Our first views of Praha as the train neared the station were overshadowed by the dark sky and light rain which had been falling since we had left Cologne. We were pleasantly surprised as we were welcomed into Sir Toby's hostel with a free barbecue for all guests. As it was late and we hadn't had time to visit any shops to collect dinner items we joined the other people out in the courtyard for dinner.
After dumping our bags we went to the bar in the hostel and had a lovely few glasses of wine in the good company of two English lads- Barney and Ed. After a few drinks we decided at their suggestion to check out the five level club in the centre of Praha.
The rain had stopped as we took the tram into the city and we were overwhelmed with the beauty of the buildings and Charles' Bride which was decorated with lights.
We had an enjoyable night in the club, although there was some fairly shocking music being played (especially on the '80s' level), accompanied by some pretty shocking dancers. We made our way back to the hostel with the boys at around 6am and immediately collapsed into bed.
The following morning we had a delicious buffet breakfast and celebrated the fact that the sun was again shining.
We dressed and made our way to the beautiful castle that sits atop a hill on the outskirts of the city. The view from the top of the hill is spectacular... As one is able to admire Praha's iconic, medieval-style buildings.
We wandered through the the castle and then back down the hill to the Charles Bridge where we fought amongst tourists for a good snapshot of the river.
We had a Caesar salad for a late lunch in a great little cafe on the edge of the Jewish quarters. To watch the sunset for the evening we headed to the old section of town where the atmosphere was buzzing.
That evening we joined many others on a pub crawl of the city, and had a great conversation at one of the bars with a woman who was working for Amnesty International in the area of Women's Rights. We were very inquisitive and likewise jealous of her position and so bombarded her with questions for over an hour.
We ended our pub crawl early as the last stop was at the five level club which Nina and I agreed was definitely a 'once' experience.
The next day we went to the Jewish quarters but were unfortunately met with cold winds and rain. The rain created a very sombre and almost creepy mood as we wandered around the Jewish cemetery. Unlike most other cemeteries which have a very geometrical design, this one has layers of graves on top of one another and tombstones falling towards the centre.
This is due to the fact that for centuries the Jews were secluded to a ghetto and were therefore only given little space for each building.
The cemetery itself is very small, however we noticed on our information brochure that there is a separate summer and winter path advised for tourists. This is due to the fact that the cemetery is covered under layers of snow in the winter and imaginably is accompanied by temperatures well below zero.
For lunch that day we returned to Mistral cafe after we were so satisfied at the quality and price of the food.
The weather worsened that afternoon so we made our way back to the hostel and sat down in the bar to relax. We later met three girls- Kara, Kate and Elzy with whom we chatted and spent the following day together.
The weather was even more dreary the next day as we left the hostel to check out the flea market. It didn't take us long to realise it was just another market selling fake designer bags and other useless junk and so we headed back into the city.
We wandered around for a while however as the rain got heavier we again retired to Mistral cafe in the hope that it might clear in a few hours time.
After lunch we went to a great little bookshop Nina and I had found days before with an impressive collection of English books.
For dinner that evening we had a delicious pasta at a restaurant close to the hostel and went to bed early as Nina and I had a train at 9am the following day.
As much as I believe Praha to be a beautiful city, due to the poor weather I don't feel as if I got to know it like I did Paris and Berlin. Also, in all of the cities we had visited so far, Nina and I had always either sought out or stumbled upon the groovy, less touristy part of the city with the great shops and cafes, and we hadn't yet found this in Praha. I think that leaves nothing to say but that I will have to return in the near future to explore the city further.
After dumping our bags we went to the bar in the hostel and had a lovely few glasses of wine in the good company of two English lads- Barney and Ed. After a few drinks we decided at their suggestion to check out the five level club in the centre of Praha.
The rain had stopped as we took the tram into the city and we were overwhelmed with the beauty of the buildings and Charles' Bride which was decorated with lights.
We had an enjoyable night in the club, although there was some fairly shocking music being played (especially on the '80s' level), accompanied by some pretty shocking dancers. We made our way back to the hostel with the boys at around 6am and immediately collapsed into bed.
The following morning we had a delicious buffet breakfast and celebrated the fact that the sun was again shining.
We dressed and made our way to the beautiful castle that sits atop a hill on the outskirts of the city. The view from the top of the hill is spectacular... As one is able to admire Praha's iconic, medieval-style buildings.
We wandered through the the castle and then back down the hill to the Charles Bridge where we fought amongst tourists for a good snapshot of the river.
We had a Caesar salad for a late lunch in a great little cafe on the edge of the Jewish quarters. To watch the sunset for the evening we headed to the old section of town where the atmosphere was buzzing.
That evening we joined many others on a pub crawl of the city, and had a great conversation at one of the bars with a woman who was working for Amnesty International in the area of Women's Rights. We were very inquisitive and likewise jealous of her position and so bombarded her with questions for over an hour.
We ended our pub crawl early as the last stop was at the five level club which Nina and I agreed was definitely a 'once' experience.
The next day we went to the Jewish quarters but were unfortunately met with cold winds and rain. The rain created a very sombre and almost creepy mood as we wandered around the Jewish cemetery. Unlike most other cemeteries which have a very geometrical design, this one has layers of graves on top of one another and tombstones falling towards the centre.
This is due to the fact that for centuries the Jews were secluded to a ghetto and were therefore only given little space for each building.
The cemetery itself is very small, however we noticed on our information brochure that there is a separate summer and winter path advised for tourists. This is due to the fact that the cemetery is covered under layers of snow in the winter and imaginably is accompanied by temperatures well below zero.
For lunch that day we returned to Mistral cafe after we were so satisfied at the quality and price of the food.
The weather worsened that afternoon so we made our way back to the hostel and sat down in the bar to relax. We later met three girls- Kara, Kate and Elzy with whom we chatted and spent the following day together.
The weather was even more dreary the next day as we left the hostel to check out the flea market. It didn't take us long to realise it was just another market selling fake designer bags and other useless junk and so we headed back into the city.
We wandered around for a while however as the rain got heavier we again retired to Mistral cafe in the hope that it might clear in a few hours time.
After lunch we went to a great little bookshop Nina and I had found days before with an impressive collection of English books.
For dinner that evening we had a delicious pasta at a restaurant close to the hostel and went to bed early as Nina and I had a train at 9am the following day.
As much as I believe Praha to be a beautiful city, due to the poor weather I don't feel as if I got to know it like I did Paris and Berlin. Also, in all of the cities we had visited so far, Nina and I had always either sought out or stumbled upon the groovy, less touristy part of the city with the great shops and cafes, and we hadn't yet found this in Praha. I think that leaves nothing to say but that I will have to return in the near future to explore the city further.
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