What's better than 21st birthdays, you ask? How about 21st birthdays in Prague, Czech Republic?!
Yeah, that's what I thought.
Not only am I the luckiest girl in the world for getting to spend a year of my life "studying" in Italy, but I also now have Europe at my beck and call: something I'm not entirely used to. I honestly have no clue why I decided to go to Prague for my birthday weekend...I think it was because I wanted to go somewhere that not a lot of my peers were going. Everyone and their mom has been to Germany, France or London. While all of those places are fantastic in their own way, I definitely wanted to go somewhere a little less obvious. And so somehow I ended up on a street in Prague, staring at a bunch of crowns and a map and deciding where to go first. Amazing.
Appropriately, I have comprised a "Czech List" of all the things that I did and saw that are worth mentioning (I don't think the Czech jokes will ever stop).
1. Eat Czech food
I'm not entirely sure what defines Czech food, all I know is that whatever was on the menu I couldn't even attempt to pronounce (what's with all the accent marks?) and it was fantastic. Our first meal consisted of a bowl of potatoes, ham, chicken, cheese and cream sauce. Heaven on earth for this Irish girl? Heck yes. Italia just doesn't do potatoes right.
2. Climb Petrin Hill
Czechs take their parks seriously: they were literally around every corner and were well groomed and had fantastic benches to just sit and people watch, which most people did. Petrin Hill is part of a giant park in Little Quarter, and is quite steep in some parts, as I discovered when I attempted to climb part of the unpaved hill. Loose dirt and bad tennis shoes do not bode well for this adventurer. Also, we succeeded in getting lost while looking for the Mirror Maze (we eventually found it but it was closed--bummer) but the views of the city at sunset were worth it.
3. See the show at the Astronomical Clock Tower
We saw this "show" 4 times, and each time I wondered why the heck there was so much hype about it. It must be because it's been going on forever. Literally hundreds of tourists wait for the clock to strike the hour, cameras poised. The show is simple: a skeleton rings a bell signifying that the time of death is upon us, figures below and around the clock shake their heads "no" while figures of the 12 Apostles rotate through 2 open windows above the clock. Then, the doors on the windows shut and a guy at the top of the tower plays a little tune on his trumpet, waving at the crowd when he finishes. Not a lot of pizzaz. I suppose it becomes more impressive if you think about how many times that has happened since the clock was constructed in 1338. How many? I hate math, but let's just say a lot.
4. Explore Prague Castle
Perched perfectly atop a hill in view of the entire city sits Prague Castle: the largest castle in Europe. I absolutely believe this factoid because in one of its many courtyards there exists what I believe may be the most fantastic and impressive piece of architecture I have seen with my own eyes: St. Vitus's Cathedral. Additionally, it had amazing Czech-ered sidewalks and courtyards that were easy to walk on, unlike the awkward cobblestones one finds in Italy.
5. Gawk at St. Vitus's Cathedral
It deserves it's own bullet on The Czech List. This Cathedral took my breath away: it is dominating, spectacular and has gargoyles. I think only my siblings can possibly understand why I loved the gargoyles so much, but let's just say it legitimized my childhood afternoons spent on the green chair watching Gargoyles the TV show. No, but really, google image this place because the pictures I took just aren't good enough.
These are but a few of the amazing, mind blowing things I saw and experienced in what has now become one of my favorite cities. Prague is clean, elegant, and classy. The Czech Republic was my second European country and it was wonderful to see it in contrast to Italy. I honestly cannot think of a better way I could have spent my birthday weekend. I definitely recommend Prague to anyone who has an inkling to go: you should definitely Czech it out.
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