Oh, Prague. I don't know if everyone liked Prague as much as I did, but it was my favorite by far. The ambiance and mood created by the gorgeous city is something I haven't quite experienced anywhere else, and I fell in love with it.
Vienna had it's own sort of beauty, and we definitely had a lot of fun there. But it wasn't like Prague, with its wide Danube river surrounded by trees changing to there Fall colors; the green islands scattered lazily throughout the river; the rolling green hills, not far far from the castle with the gothic spires of the towering St. Vitus Cathedral, joined in the skyline by the spires of St. Nicholas cathedral only a few blocks away; the rows of bridges with their perfectly symmetrical arches, providing shade for the ducks and swans; the cobble stone roads and adorable European-style buildings along every street running through the center; the vast rows of buildings on the other side of the river that seem to be never ending as they slowly roll up the gently increasing hill; the open spaces around the river that act as the perfect canvas for breathtaking sunsets; the delicate balance of hectic tourist areas and quiet, peaceful areas nearby; the views! oh my gosh the different views of the city from different hills surrounding the main areas will take your breath away no matter how many times you see them. I love Prague.
Our bus from Vienna arrived in Prague around 6:30, and we settled in to our new hostel. Much to our dismay, we found ourselves in a room full of stereotypical Australian girls dressed in the sluttiest costumes ever. Always so random. We left to walk by the river, and I realized how happy I was to be back in Prague. It just has this peaceful, magical atmosphere about it. As we were walking, we passed a swan that confidently glided right up to us. Pretty soon, we were sitting on a bench by the river, feeding a large group of swans and ducks and eating our sandwiches, laughing about one thing or another- we had so many inside jokes by the end of this trip :)
We kept walking to this castle that had 3 arches overlooking the river- we each took one, and sat quietly for a while, taking in more of the beauty of Prague.
The next morning, we walked through Old Town Square to get to our little Indian restaurant for lunch buffet. The waiter recognized us from last time and welcomed us back with a smile, and the food was so good! We all split up after that, to do what we each wanted to do most on our last day there. I rented a perfect little bike from this small shop nestled in a corner of a courtyard from a very nice man.
I rode over the river across the nearest bridge, straight up onto this gorgeous, huge park on a hill. It seemed to have never-ending winding paths covered in fallen leaves, lined by tall tress wearing their fall colors, surrounded by areas with some of the greenest grass I have ever seen.
As if that wasn't beautiful enough already, all I had to do was look to my left and I had the prettiest view of Prague's river, bridges, castles, and cathedrals that I had ever seen.
It was unbelievable. I rode through the park for a while, then made my way to the main street where it became clear that I was in the living quarters of Prague. Kids rode their scooters past me, a gang of boys ran by me with their baseball gear on their way to the park, I moved to the side as moms pushed strollers on the path while little kids skipped ahead with dogs running by their sides. It was completely adorable.
I rode up to another park, which I had to take very steep, narrow paths through a forest to get to. There were even more beautiful green open spaces, gently rolling up and down for miles,, and trees with colored leaves swaying in the breeze. I rode up more, across a smaller river, across a road to a bridge over a larger river that had a horse farm right next to it, so I rode past people happily riding horses in this quiet part of town.
It had a few cottages nestled into the hill here and there, but it was so much more open and primitive than the main part of the city, yet still retaining the beauty and charm of Prague. There was hardly anyone around, and the loudest sound was the music of the rushing river at the bottom of the hill.
I have never, ever seen anything in my life as beautiful as the scenery I saw on my bike ride thorough Prague. It was like a dream! The pictures I have don't do it justice, especially since I only had my ipod to take pictures with on our last couple of days there.
I rode back a slightly different way then I came, stopping at Prague castle to go inside the always impressive St. Vitus Cathedral, and the view from the castle's hill was, as usual, completely gorgeous.
I continued riding to the other side of the river, through Jewish town,
and finally back to the bike shop through quiet, peaceful side streets, and returned my bike. I hurried back to the river to meet Riley and Natalie at the spot we had stopped the night before to feed the swans. We sat on the same bench, shared stories about our day, and watched the beautiful sunset.
We walked back through the main part of Old Town Prague to buy our host families gifts and a few last souvenirs, then went back to our hostel, which was crawling with people in legit costumes. I love halloween :) We ate chocolate ice cream with spoons Riley snuck from the restaurant upstairs, and watched some scary shows, then packed and got ready to leave the next morning.
If, when I get home, anyone asks me what city I would recommend the most, my answer will always be Prague, hands down. It's my favorite.
Monday, November 7, 2011
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