The next morning we headed off to the Old Town Square, the meeting point for our free walking tour. Upon meeting up with our guide and group we discovered that the walking tour was not in fact free, it is based on a tipping system, you pay what you believe it is worth. The walking tour started and took us on a 2 hours journey through the Old Town and then on through the Jewish Quarter. Aside from the interesting history and fun facts about the buildings in Prague’s Old Town, the piece of information that stood out to us the most was the disturbing reason why the old Jewish Quarter in Prague is so well preserved. This was because Hitler had ordered its preservation during the war as he planned on using this area as a museum of the Jewish race once they were exterminated. Facts like these really stun you and make you realise just how truly deluded and psychopathic Hitler actually was.
I have always been fascinated by the history of WW2, so after the completion of our walking tour I found I still had a longing to learn more about the role that Prague and the Czech Republic played in the war. With this in mind I again turned to google and came across another walking tour on this exact subject. This one was not a ‘free’ tour like the one above, however, after discovering that, like myself, Trent was also keen to learn more we decided to book ourselves in for the tour the next day and continue on from what we had just learned.
After our Old Town walking tour ended we grabbed some lunch and then headed back to a couple of the Cathedrals & Museums that were pointed out during the walking tour. After this we headed back to the River to hire a paddle boat. We had noticed hordes of people using these the day before and thought it would be quite a pleasant way to watch the sunset. Peddling the boat around the river very peaceful and offered excellent views of the city. If you’re planning a trip to Prague definitely put this on your to do list, it is a great way to break up the stress of sightseeing, and at only $15nzd per hour it’s also not going to break the bank!
The next day our WW2 walking tour not until 2pm, we had a bit of free time in the morning. We decided to use this to check out the local markets nearby our apartment. These markets were huge, they were spread out over multiple warehouses in a large yard. There was all sorts for sale, one of the warehouses was dedicated solely to fresh produce. However, since we didn’t need any fruit or vegetables or imported Chinese goods, we didn’t really get much out of the markets other than killing time.
After our visit to the market it was time to head towards the Powder Gate, the meeting point for our WW2 walking tour. Just shy of the Powder Gate we stumbled upon a little food market that proved to be much more prosperous than the earlier one. We came across a stall selling Raclette cheese with potatoes and chorizo, this is the one where they melt the top of an enormous roll of the cheese then scrape it all over the potatoes and chorizo. Yes, it was as just good as it sounds! We also couldn’t go past a good old spicy bratwurst sausage.
Well-fed and ready to learn we met up with our tour guide Jacob and the rest of the group. Jacob was a local who you could tell was very passionate about the history of the Czech Republic, and, as we later found out, beer! He had a folder filled with maps and historical pictures that he would display during the tour which made it a bit more interactive than our previous tour. Jacob’s level of knowledge of the events leading up to, during, and after the war was amazing, and we both fascinated by the information he provided throughout. On top of this we even got exclusive access to the tunnels and rooms under the Astromomical Clock in the Old Town Square which was worth it in itself. This wasn’t a free walking tour and cost a little more, it was 600 Czech Crowns each ($40nzd), but it is totally worth it if you are interested in history and WW2.
At the end of the tour Jacob announced that, besides running a very informative tour, he also worked in a craft beer bar that he reckoned had the best selection in town. After a long hot day in the sun we were both dying for a cold drink and Trent is always keen to try new beers, so it didn’t take us long to decide that the bar sounded like a good idea! What started out as one drink turned into quite few, in fact we were there so long that Jacob finished his shift and came to our table to join us for a couple of drinks later in the night. We got talking and learned even more about the Czech Republic’s history than what he mentioned during the tour. We also mentioned that we were planning a day trip to the Village of Kutna Hora the next day and he provided us with some great local knowledge on transport and what to see and do there. Finally fill to the brim with knowledge (and alcohol) we made our way back to the apartment excited for tomorrow’s adventure.
TWO TRAVEL AS ONE 