Praha

After being in Olomouc for a week and a half, all of us were so excited to go back to Prague. We began our trip to Olomouc on Thursday, March 22nd. We took the train to Prague, which was a 2 1/2 hour trip. The train ride was through beautiful scenery, and even though it was early in the morning, I couldn't sleep as we went through tiny little towns that all were made up of beautifully colored houses and gorgeous churches. We stayed in our first hostel, and it wasn't as bad as we had expected. I shared a room with three other girls and although the bed wasn't a Serta, it seemed clean. We had a short walk from the hostel into the Prague town square. I was shocked at the amount of people. The square was beautiful, but really didn't seem that much better than Olomouc's and it was packed with an unbelievable amount of people. We walked to the gorgeous Charles Bridge, Which was built during the 13th and 14th centuries. The bridge was also packed with tourists, and lots of stands on the side with painters, vendors and even a band. It was a gorgeous day and the weather seemed to put everyone in a good mood. 

Abby and I on Charles Bridge.

We walked to the John Lennon Wall, which is a wall that has been a welcoming place to graffiti artists since the 1980's. The wall was strikingly bright and colorful, with Beatles lyrics, images of peace and love, intertwined and layered upon each other. The Lennon Wall was something that I had heard about as a teenager and had always wanted to see. 

An image from the John Lennon Wall

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Another "must-see" in Prague that we saw was the Pinkas Synagogue Museum, located in the Jewish quarter. This museum left me with a feeling that was indescribable. The Pinkas Synagogue is dedicated to the Jewish victims of the Holocaust from Bohemia and Moravia; their names are inscribed on the walls of the building. The names are written in black and red and they are listed from floor to ceiling throughout the space. The names were listed along with the year that they were born and the year they were killed. The names were categorized by the city they had lived in. I felt a more personal impact when I found several "Herzog" and "Herzogova" names. Although I'm probably not related, it made me think so much more about what these families went through. 

The Old Jewish Cemetary lays just beyond the Synagogue. This Cemetary was one of the most spiritual, stunning places I've ever seen. The Cemetary had been expanded several times, but it still did not suffice to the number of graves that needed to be dug. Earth was brought in numerous times to layer more graves. It is assumed that there are up to 12 layers of graves in the Cemetary. 

An image of the Old Jewish Cemetary

Prague is full of history, life, and death. While I felt that it was overly crowded, I can understand why so many people would want to visit one of Europe's most beautiful cities. The cobblestones, the Charles Bridge, Prague castle, and the Old Jewish Cemetary all combine to make the Czech Republic's Wonderful capital city.