Tag Archives: NYU Prague

Day Two Hundred and Seventy-Six My walk in Prague: Day Four: Meeting with the head of Czech Tourism office, touring Vysehrad and Vinohrady and Cooking class May 31st, 2023

"A Local Journey: Exploring the outskirts of New York City, Dedication to Warren Watrel, Exploring Prague, Exploring Prague Block by Block, Exploring Prague by Foot, Exploring Prague Cafes, Exploring the City of Prague, Historic neighborhoods of Prague, Interesting Bakeries, My life at NYU-Graduate School, My walk in Manhattan (MywalkinManhattan.com), MywalkinManhattan Experiences, MywalkinManhattan in Prague, Czech Republic, Uncategorized, Walking in Prague, Walking Prague, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

I really enjoyed this morning as we were allowed to sleep in a bit from class and did not have to meet up until 9:00am. Everyone in the class seemed to like that. We were able to grab a quick bite and then we had to meet with the head of the Czech Tourism Office, CEO Jan Herget. After the visit, we were going to have lunch at his restaurant/boat on the river and then an afternoon of paddle boarding. Not a bad way to spend some class time while learning what tourists might want to experience in Prague.

Our group shot with CEO of Czech Tourism Jan Herget (he is standing right of me. I am in the middle in the green polo).

We got to the office rather early and our host was a bit late (I kept thinking we were starting these mornings too early). Meeting the head of the whole country’s tourism board I was thinking I would be meeting this stiff guy in a blue suit but Mr. Herget could not have been more laid back. I think he rode his motorcycle over to the meeting.

We all thought he was a great. He had a PowerPoint presentation on his goals for the country and wanted to really build on the success that they were having. After visiting the outside cities, I thought the direction of the country should be more of getting people out of Prague for at least three days. I was so impressed with what I saw with the visits to the small cities that I thought more tourists would want to see that after maybe two to three days in Prague. I find that most people that travel abroad to a non-English speaking country are more adventurous in their travels and don’t want to be limited.

The riverfront in Prague is beautiful on a sunny warm day

After our conversation with the CEO, it was off to lunch at his restaurant, The Kayak Bar. This was an picturesque restaurant on the river not far from where I was touring on my afternoon off from visiting Old Town. It was a bright sunny day with blue skies and around 80 degrees. It was the perfect afternoon to be on a boat.

The Kayak Beach Bar at Naplavka 128 00 by the river

https://www.facebook.com/KayakBeachBarPrague/about/

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g274707-d11923408-Reviews-Kayak_Beach_Bar-Prague_Bohemia.html?m=19905

It was a nice walk from the office to the river and we got to see more of the city that I had seen the other afternoon. I was hoping Mr. Herget would be joining us but he had an afternoon of meetings so our group was off for lunch. I was starved because I did not have much of a breakfast.

The Kayak Beach Bar

The Kayak Beach Bar

The Hamburger and French Fries were excellent at the Kayak Beach Bar

After lunch was over, the group of us were hoping to go paddleboarding. All the restaurant had was kayaks and no one wanted to kayak in the the river. None of us wanted to fall in. So we left the restaurant in search of paddleboats which we found on a small island park down the river. That was a lot of fun. I had not been in a paddleboat since I was in Boston about ten years ago when I was in one of the swan paddleboats.

All of us getting in our paddleboats for an afternoon tour of the river and the city. I am in the green polo and paddled like crazy that afternoon.

While we were waiting for everyone to come back, we relaxed in the garden on the small island where the paddleboats were located.

Even a better group shot with the river and the city behind us

After our lunch and the tour of the river area, it was time to explore the Old City again and then the neighborhoods of Vysehrad and Vinohrady. These were neighborhoods outside the tourist zones of the Old City and had lots of nice shopping and dining options. From there, we would be on our way to our cooking class where we would be making a traditional Czech dinner and eating in as a group.

We passed through the older section of this part of the city, passing the old Opera House and then crossing the Charles Bridge again. On this spectacular sunny day the views were amazing.

