Prague Trip

So on Thursday we took a class trip to Prague in the Czeck Republic. We all hopped on a rented Mercedes bus and drove about 5 hours through the beautiful German and Czech country-side. We followed the Elbe River in a South Eastern direction to Prague. Upon arrival we settled into our youth-hostel and then hit the streets. We immediately began exploring the city. We noticed that the Easter market was on the square so experiencing that was fun. It had many small booths with vendors offering many things; crepes, paintings, hand-made souvenirs, and much more. There was traditional music being played and it seemed to be a very festive site.
The next day we took a 6 hour walking tour of the city and learned about much of the great history of Prague. I have a particular interest in the Religious culture/history of old cities and Prague has a lot. We learned about a Priest in the 15th century named Johannes Hus. He was burned at the steak for speaking out against the Catholic Church. In this time many people were poor but still had to pay for repentances and forgiveness. He, obviously, did not agree with this and they burned him. Many people were followers of him and after his death they referred tot themselves as "Hussites". In the market square stands a statue of him. This all happened about 100 years before Martin Luther and the Protestant reformation, but this was a similar struggle with he Catholic church Martin Luther had.
So on this 6 hour tour we saw most of Historical Prague; town hall, Charles Bridge, the Church of our Lady, the Jewish Ghetto, The castle, etc.
Town hall has a really cool old clock. It not only shows the time, but it has the astrological signs and all that stuff. It is actually a little difficult to read because it is so complex. And in the time it was built the people believed that everything revolved around the earth so the earth is in the middle and everything spins around it. Also below the clock is a circle with different Catholic saint names. Everyday a new saint is celebrated or remembered. There are so many names!
On Friday we attended the Prague Opera. This was favorite thing we did in Prague. I absolutely love the opera. We saw Verdi's Nabucco. Although it is not the most interesting Opera on the planet I still enjoyed it. It was Lars' first opera to attend and I think he liked it. (Lars is my German boyfriend and he got to come to Prague with us).
Then we drove home on Monday. So all in all it was a nice stay in Prague. If you want to travel for relatively cheap consider Prague.
I love you all! Stay tuned for more adventures!
love love love
Michelle