An Old City Breathing Free


I arrived in Prague by train from Vienna around noon on Tuesday. I walked up to the Bankomat and stuck in my card and voila, Czech money comes out. It is becoming one world, isn't it? The next task was buying a 3 day transit pass. Depending on where your accomodations are and what you want to see, a transit pass may not be necessary. I was located near the National Theatre and most sites were an easy walk. However, the pass is inexpensive and it gives you the option of jumping on the metro or streetcar when you want to get off your feet.

I found my accomodations at the Pension Brezina (brezina@netforce.cz) without trouble. I then set off to see ... of course the Astronomical Clock!



I joined one of the "Prague Walks". There are a number of agencies sponsoring walks. I happened to pick that one. I wound up taking another walk with them the next day. Their guides are helpful and friendly. They pointed out the various features of the square and I've selected the Jan Hus statue for the photo album. Jan Hus was a Protestant reformer who was killed for his views but the movement remained strong anyway.



On the walking tour, our guide mentioned where the Prague Symphony plays. I went to that building and found that the ticket office would reopen at 6:30 (1 hour before show time). I wandered off the main street and into a restaurant. No English on the menu and the woman there didn’t speak any. Well, I managed to get dinner for a mere 62 Koruna! At the time, a USD was equal to about 34 Koruna.

I went back to buy a ticket to the concert and it was only 230 Koruna! I sat in awe of Smentana Hall. I talked with a couple from Oregon. They too were amazed at how beautiful the interior was and commented how the Europeans know how to decorate!

The next day, I took the 22 Tram up to Prague castle. Wow, what a beautiful place! St. Vitus is awesome and just wandering the grounds was great. The audio guide here is pretty good.



For my last evening, I just wandered along the Charles Bridge and the Old Town until shortly after sundown. Here is a last loving look at the Prague Castle with the river in the foreground.



Impressions

Prague is a storybook (picture old Europe and it looks like Prague!) and also a city on the go racing to catch up with the West. The contrasts are quite striking. Nokia cells phones are everywhere chirping away.

The ubiquitous Mozartian-dressed-flyer-passer-outers get pretty annoying after a while!

Internet cafes are well marked and perfect english is spoken there.

Getting lost in the crooked streets of Old Town Prague is normal. Keep the map handy and watch out for the cars!!

TRAVEL TIP

Traveling alone is not a scary as you might think. Exercise reasonable caution of course, but go ahead and take some chances and wander. Most folks will immediately figure out you are a tourist (in my case, an Asian face is a give away!) and try to be helpful. Also, as you see so much, you find you want to talk about it and will take the risk to talk to total strangers. I'm an introvert by nature but I find a lot of enjoyment in talking to people. One highlight was on the train ride back to Vienna, when I talked with a young Czech woman who was studying to be a dentist. I asked her how often she gets to practice her English and she said with a laugh, talking to tourists like you! She was very friendly and curious about American life. You know the world is getting smaller when she said her favorite movie stars are Jack Nicholson and Tom Hanks! Her laughter and smile will be as memorable in my mind as all the wonderful buildings of Prague.

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