Prague Part I

My journey to Prague began jammed in a window compartment of a Regional Express train to Berlin Ostbahnhof. When I say window compartment, I don’t mean a seat with a window, I mean I was sitting on the little ledge were there was a window. Once at Berlin Ostbahnhof, I was able to catch the train to Prague were I had a proper seat and everything. The train ride to Prague was pretty much without incident. Then when I arrived in Prague, I was greeted by absolutely shit weather and the anxiety of being in a completely new place all alone. It was cold, and raining. Plus, what the hell was I doing in Prague by myself. One of the first things I did in Prague was pay way too much for an umbrella. After that, I wandered around the shops at Wenceslas Square. Then I remembered I don’t really like shopping, and going in the H & M in Prague, isn’t much different from going in the H & M in Potsdam. I attempted to buy a ticket to the Opera for the next night at the Estates Theatre, but it was all sold out. Though next to the box office, was this random outdoor exhibit with all these weird people statues.



Since the Opera at the Estates Theatre was all sold out, I had to figure out some entertainment for my next two nights in Prague. I saw a sign that had an arrow pointing the way for tourist information. Perhaps the information people would know about other shows to see. My intuition was correct! There was a ticket counter right in the information center, and all I had to say was “I would like to see some dance and opera in the next two days.” Bam! I had a ticket to a Verdi opera at the state opera house for Tuesday, and Wednesday night I would be seeing modern dance. This stroke of luck finally lifted the anxiety I had been feeling for the past few hours and made me realize I hadn’t eaten anything since breakfast and it was 6pm. For some reason, it’s much harder to choose a restaurant when you’re on your own, but I eventually ended up eating at a somewhat traditional Czech place where it seemed like everything on the menu was served with potatoes. I had an omelet with potatoes.

Then, since pretty much all the other tourist stuff closes by 6, I headed to the Prague TV Tower. It is the tallest thing in Prague, and it has these crazy baby statues crawling up the side. Check it out:



I took some time to relax and have some dessert in the TV Tower café and enjoy the view over the city. After I finished my second-rate Tiramisu, I headed back to my hostel to see what strangers I would be sharing my room with. I think nearly everyone in the hostel was American, which was a little disappointing to me. The first night there were 3 girls traveling together, another girl traveling alone, and some random guy. And we were all American. Everyone was at least nice enough, although the guy snored a bit.

After a horrible nights sleep, I was ready for my first full day in Prague. I can never resist a modern art museum, so I started my day with a trip to the Centre for Modern & Contemporary Art.



This museum was huge! I managed to go through everything in about four hours, but it could easily be a several day trip. Most of the exhibit was modern Czech art, which was pretty sweet since it’s something you don’t get to see often. There was also a temporary exhibit with Klimt, Warhol, Munch, and a Roy Lichtenstein among others. They also had a section of 20th century French art.

Next it was time to see Prague Castle. Prague Castle quickly became my favorite part of Prague. Walking up the hill to the Castle is this amazing view over the city.



Then once inside the Castle is the St Vitus Cathedral. I don’t even know how to describe how awesome this church is.



I climbed the church tower’s 280 some odd steps to get even more amazing views of the city.



After seeing everything there was to see at the Castle, it was time to get ready for the opera. I had a ticket to see Verdi’s I Vespri Siciliani, so I had to go put on my good clothes. Of course getting ready took longer than I expected, and I got a bit turned around trying to find the State Opera House, so by the time I figured out where it was I only had about 15 minutes to eat. So the lamest part of my trip to Prague was eating at McDonald’s before the Opera. In my defense, it was close by, and I was pressed for time. I just kept picturing myself getting tartar sauce from my fish sandwich on my nicest skirt. The opera itself was really cool. I had never seen an opera before, and even though it was sung in Italian and subtitled in Czech I could still follow the basic story line. Plus, everyone died at the end, so that was pretty unambiguous. Then, I was quite tired and it was time to rest up for my second full day in Prague.