So well over due but here it is! The start to all things spring break! My first stop on my ten day vacation was to Prague, Czech Republic! A little taste of home I like to say with the Czechoslovakian blood running through my veins! I lucked out more than I could have imagined, because this first stop was on Easter weekend and Prague was bustling with culture and people. The city itself has such an amazing vibe to it all; it is an eerily romantic city with a very liberal and anti communistic side. We met up with my girl friend that we left in Paris; a University of Florida gal who wanted to see Prague and Vienna with us. Our first night I asked our hostel to find me what I've been craving more than anything since leaving home and that is "klobasky" or kielbasa the way I've grown up saying it. We found a little dive bar with some of the best sausage I've ever eaten and it was a perfect taste of what I would have had for breakfast on easter morning! We made sure to hop on a free walking tour of Prague to really experience the city and its' history, which turned out to be an amazing time! We learned so much and saw so much, because the city itself is truly frozen in time (still a little angsty about the communists and all)! Because we were there during Easter time there were Easter markets set up in both old and new city squares and they were awesome! Filled with traditional food, hand panted and crafted Easter eggs and other holiday delights, as well as your usual gift shops. That night I saw my first ever Opera, La Travieta, it was a beautiful production, both minimal and extravagant! (If I do say so though... I'm going to stick to musicals on Broadway and not the opera house from now on) The next day we crossed the river over the St. Charles bridge to a totally other world! Across the bridge looked like a movie set; with very old small streets all leading up to the Prague Castle. Hidden in the back streets of this side of the river was my very favorite part of Prague, the John Lennon Wall. A wall erected in his honor as an act of rebellion against communism that is today a memorial for both him and the independence of the nation! Finally on Easter morning we went to a Czech mass in St. James Cathedral then it was on the bus and off to Austria for the next 3 day leg of our 10 day race!
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| Amanda and I our first night out! |
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| Part of the Astronomical clock |
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The Astronomical Clock, it gives a little show
every hour just like a cuckoo clock! |
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Don Giovanni sculpture outside of Mozart's Prague
apartment, also the set of the film Amadeus about him. |
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| The Jewish Quarter inside of Prague, completely deserted during the Holocaust. |
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| St. Charles Bridge |
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| Night at the Opera! |
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Funny Story.. So there is a modern artist in
Prague who has statues in the city making
political statements. This is babies climbing
the TV tower, their faces are barcodes, symbolizing
both that TV steals us of our personal identity and
that communism makes us all the same and there is
no individual personalities. Cool story right? |
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| Margaret Thatcher the Milk Snatcher loves rock and roll! |
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| Easter tree just like the one in the front yard! |
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| John Lennon Wall! |
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| The beautiful images and lyrics really speak for themselves here! |
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| True Peace. |
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| The long trek to the castle! |
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| The beautiful Gothic style cathedral in the castle! |
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| View of Prague from the Top! |
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| TV tower babies! |
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This just looks exactly like a picture of my
brother as a little kid! |
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| The crowd in the city center ready to watch the clock! |
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| Easter Festivities with traditional dance! |
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| Happy Easter! |
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This young man lit himself on fire to send a
message to the authorities.. (the whole tour I
thought the guide called him John Beluk) |
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| My First Kielbasa! |
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| Opera Night! |
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| Off to Vienna next! |
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