Prague part 4: The Magical Cavern and Kafka

On our last full day in Prague we went on a picnic! Petrin park in the shadow of Prague castle is a popular venue for dog walkers and garden enthusiasts alike as it is the venue of the botanical gardens. 

Petrin Tower

Communism personified

The hunger wall

The main attraction is nevertheless the 'Petrin Tower' which was built in the image of the Eiffel Tower in Paris but if you ask me it looks a bit more like the Blackpool tower. 

An artist lives on Petrin hill and will invite tourists into his home to see the gallery of work. Reon's art is fantastically bizarre from women with the heads of unicorns to fiery caves reminiscent of Mordor. 

We first heard about the 'Magical Cavern' at Plus and I was not disappointed by the awe-inspiring gallery and totally unique experience. 

The artist Reon Argondian left Czechoslovakia at the time that communism was at its height and set up a similar groto like cavern in France where he made quite a name for himself. Sadly this building burnt down so Reon moved back to his home down where his new lavishly decorated gallery is quite the hippie retreat and has even been visited by Led Zeppelin. 

Tea drinking is a ritual that I am rather partial too and to my delight we stumbled across Dodra Cajovna: a traditional tea room where the the finest teas in the world (not just in China) are served in ceremonial style. I loved how cool and relaxed the tea house was as well as the fact that we were able to sit on cushions on the floor and drink our tea in the traditional way made popular by the Chinese and Japanese. 

Chocoffee is a popular cafe mentioned by trip advisor and bloggers a like so I was super excited to find this little cafe tucked off Narodni street. Serving quite possibly the best hot chocolate in Prague and really rather scrumptious cream horns Chocoffee is definitely worth a visit for chocoholics. 

Frank Kafka may be one the most famous Pragueians and his works such as Metamorphosis and The Castle are popular reads the world over. The Kafka museum depicts Kafka's somewhat tragic life as he wandered through life as what seems like 'a lost soul.' The author died tragically in 1922 of tuberculosis. 

The statue of two men peeing outside the museum is a well known landmark and attracts many tourists to have a good giggle.  

Prague Part 3: Jews and Oppression

Today was moving day as we upgraded our modest abode at Plus for the much more swanky Marriott. 

Ouky Douky was our breakfast stop for the well known 'ham and cheese on a fried egg' before we continued on with our journey. We dropped our bags off at our new abode before venturing off to the Jewish quarter. 

I have been told that one of the things that I must do whilst in Prague is visit the Jewish museum. The 'museum' is however not just one building but actually a collection of synagogues and exhibitions including the Pinsky synagogue whose walls have been covered with the names of Prague Jews who were killed during WWII. Even more harrowing is the exhibition upstairs which shows the  pictures and artwork of children who were taken away from their families at Trezerin concentration camp.  I'm sorry I think I might have something in my eye.... 

Lunch was to be taken in 'Nase Maso' a little butchers shop where you buy and eat your meat all in the same place! 

I had three different types of sausages whilst my mother had the special of the day ; pork belly. The pork was cooked to perfection.

Nase Maso is a unique experience that is ideal for meat lovers yet as it is only a very small space you should try to go outside of peak times. 

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Prague Part 2: Prague Castle and all that

'Stop wandering round like a lost kitten' my mother said to me today. Well I'm sorry but I think that we are a just a little bit lost!

Rewind to this morning where we started the day with a swim to ease my aching limbs (lol) and a trip to a local cafe/bakery for coffee and cake. Yes I did have cake for breakfast....I'm on holiday so I'm allowed 😜

Prague castle is often described as being a bit like being like a village (or should I say town) all of its own and seeing as we spent nearly six hours there I can't really argue about that one. 

There are different tiers of tickets available to buy with each allowing for access to more galleries and buildings depending on the price. We chose the most expensive option at 350czk which meant that we had entry to the main castle buildings, the cathedral, basilica, 'story of Prague castle exhibition, art gallery, (we didn't do this one though - sorry) Rosenberg Palace exhibition and the Golden City. 

I particularly enjoyed seeing the cute, colourful cottages of the Golden city which would have housed many of the tradesmen working at the castle such as the seamstresses, goldsmiths and herbalist. 

