FALL SKETCH TRIP Part 2: Prague, Czech Republic

View of the Prague Castle from the Charles Bridge

On the Morning of Tuesday October 26th, all eight of us got up early for the 5 hour train ride from Berlin to Prague.  I'm glad I managed to stay awake, because it was without a doubt one of the most beautiful trips I have ever made in my life.  As our train wound its way through valleys in the mountainous Saxony region of Germany, the views couldn't have been more picturesque: colorful autumn forests were reflected in wide, winding rivers, and perched atop hills were occasional medieval castle ruins.  We arrived at Prague's main station and wandered through the city to find our hostel.

The Dancing House

Capital of the Czech Republic, which has a long and shaky history, Prague is undeservingly overlooked by many American tourists.  It is certainly THE MOST BEAUTIFUL city that I have yet seen in Europe; it is calm, quiet, colorful, and filled to the brim with fairy-tale sights.  After settling into our hostel, the Mosaic House -- which, by the way, is the fanciest and cheapest hostel you will ever see -- we decided to explore the city by foot for a while.  We walked along the river and admired the Prague Castle from afar, along with the pretty buildings lining the streets and Frank Gehry's bizarre Dancing House.

That night was my friend Allie's 21st birthday, so we took her out to a good vegetarian restaurant and then this famous 5-story dance club right in the center of town.  Luckily, another group of 7 of our friends happened to be in Prague that night too, so we all got to meet up and dominate the dance floors.  (The Czech kids were astonished that we actually understood the words to all the American songs being played!)  Having exhausted ALL of our energy by the end of that night, we slept in until it was time for the free tour the next day.  The tour was fun and informative (we went with the same company) and we got to see main sights like the Old Town Square, the Charles Bridge, and the Jewish Quarter with some Franz Kafka memorials.  We wanted to get a good view of the city after that, so we began our trek up Prague's giant hill/mountain.  After a long time climbing up some beautiful streets, and then an even longer time trying to take "shortcuts" off the path on the treacherous hillside, we finally got up to the Petrin Tower.  It looks like a mini Eiffel Tower, and when we climbed up we got a fantastic view of the city, the river, and the castle below us.  We split up during the late afternoon to sketch, so I went back to the Old Town Square to do one of my required analytical studies.

Tyn Cathedral on the Old Town Square

Hussite Church on the Old Town Square

View onto an ascending street from the Charles Bridge

View from the Spree River running throughout Prague

One of my sketches: a Prague map, a plan of the Old Town Square, and an axonometric view

We went to a great Thai dinner that evening and then spent the night relaxing at the hostel.  Thursday, our last day, was jam-packed with everything we hadn't yet seen: we watched the Astronomical Clock chime, we saw a Baroque church with a human arm hanging from the ceiling (funny story to that one...),  we enjoyed some pastries from the central market, and finally, we visited the unmissable castle.  The evening was spent watching a hilarious old man scaring people on the street for fun -- a highlight of the trip, for sure -- followed by a traditional heavy Czech meal with some traditional Czech beer.  We stayed up late at the hotel, reminiscing about Prague's great sights and watching "Wedding Crashers" while waiting for our bus to arrive.  By 2:00 am, it was time to say goodbye to Prague and hello to the sketchiest part of the entire trip: our overnight bus ride from Prague to Auschwitz.

Typically awesome nighttime view of the Prague Castle