During the Christmas holidays I spent four days in Prague, the fascinating capital city of the Czech Republic.
On the first day I went to Charles Bridge, a historic bridge which
connects the Old Town and the New Town. After crossing that famous bridge I
took a walk in Mala Strana District; I went and saw John Lennon Wall
which is entirely covered in graffiti and lyrics from the Beatles' songs, and designs relating
to local and global causes; I loved it so much because it was the
meeting place for young local dissidents at the time of oppressive Communist Prague.
On the second day I woke up early to visit Prague Castle. It is huge and there are lots of things to see such us gorgeous buildings, churches and towers. It seems to be in a fairy-tale fortress indeed! At lunchtime I ate in a small square and it was very nice because there was music and typical Czech food. I really enjoyed walking along the Golden Lane, a picturesque alley full of small colourful houses which have now turned into shops.
Every evening I went out looking for a typical restaurant and
then I went for a walk in Old Town Square, where I loved to stop and admire
the Astronomical Tower and I waited and watched the Astronomical Clock to chime
the hour: in fact, every hour (from 9.00
a.m. to 11.00 p.m.), the procession of the Twelve Apostles sets in
motion - 12 apostles pass by the window above the astronomical dial
and symbolic sculptures move aside.
On the third day I visited the Ghetto with the various synagogues, the
Jewish Museum and the Old Jewish Cemetery. I was really impressed, I liked
discovering Jewish history, I liked the synagogues, but what struck me most was
the cemetery. The Jews were forced to live in the Ghetto, so even the cemetery
could not be enlarged. For this reason they would take mud from the river and
they continued to bury one above the other. Today the cemetery has up to eight layers of coffins one above the other and the height reached by the tombstones
is equivalent to the third floor of the neighbouring buildings. Those headstones carved in Hebrew represent centuries of history that has been preserved.
That evening I
had a “Mysterium Tour” of the city. The guide had a long cloak and
a lantern and accompanied us through the narrow streets of Prague telling us
about the mysterious legends of the city. The legend that I liked
the most was about plague. It was the legend of a man who, on a winter’s night,
knocked at the door of Agatha’s inn. Agatha let him in, after lighting the fire
in the room, she started screaming, because she looked at the man from under
his big hood and saw a skeleton. A servant heard her shout and entered the
room, the man was gone and Agatha was lying on the ground with buboes on her
face. That man was the personification of plague, and Agatha had been infected
unfortunately.
I spent the last day shopping. In the morning I went to Old Town Square,
full of shops and stalls, to buy my last presents, then I went to the airport
ready to fly back home.
I recommend visiting Prague, because it is a magical city. It’s rich in
art and culture and, among other things, it’s very easy to visit. I was really
happy to spend a couple of days there and discover its captivating stories,
legends and mysteries. I hope I will visit Prague again, possibly in
summer!
Camilla Scatigni, 4^C Linguistico
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