Day 2 - Prague

Greetings from Praha!

We began our first full day in Prague at 8:30 with delicious breakfast at the hotel. Everybody was in good spirits in the morning especially after a long day of travel. Some breakfast favorites included: pastries, waffles, sausages, and the coffee bar (Annie had three cups). Then, we made our way over to the Andel tram station and stopped by the Franz Kafka statue, also known as the Rotating Head by artist David Cerny.



After a quick walkabout around Old Town, the group went to the Klementinum Library. The Klementinum is a complex of buildings that included churches and chapels as well as lecture hall, a library, and residential buildings. One of the most impressive parts was the National Library of the Czech Republic, which was built in High Baroque style.



Next, we climbed 172 steps to get to see an amazing view of Prague at the top of the Astronomical Tower.



For lunch, we traveled back on the tram in our pod groups to the Manifesto Market. Everyone was given a debit card so that we could choose our own lunch from the many options at the market.

Then, we headed over to the Prague Castle and climbed even more stairs to the top. Once there, we checked out the cathedral in the center of the property. The cathedral is a massive Gothic building filled with statues and other artworks depicting religious figures. There were lots of gorgeous stained glass windows, as well.



After that, we made our way into the castle itself, where the leaders of Prague used to live. The area we checked out was not as large or detailed as the chapel, but it was still interesting. One of the rooms was a throne room and had a crown in a glass case. We also paused for a picture in front of St. George, who graces the center of a large plaza in the heart of the Castle complex.

When we were done sightseeing, we made our way back into town where we had chimney cakes, known locally as trdelník. These are tasty hollow spiral cakes with ice cream or whipped cream on them. Then, we all headed over to see the Lennon Wall, which was political graffiti used to criticize the Communist regime.





After we crossed the iconic Charles Bridge, which spans the Vltava River, connecting the Old Town to the Lesser Town. Along the way we heard some fun street music!



It was almost 6:00pm so we quickly headed to watch the Astronomical Clock go off. Now as tram pros, we went to out to eat a Vietnamese restaurant, which was super tasty! As the group walked back to the station there was some line dancing happening! Overall, it was a full day of walking, sightseeing, and observing all the parts of Prague!

Kylee and Ben