Wandering the Streets of Prague

After three days of train trips into the Czech countryside, I decided to stay in Prague and rest a bit. Don’t worry. This afternoon I climbed towers, trekked over bridges and ventured into a traditional restaurant for a hearty dinner.

I can hop on a tram just down the hill from my apartment at the Husinec station. It’s just one more stop to the main train station, Praha hlavní nádraží, where I go down stairs and ride the Metro. Prague’s system is simple, just three color-coded lines with three points of intersection.

It was a pleasant afternoon to wander the streets. The sun was warm but the air was cool and there’s been a welcome breeze. At the main square, I went to the top of the old town tower to have a look over the city’s rooftops.

Below, I could see workers gingerly hoisting something up over the scaffolding. Back at street level, I zoomed in and realized they’d wrapped a sculpture in a hooded jacket for protection. Removed for restoration, the workers were now carefully positioning it back on the facade of the tower.

I continued to wander the streets and headed north off the main square into Prague’s old Jewish quarter called Josefov. It was remarkably preserved. Later, I learned there was a dark reason for this.

Hitler planned to clear the country of Czechs and resettle Bohemia and Moravia with Germans. Of course the Jews were the first to go. But he ordered the Jewish quarter in Prague kept intact. He planned to have it made later into a museum for an extinct race.

I was ready for dinner and found a small Czech restaurant recommended by TripAdvisor. You seat yourself in Czech restaurants. If you put a coaster down on the table, they’ll bring you a beer immediately. Yes, prosím!

Czech food is very similar to German: straight from the farm and very filling. My dish was three meats with gravy, bread, potatoes and red sauerkraut.

I realized today that I’ve been getting by on a total of seven Czech words: ahoj (hello), prosím (please), děkuji (thank you), ano (yes), ne (no), dobrý den (good day) and, of course, pivo (beer).

That’s right, the Czech word for “hello” sounds like ahoy. And yes, it’s completely unnatural to say ah-no for “yes”.

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