Passing through the town square

We crossed over the Charles Bridge and took in the sites during the day. It really is a breathtaking bridge with the most wonderful statuary. We passed by the old Opera House with its elegant details. The bridge is a national treasure in beauty and design. What I liked about this walk was all the interesting architecture that you pass where one building is more glorious than the next. These things were built to last and to show the importance of that city in that era. They just don’t built them like this today.

The old Prague Opera House

The Charles Bridge

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Bridge

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g274707-d275157-Reviews-Charles_Bridge-Prague_Bohemia.html

The Charles Bridge

The Charles Bridge

The Charles Bridge statue of King Charles

Our Group shot on the Charles Bridge

Views of the river were just amazing!

We stopped at Winnie Lahudky & Potraviny Bakery at Masarykovo nábř 38/2058 for a quick snack before we continued the tour. As with everyone else, we needed a coffee and pastry break. I think we were turning into Europeans by this point. I think it is civil to have an afternoon break. The pastries were excellent (see TripAdvisor review).

The selection of pastries are excellent

The bakery had an excellent selection of delicious desserts. We tried not to ruin our appetites for dinner.

Winnie Lahudky & Potraviny Bakery

http://www.praha-lahudky.cz/

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g274707-d26107831-Reviews-Winnie_Lahudky_Potraviny-Prague_Bohemia.html?m=19905

The river front park that lines the pathway

Old City Hall

Walking through Old Town again was a treat. I love the architecture of this area. We toured a lot of the areas that we had seen our first day of touring this section of the city when we visited NYU. We walked down Paris, the street that looked like the Right Bank, with all the luxury stores and passed the oldest Jewish Synagogue in the Czech Republic.

The Synagogue in Old Town

The town square

As we toured this part of the city, we learned the history and development of the area and the change from it being a residential area to a tourist destination. Janna was telling us how she grew up here and the rapid change from her childhood home to tourists dominating this part of the city. Just like in New York, the tourist based businesses crowd out what makes a neighborhood a neighborhood.

The Old Town district has become one big tourist destination with no local character anymore unless people want to deal with troughs of people walking through their neighborhood. Here we saw more modern sculpture.

The moveable sculpture of the “Franz Kafka Head”

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Head_of_Franz_Kafka

Video displaying the head moving

It was off to the cooking class for the rest of the evening. We got off the cable car and walked around the Vinohrady district which is a non-touristy district that you could tell must have been a much more exclusive neighborhood at one time. The apartment buildings and stores looked like a Parisian neighborhood. We got there a little late so most the shops and small markets that Janna wanted to take us to were closed at that point. We got the cooking school in record time.

This was interesting as it brought back memories of cooking at the Culinary Institute of America and at Michigan State University in my Skills Classes. It was not too difficult and the menu was easy to prepare. My table partner, Brian and I worked together to prepare our dinner.

We made a Cream of Mushroom Soup, a Roast Pork with Garlic and Chive Dumplings and then made dessert. It was a lot of fun but watching my classmates hesitate at times or making me always go first got to me. I am never afraid of making a fool of myself is because this is how I always learned in cooking school. Trial and error. We all make mistakes. Still, we had a great time working together to get the job done.

My cooking partner, Brian and I making soup for the first course

Plating the finished Mushroom Soup with Heavy Cream

Clean up to prepare to make the entrée

Me preparing homemade dumplings

Getting a demo of what the chef wanted us to do

Our entrée was Roast Garlic Pork with Chive Dumplings

Our Group shot with our Chef

We all sat down for dinner together after each course was done. We had such a good time not just learning how to cook these dishes but learning some things about Czech cuisine. Their version of dumplings are so much different from other countries. I saw this when we had lunch in Karlovy Vary. I did not know that is what a dumpling was supposed to look like. We got a lot out of this cooking class that evening. After we cleaned up it was back to campus to get some sleep. We had another long day ahead of us.

The adventure was going to continue. We were going to Kutna Hora on our last day and then our Farewell dinner. It was a quick week.

