When I arrived in Prague, I had a strange sensation that I later identified as “tourist shock”. My mouth hung open as I observed the magnitude of the crowd at Old Town Square for the first time and wondered how the Charles Bridge could withstand the tourist masses. I quickly realized that my perception of “touristy” had been heavily skewed by the kind of places I’ve visited over the last few years. The backpacker-oriented destinations I’ve been to in Asia and Latin America really have nothing on summertime Prague.
While I was surprised, I could also easily see why so many people had flocked to the beautiful and historic city of Prague in the summer sun. I decided to get caught up in the tourist masses for a couple days and enjoyed it. I took a free walking tour with a huge group of people and unabashedly explored the city with my camera hanging from my neck. In the end I found few traps, but ultimately a tourist trail that was worth taking:
The west end of the Charles Bridge.
Underneath the Charles Bridge in Malá Strana, a historic neighborhood on the west bank of the Vltava river.
I’m not sure why, but marionettes are popular in Prague. Tourist shops are full of them.
Old Town Square.
I saw these huge crowds in Old Town Square twice before I found out what they were looking at. I was amused at all these people with their cameras held up high, waiting so intently for something to happen…
… And I was more amused when I later found out that they were look at this, the Prague Astronomical Clock. People get excited about it because every hour, on the hour, it like, does stuff. Some of the features, like the skeleton in the upper right corner, are animated. The clock itself is cool looking and an impressive 600 years old. But apparently, the animation part of it is so underwhelming that it’s earned spots on lists of most overrated attractions in Europe. That doesn’t stop people from wanting to see it for themselves.
A Franz Kafka memorial in the Jewish Quarter.
The Basilica of St. James is full of artistic detail inside and out, but that’s not what its known for. A legend tells us that a man once tried to steal a Virgin Mary statue from the church. But before he could finish his theft, the statue gripped his arm tightly and wouldn’t let go. The only option was to cut off his arm, and what is supposed to be the thief’s severed limb still hangs in the church today.
The Old Jewish Cemetery.
There are so many tombstones because when this cemetery was built, and for quite some time thereafter, Jews were discriminated against and given very limited space in Prague. This led to graves being layered on top of other graves, as many as twelve deep.
One of Prague’s most famous buildings, often referred to as the “Dancing House”. I wanted to like this building, but seeing it in person, in the context of the rest of the city, I just couldn’t
It’s clear that Prague is a city that focuses on tourism. These cleanup crews with extra large vacuum cleaners were everywhere the tourists were.
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