I’ve heard so much about Prague since I was a teenager. And I guess at some point, it was blowing my mind that I was on my way to such place of what they say enchantment and architectural beauty. In saying that, my expectations were really high.
 |
| Charles bridge from Bridge Legii |
Praha, it’s native name, originated from the old Slavic word “Praga” meaning “ford” and is the sixth most visited city in Europe. It seems to have been given the nickname of “City of Spires” which could be clearly seen once you’ve gone up the Astronomical Clock tower. Due to the fact that it didn’t suffer that much damage during world war II, the different architectures are still unharmed and pristine in its form. In saying that, the different collections would be Romanesque, Gothic, Renaissance, Baroque, Rococo, Neo-Renassiance and Gothic, Cubist, Neo-Classical, Art Nouveau and ultra-modern.
Prague is the historical capital of Bohemia proper and was once the center of the Holy Roman Empire. The town itself is composed of the Old Town (Stare Mesto) and the New Town (Nove Mesto). In 1939, Germany tried to invade Prague and declared some portions of it as part of its regime. But later on, there was a reprisal and I believe it’s worth mentioning about the assassination of Reinhard Heydrich, one of the most powerful men in Nazi Germany. This was accomplished by the Czech heroes Jozef Gabcik and Jan Kubis.
I started off with……. Getting off at the wrong train station, somewhere in the outskirts of the main city. Duh. So that’s why my map wasn’t making sense at all. And I felt bad for getting a little bit moody to a guy when he couldn’t even figure out where we were on the map. I walked back to the train station just to be told I had to get another train to Praha hl.n. Oops. Guilty as charged.
The train was busy, it seemed everyone was going somewhere in the middle of the day. Later on I realized, I was arriving to Prague on a long weekend. That explained it.
The hostel (Equity Point Prague) was centrally located, just a 5-minute walk to the beautiful National theatre building. All of the 8 and 12-bed dorms were fully booked so earlier on I had to book the 4-bed dorm. I didn’t regret it. Despite the increase in price, the space was more than enough for 4 people with big bags and I was a little bit away from the annoying teenager dorms.
The wifi wasn’t working in the rooms… it was only available in 1 area in particular… the lounge, pretty bad in the kitchen and no reception at all even along the corridors. You could actually see disappointment on the faces of everyone. With my head a little bit woozy from the Berlin drinking session and waking up early, I quietly went back to the room and slept through the whole afternoon and evening. It was only me and a guy who I barely even saw, but definitely, I felt his presence when he came back in late and snored through the night. At around 11:30 pm, I woke up to the fire alarm and an announcement asking all guests to evacuate the building. Oh great, my headache just got worse. I went down in a foul mood, thinking it could only be 2 things. (1) someone was toasting and forgot about it or (2) someone was smoking in the room. By the time I got to the ground floor, the front desk guy was shouting at the teenagers “Please! No Smoking in the rooms!”. I rolled my eyes. GRRRR. What the!
The following day I was feeling a little bit more energized although still not 100%. I told myself, that’s why I don’t like drinking anymore coz at this age, it takes 2 days for me to recover. There was free breakfast included in the price, which was good.
I decided to extend another day, knowing that I’ve just slept through my first day. I didn’t want to just explore the city in 1 day, so I talked to the front desk and was happy when they said I can still get the same room and the same bed.
I set foot after settling things I first had to look for a launderette. At that point, I was already carrying with me 1-week worth of dirty clothes and I my OCD side was bugging me already. However, I couldn’t find it so I then decided to go ahead to Bridge Legii. I stood there for a while, munching my morning fruits, enjoying the view of Charles Bridge. The theatre building was looking amazing. A main river flowed through the city, adding up to the charming vibe. It was still early on in the morning and not much of the crowds have woken up to swarm the streets. I was glad. I decided to explore the Petrin Hill located in the Lesser Town, then marked on my map a few suggested places where I can get off the beaten track “for a while”.
Along the way, I walked the cobbled streets of Ujezd and enjoyed looking at the shops and small café scene. At the base of Petrin, I decided to look for lunch and craved for fish. It’s been a while since I’ve tried a country’s specialty so I stopped by a cute restaurant and ordered Sea Bream, fried fish with thyme herbs on top. Super duper yum! I was so happy. (Luka Lu restaurant along Ujezd) The interior was designed with Czech theme and the ceiling had some ornaments hanging, giving it a different effect.
After getting energized, I decided to look for the said hidden postcard in this hidden coffee shop behind a tobacco store. This was listed on the USE-it Prague Map and recommended by the locals. The shop was so cute and the postcards were quirky. So I picked up a few again and had a chat with the guy. That was when I learned that it was a national holiday which explained why the streets were all so filled up. Oobra Trafika Café is just located along Ujezd.
Across the street was the Santo Nino church so I paid a visit. It was simple, with a Neo-Gothic style. There was a service when I came in so I didn’t bother taking photos at all. Which made me just stare at the other people who were just walking along the side of the church snapping their cameras during the mass. I shook my head and walked away.
At that point, right across the church was a big sign saying “Halo-Halo”. My eyes almost popped out as I quickly crossed the street. Ate Myra was walking around when I walked in. She and her partner put up the business and is the only Filipino store in the whole of Prague (Pinoy Taste of Asia). I was beaming with joy and stayed there for almost an hour. She’s on her 8th month of pregnancy and expecting a boy. I ordered halo-halo and happily finished it through while having a chat with the couple. Her husband knew a few Filipino words which was good. I promised I’d pass by again. I bought a few snacks for me to have for my exploring and went off.
