By Joan Hales
Wednesday, May 22, 2013
Today, we had a free day in Prague. It was our last day in the Czech Republic,
and we were given the opportunity to visit or revisit any part of Prague that we
so chose. My group decided to sleep in a little, and then do some
shopping. After breakfast, we walked to
the Charles Bridge to browse the selection of goods that were being sold by all
of the vendors. Not too long into the
shopping, it began to drizzle. We went
about our business unfazed by the slight rain, but then it began to pour. Most of the group wanted to walk briskly off
of the bridge to find shelter from the weather, while some of us wanted to
jog. As we regrouped underneath the
bridge, it was collectively decided that it was time to start to look for the Lennon
Wall. As we started to try to find the
wall, we realized that we were not completely sure where we were or where the
wall was. Instead of asking for
directions right away, we ended up wandering for a little bit until we realized
that we needed help. The directions that
we got from a woman in a souvenir shop were less than helpful, but eventually
we found the wall.
We ate lunch at a quaint little café just beyond the Charles
Bridge, and were able to enjoy the music of a street-performing guitarist
covering American songs. As we crossed
back over the Charles Bridge, we did some more shopping and a lot more
browsing. As we continued to walk
aimlessly through the city, we stumbled across an ice cream parlor. We ended up staying in the ice cream parlor
for about an hour enjoying the ice cream, avoiding the rain, and talking. An old man who was sitting by himself
actually clapped as we left the parlor, because we were being too loud for his
liking. However, no one seemed to like
this old man or have a problem with us, so we dismissed it and went on our way. From there, we went to the Jewish quarter to
do some more shopping. We ended up
talking about how commercialized the synagogues have become, since they charge people
to take pictures or don’t let anyone take any pictures at all to avoid losing a
sale of one of the pictures in their gift shops. It honestly shocked me how much money
tourists are willing to pay in addition to their admission fees. I also think that if a place says that it is
disrespectful to take photographs of their exhibitions, they should not sell
replicas of the pictures children of the holocaust have drawn to cope with
their experiences during those difficult times.
After revisiting the Jewish quarter, we went to an outdoor
farmer’s market. Seeing the fruits at the
market made people realize how hungry they had become, and we went to a
pizzeria for dinner. After dinner,
several of us went to an ice bar, where everything was made of ice from the
glasses to the walls and furniture. We had
heard that it was an interesting place to go, and were advised that we should
try it since we were in Prague. Even though
it took me personally a while to warm back up, it was so much fun. After we got back from the bar, we prepared
to go to the train station to depart for Krakow. Even though the sleeper cars on the train did
not look exactly like those from Harry Potter, we all enjoyed the experience.
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