The amazing architectural feat of the cathedral was another highlight of our castle trip. Work on the building began in 1344 and it wasn't actually completed until 1929! I mean talk about a work in progress. 

Walking back down the hill from the castle fortress and also after getting a bit lost too we eventually reached the John Lennon wall. If you, like me are wondering what exactly is the link between John Lennon and Prague I can honestly say that I don't really know however  his beliefs in peace and love were like a ray of sunshine to the down trodden people of communist Prague and John Lennon was seen as something like a hero. 

When JL was shot in 1980 a single picture of a Lily was painted on a wall in Prague's lesser town; a flower that signifies peace. This sparked other artists to also contribute and soon the Lennon wall as we know today was born. 

We spent the evening aboard a river cruise but alas as we had chosen the one hour option the boat didn't take us much further than the Charles Bridge and we had pretty much already walked the route multiple times.  

When I was looking up 'places to go to' in Prague the Dancing House kept cropping up. An architectural marvel built in 1996 the Dancing House looks like it is literally doing just that; dancing. The building is now a hotel and I'm kicking myself that we didn't stay there. Drat 

Coffee and books go together hand in hand here in Prague, much to my delight and one such cafe is 'The Globe.' We came here in the evening and whilst it had more of a restaurant/pub feel it was a good place to rest our weary heads, browse the books and as this establishment is American, catch up with what is going on with the election. 

Prague Part 1 : Of Chinese Lanterns and String Quartets

This year for my mummy's birthday I decided to whisk her away on a city break to Prague....except it was her birthday in August and it's now November....so more like a belated birthday present really.

We set off early in anticipation of the adventures to come, so early in fact that I forgot to pack a notebook on which to write this here blog and even my EHIC card- bother.

Suitably stressed we arrived at the airport in time to cruise through security with the usual kerfuffle of taking off belts, coats, shoes etc. just to get dressed at the other end. And then my bag broke. *facepalm* Prague is a city renowned for pickpockets so I need to have all my wits about me and preferably a bag that works. 

In regards to getting around Prague, you have many public transport options including bus, metro or tram with cars being quite a rare sight, especially in the inner city. Indeed the old town is pretty much just pedestrianised. 

You can buy 30, 60 or 90 minters indeed a 24 of 72-hour ticket which is valid on any mode of public transport for that allotted time. My mother informs me that this system is also used in Verona and is quite effective. 

If you are travelling this way then you must validate your ticket which will then give you a time stamp so that you can count down how much time you have left on the clock. However, once you have validated your ticket once don't try and do it again as it will render your ticket useless.

We bought a 90-minute ticket at the airport and after using a bus, two metros and a tram finally arrived at our destination; Plus Prague. 

Readers of this blog may (or may not) know that I have stayed at the Plus hostel in Berlin- the first time I went there anyway and before that I stayed at the Plus in Florence. 

Plus have a variety of hostels around Europe and offer really quite cheap accommodation to backpackers and tourists alike. One of the things I most like about Plus is that the rooms are large and spacious and they even include a pool....the hostel that is not the room. 

After dumping our stuff in our room and getting some recommendations about where to eat from the guy at reception we set off bright eyed and bushy tailed ready to explore what the city had to offer...we returned a good few hours later with our tails between our legs and rather large blisters on our feet.......well I had the blisters anyway but I'm getting a bit ahead of myself. 

After twenty minutes of fruitlessly consulting the map, it was decided that we were definitely a bit lost. Whilst there should have been the river to our immediate right we found that there was actually a park....a park where lots of people were gathering...people with lanterns...people lighting lanterns.... 

*insert photographic interlude*

We walked and we walked and then we walked some more until we reached Charles Bridge; the most famous bridge in Prague. 

The Charles Bridge is flanked by watchtowers to either side and is home to many a statue. I have read that if you get a chance you should and go to see the Bridge at night when the statues are lit up so that's exactly what we did and it was beautiful. 

Clam-Gallas palace was the host for this evening's musical interlude which we stumbled upon quite by chance.  The string quartet played many classical favourites including Pacabel's Canon, Mozart, Strauss and the Czech composer A. Dvorak in the baroque hall which in its hay day might well have seen many similar recitals. Although I'm pretty sure that back in the 17th/18th centuries the audience would have been a lot better dressed than their modern counterparts in jumpers and jeans.