When we arrived in Prague, the sun was shining and there wasn’t a cloud in the sky!
It was the perfect day for a paddle boat ride on the Slovansky Island River and we began to bond and learn more about our group members. As we explored this beautiful city, we were blown away by its unique architecture and its gothic renaissance feel.
The beauty didn’t end there. On day two we made our way through the bustling pedestrian streets in the center of Prague to Staré Mesto (the Old Square) where we were able to explore and grab lunch. Most of our trip members went off to try Trdelniks, a popular Czech dessert. These pastries are so famous that there were dozens of stands on every street selling them, enticing us with the smell of cinnamon and fresh out of the oven sweetness. Definitely a yummy treat for our birthday girl Sarah!
We walked across the cobblestone bridges and admired the city’s rich history, grand statues and lively street music. We made our way up to Castle Hill to see the Prague Castle where our guide explained that the Castle was once home to used to four Royal Families and today, it is used for the Czech government.
We explored the Castle’s beautiful gardens, vineyards, and stunning views of the city. Looking out at all of the red rooftops below from the Castle hilltop was definitely a sight to see and a fantastic photo-op! Our tour ended at the John Lennon Wall where we learned that people began to write and graffiti messages inspired by John Lennon and the Beatles in the 1980s. We learned that the point of the wall was to write messages of love and peace such as “imagine” and “all you need is love”. We all added our own love and peace quotes to the historic wall.
The day continued with a traditional Czech cooking class where we prepared a four-course meal. Everyone helped out with the preparations including cutting the meat for the beef goulash, the veggies, and potatoes for the soup, and strawberries, and prepared the batter for the cake. The best part of the whole experience was tasting everything, and singing happy birthday to Sarah with our delicious cake, ice cream, and candles!
The next day, our tour of Prague continued as we visited Old Prague, New Prague and the Jewish Quarter. The buildings were so colorful and even spotted a few pink ones!
We also learned about the importance of the Jewish culture in Prague and how difficult it was for them to live here before and after the Second World War. The learning continued with our trip to the Terezin Concentration Camp where we learned even more about the war and the way the Jewish people were treated in Prague.
After a debrief and meaningful reflection, our day continued as we wandered back into the Old Town for a lovely patio dinner for our last night in Prague.
We ended our night with bowling. Some trip members got a strike while many others got spares, and even more impressively, they did so while doing fun challenges such as bowling between each others’ legs, spinning in circles before rolling the bowl or rolling with their left hands.
Our time in Prague has been amazing, and we are all very excited to continue our adventures in Vienna!
Until next time,
The Westcoast Blogger
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