Day Two Hundred and Seventy-Seven My Walk in Prague: Day Five: Visiting the City of Kutna Hora for the afternoon and our Farewell Dinner June 1st, 2023

"A Local Journey: Exploring the outskirts of New York City, Bakeries for the budget minded, Dedication to Warren Watrel, Exploring Kunta Hora, Exploring Prague, Exploring Prague Block by Block, Exploring Prague by Foot, Exploring Prague Cafes, Exploring the City of Prague, Historic neighborhoods of Prague, My life at NYU-Graduate School, My walk in Manhattan (MywalkinManhattan.com), MywalkinManhattan Experiences, MywalkinManhattan in Prague, Czech Republic, Uncategorized, Walking in Prague, Walking Prague, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

After spending most of our time exploring the city of Prague and all her secrets, it was time to leave the city again and explore more of the outside cities that the country was trying to promote for tourism. These spa towns were rich in small museums, beautiful churches, excellent shopping districts and wonderful restaurants (where a lot of the staff spoke perfect English). The views were breathtaking and the historical sites amazing.

We were up again today at 8:00am (groan) and had to be at the train station early to catch our train to Kunta Hora, another small city outside of Prague. I did not have time to research the city so I was not sure what to expect. It was another interesting city with a lot to do.

Passing unusual artwork on the way to the train station

We had to make the train to Kutna Hora at a certain time early in the morning so that we could get there to start our tours of the churches and historical sites. There was no time for breakfast until we got to the station. When we arrived, we were given our instructions, ticket information and then were given about forty-five minutes to get something to eat and then board the train. I started to look around.

Our neighborhood had such interesting buildings

Before we broke for breakfast, I came across a Lego display of the train station and I thought this was very clever. Talk about details. Who ever put this together did a wonderful job because it really did look like the station and the traffic around it.

Lego set at the Train Station

Lego Display at the Train Station

The details on the display were very much real to the way the station appeared. It was something I am not too sure many people noticed as they dashed to their trains and destinations.

I did not want to get too far from where our meeting place was so I looked on the same floor. Most of the places just sold coffee and Danishes but I wanted more. I was starved and breakfast is an important meal to me. That’s when I found Paul, a French bakery similar to the ones I ate at in Paris. The concept was the same and they did have formula meals.

Paul at the Train Station

Breakfast at Paul at Plzenska 344/1 at the Train Station

https://www.paul-bakeries.com/

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g274707-d12926321-r893026737-Paul-Prague_Bohemia.html?m=19905

The inside of Paul at the Train Station

The amazing breakfast that morning

The breakfast was excellent. I could not believe the quality of the food that was at a train station. I am used to the watered down version of bakery items that we see in the United States when I have eaten at Penn Station or Port Authority with the airy croissant or the tasteless muffins and dealing with it because those were the only options. The baked goods at Paul rivaled anything at the Paris bakeries.

The taste of the breakfast really surprised me as it tasted like the Boulangeries’ that we ate at the week before in Paris and I thought I would not see that again. The Quiche Lorraine was full of pieces of fresh ham along with the creamy eggs and the crust was so flaky and the apricot tart was one of the best pastries on the trip (see review on TripAdvisor). I later wrote on of the most glowing reviews on TripAdvisor and got the nicest response from the manager who was thrilled by the review. I guess you can make a small difference in the world.

The train was particularly packed that morning and we were all over the place regardless of the fact that we had reserved tickets. It would be the same way when we returned. The Czech’s keep it very organized in that when you buy a ticket on the train, you get to book your seat like you would on a plane. It made it so much easier for us.

After being packed in for over an hour, we got to Kutna Hora and took the bus to our first destination in a series of churches we would be visiting that day. Our first stop was the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Assumption and St. John the Baptist in Sedlec. The original church had been built between 1290 and 1320 and then burned to the ground in 1421. It lay in ruins until the early 18th century when it was reconstructed in the High Baroque style by architect Jan Blazej Santini-Aichel (Sedlec pamphlet).

