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Prague by manu_cz
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National Day Celebration Party. Let’s do some sightseeing. Ana, Maria, Pilar and I leave early to see the city. We start in Wenceslas Square where there is a medieval theatre show, Braveheart style. When the knight in shining armour defeats his enemy and get the princess, we clap and go for a stroll in Old Town. There we step into toy stores crammed with Pinocchio and Harry Potter puppets, buy postcards, hang around in Staromestke Namesti with our eyes wide open before Tynn Church. And then we come in a bohemian cafe hidden in one of these labyrinthine narrow streets in Old Town. We have fried cheese, big beers and one hour-and-a-half session of Yann Tiersen. For me this means heaven. The place is called Literarni Kavarna Retezova. Ah, the most lovely waitress in Prague works here, I promise.
After lunch we cross Charles Bridge to the other side of the river where we run into Michal, a Czech boy who organizes activities for the Erasmus. Since he has nothing to do, he offers to show us some interesting places. First we go to his faculty. "Faculty of Mathematics! Take out your calculators, girls." We look out of the WC’s windows. Wow. Dream-like views. Prague is so amazing… Terrific sights even through the toilets’ windows in the Faculty of Maths!! We make our way up Hradcany, visit the Castle, St Vitus Church, and Golden Lane. Kafka lived here. In fact, a metal plaque hanging from a streetlamp with the inscription of the writer’s name cut in it is the first thing you see when approaching the street. Now it’s exactly sunset, so the light comes on just when we are getting in the street. Kafka says hello. Like magic. The place is truly lovely: colourful little houses lined up (one is blue, the next red, then a yellow one…) in the left. "Houses for gnomes," according to Ana. Once you leave the street you can see an existencialist sculpture of a big, heavy skull upon a man at one side, and at the other side a vintage advert of a Barbie exhibition in the Toy Museum right next corner. Such contrast speaks volumes about Prague.
It’s night now. We have come out of St Vitus and stay in the terrace looking at the amazing night landscape of Prague. Petrin tower, gothic castles and art nouveau buildings gleam in orange tones. It’s truly spectacular. We take some hundreds pictures. "So Petrin Tower next?" It’s late, but it’s a nice night for a exhausting walk. Petrin Tower is in Mala Strana gardens, but before we stroll around Letna, take a look at Strahov Stadium, and have coffees in comfty small cafes hidden in dark streets. Mala Strana at night is like being a lost child in a fairy tale: a big, shiny, endless park. Finally we arrive in Petrin, this Eiffel Tower in miniature, and go down by funicular.
Golden moment? Hmm… We are in Charles Bridge. A lot of tourists hang around in ecstasy. The sky is bluer than ever; the panorama of the Vltava River, the Castle and the houses on the banks is absolutely breathtaking. A band of street musicians play a catchy New Orleans jazz tune. "So romantic… like being in a Hollywood movie," Maria says, looking blissfully at the landscape. "Yes. One feels like kissing somebody now."
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