I walked back to the base of Petrin Hill and decided not to get on the queue for the gondola ride. The walk was tiring but I know it was because I was fit anymore. So that was a good thing to have the heart pumping again.
I got to the top and had a view of the town, it was amazing to stare at the overlooking sight of the city. Definitely the rising towers and spires added up to the charm, plus of course, the known Prague castle added the enchantment to it all. Up the hill were a few of the visited sights such as the Mirror Labyrinth, Petrin lookout tower and the funicular. It was really packed, so I didn’t bother to stay any longer.
I followed the USE-it map and eventually found myself in the street less crowded of the craze along Novy Svet just around the corner of Hradcanske namesti. It was so cute, and indeed, it still had the middle-age feel to it. The houses were a little bit crooked and the lamps were hanging quietly waiting for the arrival of night till they get lit up. I lingered for a while and admired the adorned windows and doors, trying to imagine how it was centuries ago.
After a while, I walked back and crossed to explore the deer moat, the walks behind the castle. I knew it wouldn’t be as packed, which was good. Definitely the use-it map was right, if you want to avoid the crowd, walk that path. The smell of trees was lovely, as I rested my tired feet for a while and chose a quiet area. The place was guarded as expected. After a few minutes, I walked on to the castle and checked out the gothic church inside. I honestly didn’t look around as much. I was so turned off with the massive crowd and noisy dogs and teenagers. It was crazy. So crazy. I found a bench just beside the second entrance of the castle. I think it took half an hour there, just staring at the crowd and thinking, it all looked so familiar. I remember that time when I was in Rio when the Christ the Redeemer was so packed that I couldn’t appreciate its splendor.
I slowly walked back to the hostel after that, knowing my energy levels were going down. I didn’t bother for dinner, instead just ate some of the Belgian chocolates Mich gave me back in Brussels.
By the time I got back, I took a hot shower and snuggled in as early as 8 pm. Later on the rest of the new roomies arrived. 1 from Argentina and a brother & sister from South Korea. I said my hi’s and hello’s and dozed back to sleep.
 |
| Astronomical Clock |
By my 3rd day in Prague, I took it easy and decided to check the old town. I knew there were so many buildings I should check out before leaving, so went straight to the churches, square and monuments (powder tower which was once where they sold gun powder, town square, basically all around the old town). I decided to go up the astronomical clock tower to get a 360 view of the city. The red roofs were adorable with the backdrop of the different architectural sites.
At 4 pm, the square was packed. I got down the clock building to find it with everyone looking up at the clock. I was being nosy coz it wasn’t the case earlier. Apparently, by the hour, the windows open and some puppets would play a tune. By the time the puppets were done, the whole crowd clapped in unison. Hilarious!
I decided to look for a church and hear mass coz I knew I wouldn’t be able to hear the Sunday service coz I’d be checking out and leaving Prague. Along the way I bumped into a white-robed gentleman…a priest of course. So I tapped his shoulder and asked if he knew any church. He looked at me and said he wasn’t from Prague. Toink. Apparently he was just visiting Prague but originally from Telousse, France. But he was so kind enough to walk me to Charles Bridge and point me to the direction where there would be a 5 pm mass. It was hilarious when we were walking together towards the bridge. Everyone was looking at us. His flaring robe was just so unique amongst the tourist crowds.
I arrived at the same Church of the day before. The mass was in Spanish but it was okay. I did pick up a few words here and there. Again, tourists were just around taking photos. I just couldn’t be bothered to be annoyed. I just found it disrespectful.
After mass, I decided to drop by the Pinoy shop and say goodbye to Ate Myra. Unfortunately, it was her rest day and only Kuya was there. I ended up ordering Halo-Halo again. Haha. Addicted. I bought a few pad thai’s and also 2 filo canned meals. Enough to see me through my journey the following day.
 |
| Timo & guitarlele |
Eating through my first few scoops of halo-halo, a guy entered the shop and looked around. I smiled and welcomed him in, feeling as if I was part of the staff. He was looking for vinegar and soy sauce. He picked up a few Filo stuff. We ended up chatting….. and that was the start of it. And I was able to convince him to try the Halo-Halo too.
Timo was on school holiday vacation, being a music teacher back in Germany. He’s been teaching guitar and songwriting. Then he got out his Guitalele, which looked like a ukulele but was a guitar. Awesome!
Kuya was closing up the shop by the time we played a few songs. Timo and I decided to continue the jam session somewhere, so we bid Kuya goodbye and went on our way.
After a few blocks, we found a spot right beside the canal and started playing some music. Timo played me a lot of his songs, both in German and English. He told me a lot about his family, life, music, songs and relationships. We watched the boats and swans wade through the canal until the sun lazily settled under the horizon and the night lights were glowing through the city. He knew I wanted to wait for sunset so I can take some night shots. It was getting dark by the time we decided to leave our spot and grab a beer. It must have been around 10 pm already when we stopped by McDonalds. I found it weird having to pay just to use the Mcdo restroom, but I didn’t complain. Timo had his dinner, I was still full with the halo-halo. We then had a beer after that and talked until it was past midnight I think. I wasn’t even looking at the clock. The discussions just flowed through.
At around 1 am, I said my goodbye and he wanted to walk me back to my hostel. I said no, and insisted to just be left somewhere before Charles Bridge, which was a little bit further from where we were. My intentions were to take some night shots, and didn’t want him to wait while I did that. So he said goodbye to me at the end of Charles Bridge, and I was well on my way to do my photography.
I got back to the hostel, feeling a little bit hungry, so decided to have the stuff I bought from the Pinoy store. I had an early morning shower then quietly slept through the wee hours of the morning.
The following day, I was headed to Krakow, Poland.
No comments:
Post a Comment