The Cathedral of Our Lady of the Assumption in Kunta Hora

The Roman Catholic Cemetery Church of All Saints with Ossuary is together with the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Assumption and St. John the Baptist, part of the former Cistercian abbey established in 1142 (Sedlec pamphlet).

From the early 1300’s to the late 1400’s almost 40,000 were buried in the cemetery due to famines and disease. When the cemetery was being reduced in the early 1500’s, the bones were deposited to the bottom of the chapel. In the beginning of the 1700’s when Santini-Aichel was making renovations on the church, he created bone decorations and other decorations for the church (Sedlec pamphlet).

The statuary outside the church

When the church was purchased by the Schwarzenberg’s in 1870, they renovated the bone decorations and hired carver Frantisek Rint to complement the décor. He cleaned the decorations and added new ones to the church including the chandelier and the Schwartzberg’s Coat of Arms (Sedlec pamphlet). Since we could not take pictures inside, I took this picture of the bone decorations from their website (Church website).

The bone decorations of the Roman Catholic Cemetery Church of All Saints with Ossuary

The inside of the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Assumption was very impressive with its statuary and paintings. We were able to take our time and really explore the church with our tour guide. It did not look like many services were still held in the church and it was more for touring.

The inside of the Church complex where the congregation seems to meet only in the front part of the church.

The tours of the main chapel

While the front part of the church looks like it is still used for services, the back part of the museum looks like it is being used as a museum for pieces of the inside of the church on display. A museum within a church. Exquisite pieces are on display that stand on their own.

One of the church’s altars

The other altar

The wooden carved confession booth

Church statuary

The magnificence ceiling

When we climbed the stairs to the second floor of the church and walked through the upper part of the floor, the church was sponsoring an art exhibition of a contemporary artist. I thought the was an interesting use of the ceiling area of the church. Still being used for services, the church is being repurposed for other events as well.

After visiting both churches and the bone decorations creating quite a discussion amongst our group, we went to visit the third church on our list , the other UNESCO site, St. Barbara’s Cathedral. I have never seen a more beautiful church and I have been to ones all over the world.

St. Barbara’s Cathedral as we approached the church

St. Barbara’s Cathedral from the front

Walking on the side of St. Barbara’s Cathedral

A unique work of peak and late Gothic architecture. It’s construction was started in 1388 by Petr Parler and his workgroup. Construction was interrupted several times and the monumental cathedral was finally completed after more than 500 years of building (Kunta Hora Tourist Information Center).

St. Barbara’s School across the street from the church

The Shrine of St. Barbara’s Cathedral

The church altar

The holy water at the church

The inside of St. Barbara’s pews

In 1905, in some chapels late gothic murals with mining themes are preserved, the most prized can be found in Smisek Chapel (Kutna Hora Tourist Information Center).

The stained glass windows

The beautiful stained glass windows

Paintings on the walls

The detailed paintings of St. Barbara’s Cathedral

Just walking around the church for the afternoon was a treat. I have never seen such beautiful detail on a church before with all the colorful stained glass windows and elegant paintings on the walls. The churches in this town had so many interesting aspects of carvings and painting to them. This is what the silver mining money of this town bought.

The outside of the church was just as beautiful with all the plantings and gardens. The pathways around the church were so nicely landscaped and there was even a small vineyard on the pathway out of the church.

The views from the church is breathtaking

The vineyard by the side of St. Barbara’s

The saints line the walkway by the vineyard

The views from the church’s walkway

The views looking into downtown Kutna Hora were just amazing. The church was the showpiece of the town and it looked like a postcard.

Me at St. Barbara’s second floor of the church. I wanted to remember this beautiful church.

After we left St. Barbara’s, we had the afternoon to ourselves for lunch and touring. This was my escape time and I wanted to explore the town on my own. There were a couple of suggestions of places to eat as we were walking into town but I wanted to explore Downtown Kunta Hora first and see what it had to offer. It is such a great downtown with lovely shops and some great restaurants.

