For Thanksgiving Shannon and I grabbed our winter coats and headed to Prague. Founded in the 9th century it is now the political and cultural capital of the Czech Republic and a really nice place to take a vacation. There are all the ancient monuments you would expect in such an old city but perhaps the most fun part for me and Shannon was a chance to eat food other than pizza or seafood.We got in late on Wednesday. Our hotel was in a great location right by the Charles Bridge in old town but we only had time for dinner and then headed in early our first night.
We began Thursday with a four hour guided walking tour of the city that took us to many of the famous sites. After the tour Shannon and I went to the Franz Kafka museum which seemed designed to creep out its visitors with odd lighting and eerie music. We met up with other Americans for a Thanksgiving dinner that included potato soup and roast beef all washed down with huge pilsner beers. It was delicious. After dinner we headed out and caught the end of the
Lions game at a bar and walked around the city.Friday we went over to the Jewish Quarter and visited their famous Synagogues and cemeteries dating back to the 13th century. Then we headed up the hill to Prague Castle, which was built in the 14th century and is the largest castle in the world. The castle is so vast they turned many of the buildings into modern art museums but there is also a couple of beautiful old churches, a palace and even a torture chamber. That night we got tickets to a show featuring a chamber orchestra, opera and some ballet.
We spotted a Pharmacy museum on our tour and returned on Saturday for Shannon to explore a bit. Afterwards Shannon wanted to do some shopping and I did not. She headed over to Wenceslas Square and I went over to Vysehrad Castle for more tourism. This castle was a fortress high on a hill which offered some of the best views yet and a cemetery with Prague's most wealthy residents from the last 100 years.
Prague proved a cosmopolitan city and a lot of fun.
