A few weeks ago one of my roommates mentioned she was dying to go to Prague and although I had thought about going to the country, I never really figured I would get there seeing as it wasn’t top on my European bucket list. However a few minutes of convincing later, I was sold and booked by trip with Florence For Fun to depart for Prague this weekend. Luckily, my spur of the moment decision did me no wrong!
Prague was definitely one of my most favorite places I’ve visited so far. Although originally weary of the people we would meet when we arrived, I found the town to be incredibly Americanized and full of lovely people with neat accents. After a 12 hour bus ride through the night (how fun does that sound??), I took off my sleeping mask to find the sunny city of Prague in all of its architectural wonders. After a quick stop by our hostel at Fusion Hotel, which was surprisingly wonderful and I would recommend it to anyone looking for a cheaper place to stay, we headed out on a guided tour of Prague. We made our way to their astronomical clock in time to see the time change at noon which entails a fun ceremonial ritual then headed to the Charles Bridge. We finished our tour in the old Jewish Ghetto of Josefev which was my favorite part. Ever since I learned about the Holocaust in 7th grade, I have been fascinated by it and although I won’t be able to get to Auschwitz on this trip, I plan to make it there sometime in my life. My roommates think I am creepy for my fascination, but the history behind it all truly interests me. After visiting a couple synagogues and exploring the streets, we headed to a favorite restaurant of students where I finally found a burrito and pretended I was in Mexico for a few short minutes.
Our free time on Friday included exploring the sights as well as climbing the clock tower to find some of the most amazing views of Prague. When we arrived back to our hotel that night, we got ready and headed out with our group to do a pub crawl. A couple watered-down sangrias later, my roommates and I danced until we were falling asleep on our feet then headed home to crash until morning. We awoke to a dreary day but were excited to see the John Lennon Wall. Although I’m not a huge Beatles fan and didn’t know much about the wall previously, it was an amazing sight so we took a ton of photos and then headed up to the Prague Castle. There was a Starbucks at the top with the most wonderful view, it was the perfect way to reunite with one of my favorite American beverages. Who knew Italy has outlawed Starbucks from entering its country?? With my vanilla latte in hand, we explored the Castle and its Cathedral then headed down the many flights of stairs to stop in a quaint restaurant for lunch. Keeping up with the local cuisine, I ordered beef goulash and apple streusel for dessert, both of which were WONDERFUL! I seriously haven’t met a food over here that I don’t like.
We ended our day with a little shopping in the local market and got ready for a late dinner at the most wonderful place. Kolkovna is known in Prague for its gourmet food at cheap prices so we sat down to a complimentary beer and because I was feeling adventurous, I ordered the leg of goose. Before you judge, it was actually wonderful and tasted like a moist turkey leg. However dessert is what really stole my heart. Warm chocolate soufflé atop a tantalizing vanilla sauce garnished with raspberries… In case my description didn’t do it enough justice, trust me when I say I fell in love. OMG. I walked out with a wonderful food coma and we headed to a 5-story club where the music was a little too loud and the smoke constricted my lungs. Good experience but never will I ever go back!
We finished our trip with a 12 hour bus ride back to Florence on Sunday and although I thought I may go crazy, the ride included a drive down the German autobahn and beautiful sights of the snowcapped mountain ranges in Austria. By the way, the highway rest stops here are phenomenal… Clean and full of great food and wonderful views. I made great memories and hope to one day come back to Prague!
Until next time, I will be studying for midterms and nursing a cold, while getting ready for spring break in Spain next week!
Molly
Find Me in Florence. 