The Kutna Hora Town Square

While some of my classmates toured the city together, I walked to the middle of the downtown where we were meeting to catch the bus home and walked all the side streets of the town. It was such a cute little town. It reminded me of the towns in the Hudson River Valley with their unique architecture and wonderful restaurants. I just wanted to find something different.

The quaint downtown of Kutna Hora

These planters were blooming all over the square

As I explored the side streets and looked at the menus, I did not want to eat pizzas and hamburgers. I wanted a nice meal but something light because we were having our going away dinner this evening in Prague and I did not need a big meal inside me.

I had passed this open doorway on the side street and peeked inside to find an restaurant that had both an inside dining room and an outdoor café. The weather was so beautiful the entire time we were in the Czech Republic, warm and sunny and in the high 70’s it would be fun to eat outside. Plus they had an interesting lunch menu that was reasonable. This is when I found Restaurant Ctyri Sestry at Havlickova Namesti 512.

Restaurace Ctyri Sestry at Havlickova Namesti 512

https://www.ctyrisestry.cz/

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g274701-d13273676-Reviews-Ctyri_sestry_Zahradni_Restaurace-Kutna_Hora_Central_Bohemian_Region_Bohemia.html?m=19905

The outdoor seating in the walled garden

What a beautiful restaurant with excellent food and service with views of the gardens and the valley as well. I even had a little cat join me for lunch (I think he was a feral cat as he walked away while I was eating my main course). I was seated in the corner table in the garden area and talk about views. I had the most wonderful of the walled garden that surrounded me and of the valley below with its slopes and small villages.

The outdoor dining

The walled gardens

The walled garden

The beauty of the walled garden where I was sitting

4-

The menu of daily specials in which everything looked good.

The menu specials were very creative and were not the ordinary schnitzels and potato dishes I had seen in other restaurants. It was almost a fusion of Italian and French with a little Czech thrown in. I wanted something on the lighter side but still filling because it was still going to be several hours before we had dinner. So I chose the Cream of Broccoli Soup and the Pork Patties with fresh noodles. Everything was not only excellent but so well presented.

My first course was the Cream of Broccoli Soup

The Cream of Broccoli Soup

The Pork Patties with Fresh Noodles in a Soy Sauce

I had this cat sitting right by me in the garden and I was not sure if it was the owner’s cat or just a feral cat hanging around. I was friendly to it but did not encourage it with food. You can never be sure with a cat. The cat looked more like a kitten was looking at me as I was looking at him.

My lunch companion who never left the dining area

When I was done with my lunch, my little dining companion climbed the wall and walked away through the roof and the gardens. He then just disappeared.

After the wonderful lunch was over, I went back down to the downtown area and visited the pastry shop that was around the corner from the restaurant. I had passed it earlier when I was looking for a restaurant to eat at and I wanted to stop back. The pastries in their cases looked delicious. This is where I found the delicious pastries of Cukrarna U Kraba bakery.

The pastry shop Cukrarna U Kraba at Tylova 505

http://www.cukrarnaukraba.cz/

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g274701-d15511157-Reviews-Cukrarna_U_Kraba-Kutna_Hora_Central_Bohemian_Region_Bohemia.html?m=19905

Peeking in the window is what attracted me to the bakery

The amazing pastry case

Picking out the pastries I wanted to try

I was not sure what I wanted to try as everything looked so good but I decided on the one on the top right that was a Vanilla Cream filled Glazed Doughnut and the Red Velvet doughnut with a heavy glaze on the bottom right.

More selection to choose from

Indulging in the delicious pastries of the bakery. A Chocolate covered Red Velvet Cake and a Vanilla Cream filled French Cruller. Yum!

Other wonderful items line the shelves

After a wonderful meal and a phenomenal dessert, it was time to visit the merchants that I saw as I was walking around looking for places to eat. there are some wonderful shops in the town with a lot of handmade merchandise.

Visiting the shops

The beautiful handmade porcelains (was cash only)

An excellent gift shop (with hand made cards)

There was even a Justy’s Café Restaurant which I thought was a good sign

It was back to the town square after the relaxing afternoon of lunch and shopping in the town. The town square was just so beautiful to sit in and relax. It was so nice to just sit back and relax and enjoy the beautiful day.

