Prague!

 May 23, 2011

I spent the past weekend in Prague with some of the other people on our trip.  I was really looking forward to going because I know several other people who have gone and absolutely loved it.  Unfortunately, I think I set my expectations a little too high.  Don’t get me wrong.  Overall, I enjoyed this weekend, but it wasn’t quite what I was expecting.  One of the reasons why I really wanted to go was because I thought it would allow me to get a glimpse of Eastern European culture for the first time.  In some ways, I was able to when we visited Prague Castle and some other historical sights, but the rest of the city was very commercialized.  I knew it wasn’t going to be quite what I expected when we arrived at the hostel.  The manager who checked us in immediately gave us a spiel.  Here’s where you should go to eat, here’s where you should party, and here’s the sights you should go see.  The next morning, we headed out to see two of the big sites in Prague: the castle, and the Charles bridge.   Both were beautiful and interesting, but there were so many tourists everywhere!  On our way back from the castle, we had trouble crossing the bridge because there were so many people on it.  This was no footbridge either.  It was big enough to have cars traveling in both directions on it.  The second day we went to an old citadel, which was a little more peaceful.  There was a small cemetery with intricate headstones and huge memorials.  Afterwards, we did a little souvenir and gift shopping.  This morning, I woke up early to see the sunrise over Charles Bridge.  Unfortunately, it was a little overcast, but it was wonderful to be able to enjoy the bridge with only four or five other people.  Even though it wasn’t what I was expecting, I had a great time.  My recommendation to anyone who wants to visit Prague: Sightsee in the morning!