Prague is definitely my favorite city in Europe thus far. It's an amazing city with a rich history, which I learned all about during my FREE walking tour of Prague. Luckily, Prague was almost untouched by WWII because Hitler loved it so much he wanted to make it the cultural capital of the Third Reich. He even kept the Jewish Quarter in tact because he wanted to use it as an open-air museum for an extinct race. Disgusting but it ended up working out for the Czech Jews. There are still a number of buildings that are centuries old, dating as far back as the 13th century I think. That's what I love about this place. The old stuff is actually really old. I visited the Prague Castle, which is the biggest in the world apparently. It is truly amazing to say the least. It's definitely better than the two palaces that I visited in Vienna. I hung out at Charles' Bridge, named after King Charles IV, who is apparently one of the greatest kings to ever lived. The free walking tour took me around the Old Town, New Town, and Jewish Quarter. The Old Town Plaza has one of only two Hussite churches in Czech. There's also the old city hall that was demolished during the war so only 10% of it is still standing, but it is the most important part: the Astronomical Clock Tower. People gather around at the hour to watch what happens with the clock. Nothing really happens. It's been voted the 2nd biggest disappointment in Europe.
The New Town is actually only 100 years older than the Old Town and it's not much different. The architecture varies from Gothic to Neoclassical to Communist (which is grey and dull). The Jewish Quarter started off as a ghetto but is today one of the nicest places in Prague.
Overall, I LOVE Prague. I wish I could've stayed for more than two days and wished it wasn't so cold. I'd definitely go back to visit Prague. And it is indeed true that beer is CHEAPER than water. Czechs love their beer. I took a sip just to try Czech beer and nearly spat it out. It tastes like watered-down American beer. Gross. I don't know how they can drink it so much.
Prague Castle - the Rolling Stones actually paid for the lights surrounding the castle since Prague couldn't afford it
View of Prague from the Castle
Charles' Bridge
Other side of Charles' Bridge
Old Town Plaza
Astronomical Clock
Wenceslas Square
Jewish Quarter - the brown building on the left is a synagogue from the 13th century, the oldest one in Europe
Czech Pastry
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