Tuesday, January 12, 2010

Prague, A Wonderful Winter City

Over Christmas Break, I took a jaunt over to Prague with friends Yvonne, Rachel and Gisselle. These girls had never been to Prague before, and as traveling from Vienna to Prague is the equivalent of traveling from St. Paul to Madison, I joined the fun! Here we are at the top of Wenceslas Square showing our enthusiasm for this beautiful city, which was covered in snow during our visit.
The Jewish Quarter was a sight I've not seen on previous visits to Prague and one which I particularly enjoyed. Above is the Old Jewish cemetary. The gravestones are very close together and sit at crooked angles becuase (as our guidebook informed us) there are perhaps 100,000 bodies buried on top of one another in this relatively small space. It is Europe's oldest surviving Jewish graveyard. Below is a Jewish synagogue, now a part of the Jewish Museum.
This castle-like building is a church located on the edge of the Old Town Square. It's gothic towers were brilliantly lit up in the night sky. We tried to go inside, but just missed closing time by 15 minutes. Nearby is Prague's famous astronomical clock.
As stunning as the sights and history of Prague are, the highlight of this trip was being with good friends. I really liked seeing the city again, as if for the first time, through the eyes of Yvonne, Rachel and Gisselle. And evening meals together at Czech restaurants, mixed with good conversation and lots of laughs...this was a relaxing and refreshing vacation.

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