The elegant statue in Town Square

Relaxing under the trees before the trip home

Admiring the town architecture

Admiring the town architecture

Even the stone walls are attractive here

We took the bus back to the train and the train back to Prague and then we walked back to campus when we returned to Prague. The professor gave us two hours to just relax before we left for our farewell dinner which we would be having at a wonderful restaurant in the Old Town section of the city, Manes Restaurant.

Manes Café

https://manesrestaurant.cz/en

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g274707-d10254426-Reviews-Cafe_Manes-Prague_Bohemia.html?m=19905

We had a Prix Fixe menu and I had settled on the Goat Cheese appetizer and for dinner I had the Asparagus Risotto. For dessert, we had a refreshing Lemon Sorbet. Everything was so elegantly served and the service at the restaurant was flawless. Everyone was so nice to us and we had the back room all to ourselves. Jana joined us on our last night in the city so it made it special for our class as she became part of our group. The menus were very reasonable.

The Appetizer Menu

Tomato and Mozzarella Salad

The Entrée Menu

Asparagus Risotto

The Dessert Menu

Lemon Sorbet with Fresh Fruit

Our Farewell group shot on our last day of class in Prague. I left the next morning for Palermo in Italy for my brother’s wedding.

Our group shot at our farewell dinner our last night in our Prague class

After the wonderful dinner as over, we took one last trip over the Charles Bridge to see the views of the skyline of Prague and one more tour of the Old Town section of the city. Talk about an excellent view of the city at night.

The Charles Bridge at night with the City of Prague behind it.

Charles Bridge at night

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Bridge

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g274707-d275157-Reviews-Charles_Bridge-Prague_Bohemia.html

The statue of King Charles at night

Our Charles Bridge Group shot before it got dark

After our walk on the bridge, we got the other side and everyone went their own ways. I had to head back to the campus to pack and get ready for a long airplane ride to Palermo (with three stopovers and a ten hour layover. Groan!) We all said our goodbyes and went one our ways. What a wonderful night and what a great class. I learned so much from the experience and from the City of Prague. There is so much potential here and I can see a big influx of American tourism in the future.

I could not put a price tag on what I experienced between my Paris and Prague classes. It was a valuable experience that I will remember for the rest of the rest of my life. Now I just have to finish the homework for the class in Italy (I got an “A” in both classes).

Off to Palermo!

Day Two Hundred and Seventy-Five My walk in Prague: Day Two: Visiting the NYU Campus, seeing the Astrology Clock and our tour of the Manifesto Market and then on our own time to tour the City May 30th, 2023

"A Local Journey: Exploring the outskirts of New York City, Bakeries for the budget minded, Dedication to Warren Watrel, Dining on s Shoe String in Prague, Exploring Prague, Exploring Prague Block by Block, Exploring Prague by Foot, Exploring Prague Cafes, Exploring the City of Prague, Historic neighborhoods of Prague, My life at NYU-Graduate School, My walk in Manhattan (MywalkinManhattan.com), MywalkinManhattan Experiences, MywalkinManhattan in Prague, Czech Republic, Uncategorized, Walking in Prague, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Our second day in Prague was a productive one as we started the day visiting the NYU Campus in the Old Town section of Prague. I have to say one thing, the person who invested in real estate for NYU to create the campus was very forward thinking. They knew the neighborhoods to buy in and how trendy they would become. The dorms were in the “Williamsburg” section of Prague that I could see would be a neighborhood of the future as it was in the second stages of becoming ‘hipster’ and the classrooms are right in the middle of the historical section of the city.

Leaving the dorms early in the second morning in Prague.

Breakfast at Osada

https://www.osada.cz/

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g274707-d19454605-Reviews-Osada-Prague_Bohemia.html?m=19905

I could not make up my mind with the pastries the second morning for either the fresh Apricot Cake or the Cream Cake so I had them both. God, the desserts here for breakfast are the best. Everything is made from scratch and made on premise and was still warm when they served it in the morning. I loved coming here for breakfast in the mornings. The courtyard was the best place to eat when the weather was nice.

