Praha

Now that you know all about Prague, you can enjoy the scenery :)

I stayed an extra day in Prague so that I could shop, but it was probably unncessary.  I took my sweet time getting out the door today and still made it back to the hostel by about 3:30pm.  I still have tomorrow so I saved the Jewish Quarter and just saw the Little Quarter and Castle Quarter today.  

The Little Quarter is a charming little neighborhood across the Vltava River.   This is where the Lennon Wall is.  I spent most of my time up on Petrin Hill though.  Petrin Hill is a lovely park, on a hill. It's steep but so pretty! I can only imagine how great it must be when the trees have leaves. On the top of the hill is a replica of the Eiffel Tower. It's mini (200 feet tall) compared to the real one in Paris, but it's actually at the same elevation because it's on a hill. I took the wrong path down and my boots got covered in mud...that reminds me...I need to clean those off!

 I also saw the Monument to Victims of Communism Who Survived. The monument's figures walking down the stairs slowly disappear, one limb at a time.  I read that in Czechoslovakia alone, 205,486 people were imprisoned, 248 were executed, 4,500 died in prison, 327 were shot attempting to cross the border, and 170,  938 left the country. 

On Charles Bridge there are two legendary spots. One is the statue of St John of Nepomuk.  St John went against King Wenceslaus IV and was tortured and thrown from Charles Bridge because of it.  He drown.   Legend has it that five sparkling spots of light appeared above the water just downstream from where he was thrown in soon after.  A few months later, there was a drought and the priests body was revealed and said to be where the stars had been.  So there is a statue of him on the bridge and below it are three plaques. One is of a guard and a dog, the middle one is in latin and unimportant, and the one on the right is of St. John getting thrown off the bridge. Hundreds of visitors each and every day stop to put their hand on the magic spot where you can make a wish, book your return to Prague, or ensure that a secret you have will never be told. I booked my return to Prague ;) Some superstitions say tha tpetting the dog is bad luck.  I read that no one used to touch the dog until some drunk Czech students polished it shiny in 2006 just to see if people would be dumb enough to touch it too...and we are...they 're probably still laughing about it today.

The other special spot is the actual spot that he was thrown over the bridge.  It's said that placing your left hand in it, with one finger touching each of the stars, will make any wish come true.

I took a break at the hostel and mapped out the sights I would see in the Castle Quarter. I was going to take a tour, but decided to save the money and show myself around.  It was kind of a hike to get up there, but I enjoyed the shops along the way.  Once I finally got there, I saw some amazing views of Prague and lots of big buildings.  The king, the most powerful noblemen, and the archbishop all lived on the Castle Square. The Prague Castle is big but it's the St Vitus Cathedral that really takes all the attention.  It contains the tombs and relics of the most important saints and kings.  The stained-glass is the best I've seen. I love how the art over here always tells a story. The paintings, the sculptures,  the stained-glass windows, etc. Priests actually use the interior decor of their churches to teach. It's amazing. 

I saw the Old Royal Palace but did not pay to go inside.  I saw the size of the large hall from the outside...it's big enough for jousts, and supposedly the staircase was even designed to let soldiers on horses gallop in.  It had market stalls so nobles didn't even need to go into town.    

I got to see the changing of the guard at one of the castle entrances. That was exciting. Towards the end of the shift, one of the guards was totally dozing off. He could not fool me. I can't imagine standing there for an hour straight without moving. They just shift their eyes all over but don't move an inch otherwise!

 I came back to my hostel to warm up. It was really cold today! I'm sick of the weather being all up and down. At least I have had one warm day in each city for the past couple weeks. 

I got talking to a kid at my hostel, and he asked a million and one questions about the Mormon church.  Every time someone finds out I am from Utah, they immediately say, "Oh..you're not Mormon?" like they assume Mormons don't travel or go out or something.  Growing up, I was always told to be ready for someone to ask about what the Mormons believe.  Until today, I have never had an experience like that. They might ask about alcohol/coffee, but never have I just flat out been asked, "So what do the Mormons believe?" It's not about what we DON'T believe or DON'T do...this is asking about what we DO believe/do.  I was super nervous, and I tried to explain our beliefs and what makes us different from other churches. I tried to keep it basic, but the more I talked the weirder it sounded. Haha, I do not know how missionaries do it. He had so many good, valid questions, and I answered them as best I could. These missionary moments do happen, and members need to be ready for them! It was a great conversation that enlightened us both. 

I ate a bowl of cereal and some spaghetti noodles for dinner. I'm sick of spending money. :/ I had cereal from when I went grocery shopping in Venice, and there was milk in the fridge on the "free food" shelf. There were also some spaghetti noodles on the "free food" pantry shelf so I boiled them up, put a little butter on them, and that was it. Yummy, right?

St. Vitus Cathedral

These are locks...more lip locking on yet another bridge

Inside St Vitus

Standing guard

Standing guard

So serious

St Vitus Cathedral

Prague Castle

Petrin Tower

Stain glass windows in St Vitus Cathedral

Walking on Petrin Hill