Praha v. Paris
What you’ve heard is true! Prague is one of the most beautiful cities in Europe, probably the world. Alan and I had a good banter about which city is cooler – Paris or Prague – just to give you a sense that it even warrants the discussion. Needless to say, Prague was my favorite city of the trip up to that point (Budapest may catch up). It also helped that we stayed in the cutest little one bedroom apartment (overlooking a courtyard with a chill bar) on one of the little cobble stone streets in Old Town.
This post should actually be named ‘Land of beer and pork part II’ because that sums up most of our meals there, but in Prague we also had some tasty pickled herring and other fish (which I didn’t even think I would like), as well as my first Afghan meal at Kabul which ended up being probably our favorite of that leg of the trip. The amazing feast included perfectly crispy afghan bread and spicy/vinegary green chutney; and scrumptious dumplings filled with lamb, veggies, and covered with yogurt sauce. But the winner had to be the beef kabobs which surprisingly tasted a bit like the flavor-packed Romanian-style kabobs my dad made for us growing up. Imagine the best meatloaf packed with herbs & spices, rolled into a tube and cooked perfectly on the grill so when you stick your fork in it gushes with juiciness.
My favorite thing about the city wasn’t the great food, fine beer (Pilsner Urquell), or even the powerful absinthe; it was the city itself – its stunning architecture and Bohemian character. What makes Prague unique is that unlike most European cities, it was left pretty much intact during/after WWII because at the time Czechoslovakia was peacefully annexed to Germany, and then occupied by the Soviets at the end of the war. So most of the neo-classical, neo-gothic, baroque, art nuevo, and art deco architecture remains and has been thoughtfully renovated following years of Communist era neglect. The handful of concrete slab boxy eyesores act as a somber reminder of the years behind the Iron Curtain.
We were pretty surprised by how Jewish Prague was pre-WWII – Jews made up a third of the city’s population, the other two thirds were Czechs and German. Jews had a very long and interesting history in Prague which I won’t go into detail on here. Luckily many of the old Synagogues survived, including one that dates back to the 14th century – something that you won’t see in most of Europe. The Jewish cemetery also survived intact (w/ graves dating back to 1300’s), as well as the medieval Josefov ghetto… but unfortunately most of its inhabitants didn’t. The Jewish population in Prague today is only about 7 thousand.
Our last day in Prague was the coolest one. We walked all over the place – over the bridge in the north and up the steps to the giant metronome (which replaced a statue of Stalin, and around the huge Castle to the opposite hilltop and all the way up the winding steps of Petrin Tower (a copy of Eifel Tower). After checking out a video exhibit of Shanghai-inspired images at Futura Gallery (in Smichov), we walked all the way back over the Charles Bridge to the Center to finish the day with more beer and great food.
