City of Hundred Spires

“Never did the world make a queen of a girl who hides in houses and dreams without traveling.”

-Roman Payne, The Wanderess

Panoramic view of Prague at night.

It has been my dream to travel the world. And I’ve been lucky enough to be invited to spend time in Prague. It has been a whirlwind of adventure,peace and change of pace for 3 weeks of my vacation there.

Prague, is the capital of Czech Republic. And from what I learned, Czechoslovakia only became a Republic in 1993. They have been under the communist party since 1948. (if my memory serves me right and from what I quickly scanned from the internet). Prague is known to be the “City of Hundred Spires”, and it is evident in their architecture. I admire the fact that their city is still medieval. Cobblestones pathways, baroque buildings, the Prague Castle still stands tall and proud overlooking the city.

The Castle of Prague

We went there in the middle of December, just in time for the winter to fully set in. I was beyond excited for the sheer perspective of seeing and learning something new. I almost didn’t get to go because of my job, luckily they found someone to relieve me during my leave. There are two things that irked me before and during the flight. The first one being our visa being questioned in the check in counter. And second, during the flight, the entire plane seems to have a party. Everyone was chatting and milling around. My brother and I didn’t get a bit of shut eye for the entire 8 hour flight. Seems like the europeans do know how to party, but I admit it was a bit awesome because you can tell that they are just all looking forward to their destination that they can’t just sit still. ( that’s just my opinion tho.) When we got there, I realized that the jackets I have on me, wasn’t sufficient to keep me warm. It was freezing,and it wasn’t even snowing yet! Luckily, we only have a short ride from the airport to the warm home of our aunt and uncle. They are just as excited as we are that they already have an itenerary for us for the whole 3 weeks we get to be there.

The view outside their home.

We started our first day there by familiarizing our way to and from their town. Which tram to take, which subway stop to get to and alight from. It was easy to commute. You only have to have your transportation card with you to get to anywhere aside when your taking the taxi tho. Their town was full of tourists like ourselves, all enjoying the sights and the food that seems to be everywhere. I have particularly enjoyed nibbling on their traditional spit toasted bread called trdelnik while sipping warm cherry wine or apple cider while walking around and just taking everything. The wind was cold but we’re warm enough. People are polite and full of life. Their cheeks red from the cold. Not alot of them speaks english, since they haven’t been open to world that long. We’ve gone to museums, to the Prague castle, we went on walks in the evening on Charles bridge. And we got to taste their traditional dishes. I particularly loved their chicken paprikash paired with either steamed bread or gnochhi with a side of buttered potatoes, their goulash not so much. I tried to learn how to cook it but alas I can only achieve a very poor imitation of the said dish. Christmas Eve rolled around and we spent the night out with our aunt and uncle’s friend, and it snowed! It was my first snow experience and it was awesome. My cousins and I spent the night throwing snowballs at each other. The remainder of the days are spent in other nearby countries and those are another stories to tell.

What I most enjoyed while being there was being able to go to museums. Learning about their culture and their art. We’ve gone to 3 museums I think. While I suck at remembering things but I can’t forget the feeling of just being lost at the sea of experience. And if I will myself, I can still remember the feeling of the their winter air, the smell of various spices from the foodstands around, the taste of their chicken paprikash and trdelnik, of how beautiful the sunset was from outside the Prague Castle. Of how odd to be inside a mall and be transported in time outside. The music of a travelling band of traditional musicians with their traditional instruments. The taste of warm chestnuts while leisurely walking in the snow. I think winter in Prague was magical. I definitely want to go back there,but probably in summer as they said it is even more beautiful to be in Prague in that time.

I am an idiot for not taking a closer picture of their clock tower. It is a magnificent piece of work.

It’s snowing!

Apotheosis “Slavs for Humanity” by Mucha Alphonse, one of the massive artworks on display in the National Art Gallery of Prague

Sunset outside the Castle of Prague.

Trdelnik and chicken paprikash

It is always refreshing to the mind,body and soul to travel. To just be lost in a crowd. Wandering. Even if you have a destination in mind or you plan to just wing it, it gives you a renewed energy and a better perspective to face reality again. And that is why even it’s physically exhausting we are drawn to journey and explore different cities and countries. And that is why I would always be unsatisfied in just staying put in one place. That’s it for now, someday I will also tell my adventures in the other places I went to. And I leave you with this little gem from Franz Kafka “Prague never lets you go… this dear little mother has sharp claws” and I can say for myself that it is somewhat true.

“See the world. It's more fantastic than any dream made or paid for in factories. Ask for no guarantees, ask for no security.”

-Ray Bradbury, Fahrenheit 451

(All photos are taken using Sony Xperia Z3)