For winter break, my roommate Brie and I decided to spend five days in Prague. Prague was one of the cities I was most excited for – having heard so many good things about it – and Prague did not disappointment me. I loved my little Prague! And so did Brie.

Upon arriving in Prague, Brie and I had a little trouble trying to get from the airport to our hostel. We were supposed to take a bus to the metro station – which was actually a really simple straight shot – but we accidently got off of our bus too early in the middle of nowhere in an area that looked more like a prison. We freaked out for a couple of minutes (remembering that Czech Republic used to be communist) and then proceeded to hop on the next bus that came by and took it all the way to the metro station. The metros in Prague were cute, looking almost like the trollies in San Francisco. They were also very convenient considering that there was no ticket machine at the metro entry. You just hopped on like it was a bus, so we never spent a dime (or a crown I should say) on the metro the whole trip. Sorry Prague, but you got our money in other ways. After settling in our hostel, Brie and I went to go explore the Prague Castle, which was in close proximity.

Prague Castle was up high, overlooking the city, so when we reached the castle we came across the most amazing view, serving as a perfect welcome to Prague. After obsessively taking photos, we walked through the castle gates, which were guarded by uniformed men on either side. I didn’t realize how large the castle was, which had its very own cathedral within it, St. Vitus Cathedral. The cathedral represented gothic architecture, featuring spires and an ornate facade. The back of it was the most interesting part of all, and looked beautiful framed by the sunset sky.

When Brie and I reached the exit of the castle, we were presented with another beautiful view of the city and found a little food hut. At the food hut we discovered the best invention to be made, which would be my signature drink for the rest of the trip: hot wine. Not only did it taste delicious, but it warmed us up instantly (it gets pretty chilly in Prague). Having arrived in Prague later in the afternoon, we watched the city below turn pink, then walked back to our hostel to figure out dinner plans.

The next day, we decided to take advantage of one of the free tours that are offered in Prague. We started out our tour in Old Town where we were able to see the Astronomical Clock. The Astronomical Clock in Prague is one of the oldest in the world, and there are legends that go along with it. One of the legends we were told was that the man who engineered the clock, Master Hanus, was blinded so he could never make another one as beautiful as the one in Prague. For revenge, Master Hanus took a pupil of his and had him stop the clock. It took over a century to get the clock functioning again.

While we had a nice, enthusiastic tour guide (who was actually from Scotland), we realized that our tour was going at too of a slow of a pace and sneaked away to go find lunch. For lunch I decided to try goulash, which is one of Prague’s signature dishes. It’s just soup with some kind of meat in it and potatoes – not too exciting. But don’t be disappointed. Prague actually has some of the best foods I’ve yet to eat.

After lunch, Brie went to rest back at our hostel while I decided to be a solo adventurist. On the way back towards our hostel, we found the Charles Bridge, which is the most beautiful bridge in Prague. Multiple statues are stationed along the edge of the bridge, and a beautiful tower serves as the entrance from Old Town to the bridge. Charles Bridge was crowded with people and venders, and the sun was out, lighting up a gorgeous view of the city on the Vltava River.

While Brie headed towards the hostel, I discovered a set of stairs that led me from the Charles Bridge down to a little town square where food huts were set up, bands played, and one huge cooked pig hung in the center. Turns out Carnevale was being celebrated in Prague at the time we were visiting. Carnevale is similar to Mardi Gras (since it is celebrated before Lent), but in a way it’s like Halloween in that everyone dresses up. Walking through the town square, people were wearing costumes, masks, or face paint. The food huts carried mouth-watering local food, which tempted me to drop all my money on the spot. But I decided to come back for dinner and went on to explore Prague, starting with the Dancing House.

The Dancing House is the newest building in Prague, having been built on a piece of property that was destroyed from being bombed in 1945. The building was controversial among the civilians of Prague because of its unique architectural style,  making it stand out among the rest of Prague’s historical buildings. It was the only modern piece of architecture within this old city. But even so, the building is well known and holds art exhibitions throughout the year.

After my visit to the Dancing House I decided to wander to these stairs I spotted earlier in the day. The stairs ended up bringing me to a path through the park on Petrin Hill. The path winds up the hill to the Observation Tower at the very top, which overlooks the entire city, which is even higher up than the Prague Castle. I didn’t go up the Observation Tower, but I did in fact make it to the very top of the steep hill, not even knowing what I would find at the top. What I did find were beautiful views of the city below, so I didn’t even need to spend the extra crowns to go to the top of the tower (which is interestingly a miniature version of the Eiffel Tower).

After my little solo adventure, I grabbed Brie and took her to the town square I found earlier with all of the food. I told her that’s where we would find dinner. It was my best decision in Prague. In huge pans various kinds of potatoes were served with bacon, sauerkraut and different sauces. They were so good that I went back for more. Prague is also known for its sausages which were cooked right in front of you. Of course my favorite hot wine was served everywhere as well. They even served honey hot wine, which was better. Lastly, Brie and I discovered these amazing cinnamon rolls, which were literally rolled on sticks over a fire and then rolled into a tray of cinnamon and almonds. We watched as they were freshly made every time. They were by far the best cinnamon rolls I’ve ever had. The next day I also discovered that cheese was another speciality in Prague, so I helped myself to a mini platter of cheese from a food stand in Old Town. Everything was so good, I’m sure I developed a food baby during my trip.

Our last two days of our trip we spent learning about the history of Czech Republic. We visited the Museum of Communism, which opened my eyes to how lucky I am to live in a country that gives power to the people. I had the opportunity to understand communism better, having watched videos and seen copies of the propaganda that was used in Czech Republic while under communism. It was truly amazing to see how hard the Czech fought to regain their freedom.

We also took a day tour to visit the concentration camp, Terezín, which lies outside of Prague. This particular concentration camp was unique. Terezín served as a place for Nazis to create propaganda in order to convince outsiders that rumors of killing people in camps were not true. When the Red Cross came to inspect the concentration camp, the Nazis “beautified” Terezín to create an image of a little town where the Jewish were happy and safe in a secluded home set aside for them, when in reality they were all starving, laboring, sick, and being sent to nearby death camps. They even made a propagational film of the concentration camp and chose the healthiest looking children to star in it. Never before had I known that a concentration camp like Terezín had existed.

Brie and I ended our trip by visiting the John Lennon Wall. This wall lies within the city of Prague and serves as a historical landmark. While under communism, Czech citizens wrote on the wall about their unhappiness about the government, making it a space for political statements and freedom of speech. Today, people from all over the world come to the wall to write about love and peace, or even just come to write their name on it (which is what I did).

Since it was our winter break, Brie and I decided to treat ourselves to one of the various river cruises offered. We went with the jazz cruise at night, where we sipped on our glasses of wine while enjoying soothing music and watching the lights of the city pass by. The river cruise isn’t necessary to see the city, but it is a wonderful way to gain a perspective of the city from the river. Otherwise, Prague is small enough to see within two days just from walking. That’s what I did! Saying goodbye to Prague was sad but I knew I had seen it all. I was ready for the next destination.