Weekend in Prague

The 3 people I asked whether we should visit Prague or Budapest, including an American (member of the Women’s Club) now living in Zurich who had lived in Budapest for 4 years, all recommended Prague. I’m glad we followed their advice. Night trains (without dining cars) to and from, with little sleep for me, did nothing to lessen our enjoyment. We enjoyed 2 Prague Walking Tours with a 64 year-old Czech Republic native. He spoke with an accent which forced us to listen closely and miss a few things now and again, but he knew Prague well and was proud to share the history of his country and his life. He showed us a picture of himself as a happy, healthy and robust toddler dressed in white sitting on a Russian tank. The Czech Republic provided much of the German industrial strength and agriculture during WWII and didn’t suffer as much of the rest of war-torn Europe. Despite numerous religious based wars, persecution at one time or another of the Catholics, Protestants and Jews, the city is dominated by so many churches. Only a few of the churches have space around them, so we just would walk down a street, and happen to see a church – or really have to search for it. We heard the Czech Philharmonic in the wonderful Rudolfinum and a quartet in a library. We walked miles and only on the last afternoon did I get a sense of the place. Before that I would head for the river no matter where we were going. We enjoyed staying in a spacious and quiet attic room at the Cloister Inn, near Jan Hus chapel. The inn had been a cloister and was used by the secret police during the time of the Communists in power and we chose it because Larry had been a member of the Cloister Inn, an eating club at Princeton. Larry enjoyed sampling a number of different beers and we had a great late lunch Saturday at a small restaurant recommended by another Women’s Club member which was located down a corridor between two other restaurants on a side road in Little Quarter. Interesting tidbit – in the 50’s all the cobblestone streets and sidewalks were paved over, but the Czechs have restored the cobblestones.