Our first class trip led us to the heart of the Czech Republic: Prague. I was already fairly familiar with Prague because I flew in and spent the weekend there before we journeyed to Olomouc. I was very excited to visit this city again especially with my whole new group of friends! We entered Prague Thursday morning after only a two hour train ride and dropped our bags off at the hostel. Jan, one of our professors, led us to our first destination, St. Cyril and Methodius Church. This church was the subject of our movie that week and a very important aspect in the retaliation towards the Nazi regime. We learned about Operation Anthropoid, the mission that successfully assassinated top Nazi leader, Reinhard Heydrich. Heydrich was named as the person to propose "the final solution to the Jewish question" and implemented the extermination of the Jewish people. A group of British paratroopers were responsible for the assassination and after the attempt they hid in the crypt below the church. Once they were discovered, they fought for their lives against the SS officers. However after a very long battle, escaping was not an option and rather than surrendering, they ended their own lives. These paratroopers today are revered as heroes. We were able to see the remaining bullet holes on the church left from the battle and also an area where the paratroopers attempted to dig themselves out of the crypt. Today the church is a museum and a memorial honoring their bravery.
Following the crypt we were released to explore Prague as we wished. A few friends and I decided to grab some food (I had gnocchi of course) and decided to do some shopping. Surprisingly I did not buy anything but went back to the hostel to take a nap. During the evening we had a pub crawl scheduled for Tiffany's birthday and spent the evening celebrating!
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Friday was our first full day in Prague and we had many things on our agenda. We started out at the Charles Bridge which is a famous bridge in Prague. There are many statues along the bridge including St. Wenceslas who is known as a loyal figure to the church. He suffered a untimely death after he thrown off the Charles Bridge for keeping a secret from the King. Not far from the bridge is the infamous John Lennon Wall where we stopped the snap a few pictures.
From the wall we ventured to the Prague Castle. After a VERY long trek up (what seemed like) a million steps to the top we entered the castle. The castle hasn't housed a king since 1918 but is now the site of the President's office and is said to be the largest ancient castle in the world. The castle is a gothic style with the most ornate stained glass I have ever seen! Every time I see new architecture I am amazed that people were once able to construct such beautiful buildings. I think about how much time and effort it must have taken and I appreciate them much more, as in the states we have very few.
We then visited Vladislav Hall, this is where entertainment was held. I found this intriguing because they would bring in dirt or sand and have jousting. In this area of the castle is also where the Czech Crown Jewels are held, although the ones depicted are a recreation as the real ones are hidden away. This concluded our class duties for the day and we were able to roam as we pleased!
With our free time we then grabbed some lunch, a very traditional Czech cuisine of burgers and fries ;). Typical Lauren and Kirsten behavior, we of course went shopping and grabbed another chimney cake from a street vendor. Tired from the early morning, we went back to the hostel to take yet another nap. This evening we decided to spend quality time with each other and went to a quiet pub, it was a nice contrast since usually everywhere is loud and crowded!
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Saturday was another early morning because we were taking a day trip to Dresden, Germany! Only a 2.5 hour bus ride away, it was a weird concept that in this short amount of time we could be in a completely different country. Not quite an everyday experience back in the states! Our first stop consisted of viewing the Frauenkirche Dresden church. This particular church is significant because in WWII the United States bombed and destroyed it. I thought it was interesting that the church was left in ruins for roughly 50 years to serve as a memorial before it was rebuilt in 1994. I thoroughly enjoyed this church in particular because it was bright, airy and colorful! Many others we have visited are gothic style and look slightly uninviting.
In the basement of the church there was some art and this was my favorite piece. She is carved from wood and depicts an angel crying due to the lives lost during the bombing of the church. Those that were in the area during the bombing were turned to ash almost instantly.
We also had an opportunity to climb to the very top of the church for a small fee. Terrified of heights, I went to the top anyways. After again what seemed like a million stairs, we made it to the top and discovered some amazing views!
During this time we had some free time to grab some lunch. Lauren, Sarah and I decided to get a typical German dish: sauerkraut, sausage (?), and mashed potatoes! Slightly out of my comfort zone but actually my favorite dish thus far! We also are taking advantage of the nice weather and eating on the patios of many restaurants. One thing I have noticed during my time abroad, hardly anywhere salts their food, sometimes they do not even have it on the table. I have noticed my salt cravings have sky rocketed and it isn't apparent how salty United States food is until you never have it!
After lunch we also had the opportunity to visit an artifact museum where we saw some beautiful jewels, which was my favorite part. It was amazing the wealth some of these individuals had, enough to make something as common as a nail file worth more than I would ever make in my life. Here are some of my favorites:
I really enjoyed this museum because the ability to make these amazes me! They took so much time and money to make simple gifts for others.
This concluded our day in Dresden, although I do wish I had more time to spend here! We then headed back to Prague. For our evening someone had suggested to check out a bowling alley! After some searching we did successfully locate one not too far from the hostel. It looks exactly like a United States bowling alley although much smaller. We played teams and even though I lost, like I knew I would, it was a good way to switch it up!
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Sunday was our last day in Prague and we spent it visiting the Jewish Quarter. The museum that was there memorializes the Jewish people that lost their lives in the Czech Republic. Walking in, I see tens of thousands of names written all over the walls. These are the names of those that perished in the Shoah. Another thing I have learned, the term Shoah is preferred over the term Holocaust. In Greek terms, Holocaust is defined as "a sacrificial offering to a God" which could be implied that what Nazi's did was a religious act. While the term Shoah is defined in Hebrew as "a catastrophe".
Seeing the names of all the people affected put into perspective the massive destruction of the Shoah. The next section of the museum showed the drawings of the children kept in the ghettos. This was also a highly emotional aspect.
After walking through the museum, the Jewish Cemetery was located directly behind the building. This was very different compared to United States cemeteries because there was absolutely no rhyme or reason to the stones placement. Also they were very old so we were unable to read anything on the face of the stone, leaving us wondering who was buried there.
We then visited the oldest running Jewish synagogue which was also different from churches back home. I learned that there are two areas of the church because women are not allowed to be in the same room as the men during prayer. Therefore, there is a vent in the wall so the women are still able to hear the Rabbi during service. With somber souls, we were released for lunch and the remainder of the day before we left Prague at 3 o'clock. A large group of us found a nice restaurant where we spent the rest of the afternoon! I topped the trip off with a traditional Czech meal: Goulash. Not at all like the goulash back home, however, still very tasty!
Thanks for reading!! Chao! My next destination is the city of love: Paris! Stay tuned~