After departing from Leipzig we had
a brief delay in Dresden before proceeding on to arrive in Prague. I had a
fantastic time in the Czech Republic and it had a very different feel than
Germany. I think one of the highlights of this trip was being able to visit
such a wide variety of places.
In Prague, the aspect of the city’s
geography that most fascinated me was the placement and development of the
Nové
Butovice Panaláks. These communist era apartment buildings were constructed so
a large population of people could live in a concentrated area. The apartments
themselves are quite small, but all necessary services besides work are nearby
or in the same apartment building. This includes grocery stores, schools, and
plenty of green space outside the buildings. All residents were intended to be
a short walk away from the metro. Unlike in the United States, these complexes
do not have any negative associations and middle class families often reside in
them. I was struck by these complexes because they are so different than Old
Town Prague. Since Prague was not bombed during World War II many old buildings
still stand. The Panaláks
in Nové
Botovice offer a strong contrast to the much older feel of the city in general.
I was glad to have the opportunity to view a place where citizens of Prague
live outside of the Old Town area.
 |
| Village of Lidice |
My favorite academic experience was
our class trip out to the destroyed village of Lidice. Many of my fellow
students had no idea of what happened at Lidice although I had heard of it
before in my history classes. After the assassination of Reinhard Heydrich in
Prague, the occupying Nazis wanted to make an example to suppress any thoughts
of resistance to their control. Lidice was the small village that was decided
upon. The men were shot and the women and children were sent to concentration
camps. The Nazis then systematically destroyed each building to make it as if
the village of Lidice had never existed at all. For me the most powerful statue
was of the children of Lidice standing in a group. The sculptor managed to
capture the unique emotion of each child. Where the village once stood is a
well maintained field with the former locations of important buildings in the
village marked. These locations included the church and the school house. There
is a new small village located next to this site that developed after the war.
Visiting Lidice was a very powerful and emotional experience.
 |
| Statue of children at Lidice Site |
My favorite extra-curricular
experience was walking and shopping along the famous Charles Bridge. We went to
the Charles Bridge as part of our class, but it was still early when we arrived
and the street vendors had not yet begun to sell their goods. I returned much
later that evening with a small group and we walked the bridge, shopped, and
looked out at the beautiful view of Prague. It was very relaxing and enjoyable.
The goods available for purchase were all homemade and of good quality. The
prices were also reasonable. It was still crowded of course, as the Charles
Bridge is a major tourist area, but as long as I paid attention to my
belongings I felt secure. It was a lovely walk that was very much worth the
return visit to the bridge.
 |
| On the Charles Bridge |
As far as food recommendations for
Prague, I would suggest a visit to a small café near the Smetana House. This
café and house is just off the Charles Bridge. It is called Klub Lavka. This
was a small sit-down restaurant with a traditional Czech menu. The prices are
not unreasonable and it is right along the Danube, offering excellent views.
For the more adventurous food-lovers, this restaurant does serve pork knuckle,
a Czech specialty. I stuck to more familiar sounding dishes but one of my
companions tried the pork knuckle and quite enjoyed it. Whatever food you
choose, Klub Lavka had good service, was relatively quick, and offered us
blankets as the sun began to set. It was a lovely place for a meal.
I truly enjoyed my time in Prague
and there were so many other wonderful experiences I could document here. It is
so hard to pick favorite sights when we truly saw so much. Next time I will be
talking about my brief time in Brno.
References:
Památník
Lidice. “History of Lidice Village.” Accessed July 14, 2014.
http://www.lidice-memorial.cz/history_en.aspx.
Klub
Lávka. “Klub Lávka.” Accessed July 14, 2014.
http://www.lavka.cz/en/.
Ryan
Scott. “Cemented In: Prague’s Panalák Estates.” Accessed July 14, 2014.
http://www.expats.cz/prague/article/czech-culture/prague-panelaks/.
Picture References:
1.
Emily
Herkert. Charles Bridge from Bridge
Tower. June 8, 2014. Prague, Czech
Republic.
2.
Emily
Herkert. Nové Botovice. June 8, 2014.
Prague, Czech Republic.
3.
Emily
Herkert. The Remains of Lidice. June
7, 2014. Lidice, Czech Republic.
4.
Emily
Herkert. Children’s Statue: Lidice.
June 7, 2014. Lidice, Czech Republic.
5.
Emily
Herkert. On the Charles Bridge. June
5, 2014. Prague, Czech Republic.
