Czeckin’ out Prague

I remember planning out the trips I’d be taking with my dad before I officially started school at CIMBA. We had many options, yet Prague did not make the final cut. So when the ladies — Kayla and Sam — and I found cheap(ish) flights to and from Prague, I was beyond excited. I have never heard a bad thing about Prague, only praise.

A couple days before we were to leave for Prague, I read the news and instantly felt distraught: “Lennon Wall Painted White”. I remember thinking, more so wishing, that this news site was not reputable and that it was a fake article. To my own disappointment, it definitely was not fake. The wall, which is years old and famous for speaking against communism, was painted white by a group of art students. The only thing left were three words: WALL IS OVER. Disappointment surged through me as I wallowed in the poor timing and my bad luck.

Although I was disappointed, I knew better than to remain sad about one aspect of the weekend. I remained positive about the beautiful city that we had the opportunity to visit! Soon enough we were wandering the main square as we looked for our hostel. My eyes darted from the church to the intricate clock tower and I knew that I was going to love this beautiful city.

Another walking tour to start the day allowed me to learn some history about the country. We had some confusion about which tour was hosted by our hostel and ended up getting on the wrong one… But we still very much enjoyed it. Learning about the history and enjoying something is always better than visiting somewhere and only appreciating the aesthetics. Shortly after the tour, I made the mistake of stepping into one of the many garnet jewelry stores. It was in this first store that I learned that garnet was from Prague… And from that moment, I knew my heart was set on getting another ring.

Surprisingly, the sun set sometime around four, which took away a huge chunk of our designated sight seeing time. Luckily, just before the sun was fully set we strolled along the Charles Bridge. Not only was the bridge covered with vendors selling the usual paintings, jewelry, etc., it was also the bridge that led us to the Lennon Wall. I’m not sure what I expected, but I knew that something must have been there. And as we turned the corner where the wall was we saw a crowd of people, some holding spray paint cans and some actively shooting pictures.

This was it. The wall was not white. Within days of learning that the wall had been covered in white paint, people had already come back to return the wall to what it once was. And there right in the center of the half white half colored wall, were the words “WAR IS OVER”. The difference of one new letter was significant. We were witnessing history in the making, and to me that was incredible. Since it was dark most of the time that we were at the wall, we vowed to return in the morning to see it in its full essence. 

Soon after leaving the wall, we wandered the streets of the city… And I stopped in numerous garnet stores before I found the one. I’m still being caught gazing down at it in awe. Later that night, we decided to join in on the famous Prague Pub Crawl. The most interesting stop was the Ice Pub, where we were decked out in giant insulated poncho-like jackets. I never imagined I’d experience a real ice pub… And it was really COOL!

As vowed, in the morning we headed back to see the Lennon Wall. We arrived to see artists painting new masterpieces and I couldn’t believe that there was such a significant change… A whole new Imagine peace sign, a pair of wings, a yellow submarine. The list could go on, but I’ll let you visit the wall to see for yourself!

After a quick stop at a local bagel shop (yum, who knew I would miss bagels so much?!)… we were headed back to PdG after another successful weekend. Prague is pretty cool, and somewhere I’d definitely come back to explore some day.

Ciao,
Natalie