Golden Prague

“If European cities were a necklace, Prague would be a diamond among the pearls.”

Anonymous

My exchange company YFU offers different culture tours to different cities in Europe. When I saw Prague as an option, I immediately grabbed onto that opportunity. I met our YFU group in Dresden, where we then traveled to Prague all together. Our group consisted of 20 YFU students from China, Japan, Finnland, Mexico, and the USA spending their exchange year in Germany. We had a lot of fun together! It was fun using German as our gateway language.

Our first full day in Prague began with exchanging our money to Czech koruna (crowns). 1 USD is equal to about 22.68 CZK. The conversion was confusing at first, but we eventually got the hang of it. It was mostly weird having 1000 CZK and it only being about 44 USD. Our first tour was at Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. RFE/RL broadcasts news in Eastern Europe, Central Asia, and the Middle East. (Here’s a link to their website: https://pressroom.rferl.org/) The tour was very interesting. We even got to listen to a live radio broadcast to Pakistan. We then had a tour of the Prague Castle. The Prague Castle is the largest castle complex in the world. We visited four parts within the Prague Castle: the Old Royal Palace, St. Vitus Cathedral, St. George’s Basilica, and the Golden Lane. I think my favorite part was Golden Lane, where defenders of the castle lived. All of the houses have a sweet old charm to them. Today some of the houses have museum displays and others are gift shops. In house No 22, where the Franz Kafka (a writer) lived, I found a cute Czech cookbook. I also found a book with Czech Fairy Tales! I would definitely recommend visiting the Prague Castle. There is so much history and a lot to see. (Here’s a link to the Prague Castle: https://www.hrad.cz/en/prague-castle-for-visitors/objects-for-visitors)

Our second day began with a tour of the Old Town Hall and astronomical clock. We also climbed the Old Town Hall Tower and had an amazing view of the city. In the town square, there was an Easter market. At the market, we found some Czech treasures such as intricately painted Easter eggs and some tasty Halušky (potato dumplings with kraut and ham) and more. We then spent the day exploring the city by going to the John Lennon Wall, the Charles Bridge, Petrin Hill (Petrin Tower), and small shops throughout the city.

The next day we had a Jewish Quarter tour. It was very interesting. We went to several synagogues, the Old Jewish Cemetery, and a museum. After our tour, we went to a restaurant that serves traditional Czech cuisine. I had traditional Bohemian pancakes with ham. It was so delicious! We then went to a cat cafe for coffee and to of course pet the cats! In the evening we went to a show at the Image Black Light Theater. The show was so cool! The whole performance was done without dialogue. The story was told through non-verbal acting and dancing with blacklights. I absolutely loved the show! Image Black Light Theater is very popular in Prague and the shows are a lot of fun to watch! (Here’s a link to their website: https://www.imagetheatre.cz/en/)

I had such an amazing time in Prague! Being able to connect with more YFU students, seeing the gorgeous sights of Prague, and of course, trying the food were my favorite parts of my experience. I will definitely be returning to this gem of a city!