felt like the whole thing was going to topple, bringing my European adventure and your delightful reading to an abrupt end. Not before I see the church at Wittenberg!
From Petrin Hill, I walked to Prague castle. I really don’t know what to say about the castle. It’s large. It’s got an impressive cathedral, St. Vitas, inside. By the time you walk up the South Tower your legs feel like jelly and you really don’t care about the view, you just want the burning sensation in your thighs to go away.
I spent a good part of the day in the castle. I think it’s probably best to arrive there in the afternoon. That way all the school groups and rambunctious children have, for the most part, left and its just small groups of old people waddling around.
From the castle, I went to the Church of St. Nicholas which is one of the most spectacular examples of Baroque architecture I think I’ve ever seen (I just wanted to say “spectacular examples of Baroque architecture”).
I ended the day with a few beers and because this was a more exciting part of the day, I’ll tell you more about it. Earlier I had had a Staropramen which seems to be a popular one around Prague because I saw signs for it everywhere. It’s a lighter beer, kind of fruity. I suppose it is okay if you like that sort of thing. Later in the day, I had a Krusovice at the recommendation of Alex. He had come back from a tour in Europe last winter with nothing but good things to say about Krusovice, so I put it to the amateur beer taster’s test. A good beer. I got the dark one, I don’t know if that makes a difference. It has a particular sweetness to it. However, it is nothing I will miss back in the States.
But the mack daddy of Czech beers I thought was Velkopopovicky Kozel. It is a smooth beer which has that kind of particular quality about it which sets it apart from the rest. I loved it and thought it was one of the finer beers I’ve ever drank.
Done with my taste test, I headed back to my hostel and called it an early night.
observatory tower
view of Prague
South Tower
Golden St.
St. Nick's
I’m safe and sound in Erfurt, Germany now. But lets not get ahead of ourselves; I still have to tell you about my final day in Prague.
I awoke early Friday morning and began with a stroll across the Charles Bridge. It’s fun every time you walk it, so I did it as many times as possible. I began on the Stare Mesto side of the bridge and made my way over to Mala Strana to check out Kampa Island. They say its an island, but I actually think it’s somewhat like Coronado, just a long peninsula. There is a nice little park there, but I have no girlfriend, no picnic basket, and no bottle of wine, so I didn’t stay long. Near the island is the John Lennon wall where Prague hippies and police waged a long war; the former trying to graffiti the wall, the latter trying to cover it up. It’s a lot of graffiti, nothing too spectacular. There is something like a clay bust of John Lennon’s head on the wall. I went from Kampa Island up to Petrin Hill where you will find a cool little wooden church, the Church of St. Michael and also a miniature Eiffel tower on the top of the hill, giving one a breathtaking view of Prague’s skyline. I didn’t stay long on the tower because it was a windy day and the entire tower was moving and I felt like the whole thing was going to topple, bringing my European adventure and your delightful reading to an abrupt end. Not before I see the church at Wittenberg!
From Petrin Hill, I walked to Prague castle. I really don’t know what to say about the castle. It’s large. It’s got an impressive cathedral, St. Vitas, inside. By the time you walk up the South Tower your legs feel like jelly and you really don’t care about the view, you just want the burning sensation in your thighs to go away.
I spent a good part of the day in the castle. I think it’s probably best to arrive there in the afternoon. That way all the school groups and rambunctious children have, for the most part, left and its just small groups of old people waddling around.
From the castle, I went to the Church of St. Nicholas which is one of the most spectacular examples of Baroque architecture I think I’ve ever seen (I just wanted to say “spectacular examples of Baroque architecture”).
I ended the day with a few beers and because this was a more exciting part of the day, I’ll tell you more about it. Earlier I had had a Staropramen which seems to be a popular one around Prague because I saw signs for it everywhere. It’s a lighter beer, kind of fruity. I suppose it is okay if you like that sort of thing. Later in the day, I had a Krusovice at the recommendation of Alex. He had come back from a tour in Europe last winter with nothing but good things to say about Krusovice, so I put it to the amateur beer taster’s test. A good beer. I got the dark one, I don’t know if that makes a difference. It has a particular sweetness to it. However, it is nothing I will miss back in the States.
But the mack daddy of Czech beers I thought was Velkopopovicky Kozel. It is a smooth beer which has that kind of particular quality about it which sets it apart from the rest. I loved it and thought it was one of the finer beers I’ve ever drank.
Done with my taste test, I headed back to my hostel and called it an early night.
observatory tower
view of Prague
South Tower
Golden St.
St. Nick's
2 Comments:
When you get back, I'll get you some Samuel Adams honey wheat beer. You might like it! Prague looks like what I would imagine an old time European city to look like. Thanks for the pics.
Can it be summer yet? seriously. nice pics though, again, jealous I can't hop a plane to come hang out in Germany.
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