Brendan Doms

We arrived in Prague midday, coming in on a morning train from Berlin. That ride took about four and a half hours, which is the same time it takes for Amtrak to get from Chicago to Ann Arbor.

Our first impression of Prague was inside the train station, attempting to get on the metro. Of course, there were no actual humans working at the metro station, so we had to decipher everything from the poorly translated ticket machines. Turns out tickets could only be bought in cash, and obviously, the Czech Republic is not on the Euro. Add to that the fact that there were several people aggressively asking for money we didn't have and it started to feel uncomfortable. Inevitably the ATM only spit out huge denominations, so we had to buy some small item from a convenience store to get change and listen to the cashier complain about the size of the bill we were pawning off on them and beg for us to pay some other way. I was relieved to finally pass through the turnstiles and descend into the underground.

When we emerged from the subway into the Prague city center it was a breath of fresh air. A light, warm rain was pitter-pattering on the cobblestones under a white sky. It was an environment that would remain more or less consistent for the duration of our stay.

The Prague Old Town Square has that idyllic European quality to it: vendors and street artists vie for attention amidst historic buildings.

Meandering through streets devoid of both car and foot traffic, I was wondering if all the people were staying out of the rain, or if this part of town was deserted. But when we came upon the famous Charles Bridge and turned onto the big street extending from it, all that changed. This was the rich, touristy part of town. Everyone seemed to be smiling and just happy to be alive. In contrast to the weather, it was a sunny atmosphere.

A view of the Charles Bridge from across the water, with the Petřín Lookout Tower lit up on top of the hill.

We dropped off our bags at the hostel and joined a walking tour that was just starting. The young guide told us that the rain was normal, and showed us the high water marks on the sides of the buildings, some of which were many feet above my head. He also pointed out thick black bars lining the streets and sidewalks, explaining that they were walls sunken into the ground. City officials had keys to unlock them, so they could be pulled up to create immediate defenses against flash flooding.

He told us stories of floods past, when animals would use the rising water to escape the zoo. He said that the Czech people would cheer them on, as they saw in the animals a mirror of their past selves trying to escape communism. It was a sentiment I had never traveled far enough to encounter before, but it would continue to be echoed throughout the rest of my trip in Eastern Europe. As we walked around Prague the guide showed us statues and memorials to all of those who had died fighting or trying to escape communism. It was a sobering reminder of our world's recent history.

After returning and seeing our room, which was on the top floor only accessible by a laborious staircase, we listened to the call of our stomachs and went in search of some grub. A recommendation from the hostel proprietor led us around the corner to a pub called The Lokál. It was simple fare: red cabbage, mashed potatoes, fried cheese, and duck, all washed down by the ever-pervasive-in-Prague Pilsner Urquell. I can't adequately describe how the flavors were just rich enough, the temperatures and textures so spot on, that it created one of my favorite food experiences of all time. I would've taken every meal there given the chance, but my sense of adventure and forcing variety from the local cuisine won over. Just barely. It was an excellent meal.

The beer, Pilsner Urquell, deserves its own paragraph. It comes from Pilsen, which is located in the Czech Republic, and given its popularity both there and abroad it definitely qualifies as their national beer. Coming from Pilsen, it is actually the first pilsner beer ever made, and gives that type of beer its name. Much like Guinness, the locals claim it is better in Prague than in the rest of the world because of how fresh it is off the tap. In this case, I have to agree. I've had it in the states before and never really took note of it, but in Prague it was creamy and smooth, with a flavorful character I couldn't remember ever getting from a bottle.

The rest of our time in Prague was quite touristy: we saw the famous astronomical clock, Old Town Square, Prague Castle, and even hiked to the top of the imitation Eiffel Tower. It was a fun, delicious city, with clouds that could dampen streets, but never spirits.

Prague Castle lit up at night from across the Vltava River, dominated by St. Vitus Cathedral, which sits in its center, and has some of the most impressive stained glass windows I've ever seen.

This is a view of Prague from the highest point in the city: the very top of the Petřín Lookout Tower, which is often called a miniature Eiffel Tower.

UPDATE: Just a few days after I left Prague the city actually did flood, and some animals did try to escape from the zoo, just like that tour guide had told us. There were tens of thousands of people that were evacuated. It's obviously not something new to the city, but it's still sad. You can read more about those events on Wikipedia or do an image search to see what it looked like.