We got to Prague
around 4pm on the 3rd of January and although we struggled with the
language (not many people speak English here), found it really easy to
get from the airport to our accommodation. We had booked a place to stay
before our trip for NZ$60 a night and were happy to find a modern
apartment when we arrived. We decided to check out the city the next day
then go on a day trip somewhere if we had time the following day.
The underground tube system here is very good (and cheap) so we made
good use when we went to look around the city on our first day. We
started at the Old Town Square then headed over the river where we got a
good view of Charles Bridge before catching the funicular up the Mala
Strana. We got an even better view of the city when we climbed the
Petrin tower (an old communist radio tower) at the top of Mala Strana -
well worth the climb! By now it was a nice sunny day and the view down
to the castle and across the river was stunning. Prague is a nice
looking city with all the terracotta roofed old style buildings, the blue tops of the many synagogues, the
river going through the middle and Charles Bridge make it look even
better!Stunning city of Prague |
John Lennon Wall - Prague |
Haylee had the idea of heading to see a bone cathedral (which she had read about) in a town about an hour out of Prague. We didn’t have a plan at all and headed to the train station which was a bit challenging as no one understood English. We managed to get a return trip to Hutna Kora for around NZ$8 each. Once we arrived at the station it was a 10 minute walk to one of the weirdest places I have ever been to, a Cathedral with stacks of human bones inside. Apparently the area was a very popular place to be buried back in the day, due to there being soil from Jerusalem on the site. When the plague hit and over 40,000 people needed to be buried, there was not enough room. So some crazy monks decided it would be a good idea to stack the bones up in neat piles and make things out of them (like a chandelier and family crest). This place is so unusual and definitely worth a visit if you go to Prague.
We walked down to the town after to have a look around and get some lunch, but found not much going on. We didn’t see one local at all and when we finally managed to find a pizza place that was open (to get some lunch), we were told that everyone was on holiday. Thats about all we found out.Was a bit weird - especially how there was a church with 40,000 skulls in it just down the road!
After catching the 3pm train back to Prague, we decided to walk around the Christmas markets and use up our spare Krona before we headed home in the morning. We spent a bit of time here drinking honey mead and mulled wine, and buying a couple of souvenirs. On the way home we got a 1 litre of Pilsner from the supermarket for NZ$2 to enjoy back at the apartment - ready for our flight home in the morning.
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