The Apricot Cake

The pastries and baked goods here are excellent

The Cream Cake at Osada in our dorm complex

After another quick breakfast at the campus, off we went to visit the NYU Campus in Old Town Prague for the morning. We got an early start, so the cable cars were quiet that morning when we took the trip into the heart of Prague.

We arrived at the heart of “Old Town” Prague for a day of touring the main campus, having a meeting with the head of Prague City Tourism, Michel Drobik and then a tour of “Old Town” Prague with a visit to the famous “Astronomical Clock” and then a lecture and lunch at the new Manifesto Market with Senior Marketing Manager, Marc Felton. So, we had a full morning and afternoon planned for our tourism class.

The Prague Cultural Center

The detail of the Prague Cultural Center

The entrance to the Old City next to the Cultural Center

It was a quiet walk through this part of the city this early in the morning. I swear that we were the only people walking around this part of the city. It was like it had not woken up yet. It was like walking in Manhattan in the morning before everyone gets up for work. We had the whole city to ourselves. The restaurants were setting up their outside cafes so we got to see how the city comes to life and prepare itself for the day.

The unusual sculpture in the Old Town district

Old Town architecture

The architecture and decorations on the buildings were breathtaking. The pictures I took did not do this part of the city justice as there were so many beautiful embellishments all over this neighborhood.

The Golden Angel sculpture in Old Town

Old Town Square by the NYU Campus

Town Square by NYU set for lunch time

Town Square by the NYU entrance to campus

The NYU Campus building in Old Town Prague

The beautifully painted ceilings of the NYU Building are from Medieval times.

Waiting for the Astrology Clock performance that is on every hour on the hour.

Our group in front of the Astrology Clock

The Astrology Clock right before the 10:00am performance that has been happening for 600 years in the city of Prague.

The video of the clock performing:

IMG_5376 (1)Download

After seeing the clock display, we met our tour guide for the afternoon, and she took us on a tour of Old City Hall and then we toured the Astrology Clock from the inside. That was a really interesting tour.

Old City Hall

Old City Hall Seal of the City

Doorway at Old City Hall

Touring Old City Hall with our tour guide

Old City Hall tour

The City Crest

The Old City Hall ceiling

We were then off to tour the Astrology Clock Tower and learn all of its secrets. Some of my classmates took the elevator but the rest of the took the stairs and really explored the tower. I thought the stairs really gave you a birds eye view of the tower and it’s inner workings.

My classmate climbing the stairs up to the tower at the Astronomy Tower

Climbing the stairs at the Astrology Tower

Climbing the stairs at the Astrology Tower

The 600-year-old religious figures at the clock tower

I thought it was fascinating to see the puppets of the saints that moved around. I could not believe these were 600 hundred years old and still worked perfectly. They told us on the tour they have the clock maintained by a master clocksmith who knows the clock well.

The stained-glass windows at the Astrology Tower

Me at the top of the tower

The view from the Astrology Tower

The view of the people at the Astrology Tower

View from the Astrology Tower

After the tour at Old City Hall and at the Astrology Tower, we met with the head of tourism for the city of Prague. He gave a us a presentation on the direction of how Prague wants to see themselves to the outside tourist. I thought they could have done a better job with the presentation because I did not think it showcased it that well.

It could have had more pictures and a better game plan on how to move tourists around the city. There was so much more to see than just Old Town and the Astrology Clock building. They are wonderful but I experienced so much more without even knowing the city.

Our class with Mr. Michel Drobik from the Prague City Tourism Board

Our Group shot with the speaker

I thought the one thing the city was lacking was promoting the city as a whole not just the touristy areas of the city. There are so many great neighborhoods with places to shop and eat and things to do that foreign tourists would like to see. People sometimes want to ‘live among the locals’ and see a city firsthand.

We had been lucky that day in that we got to the clock tower and Old Town early so there were not so many tourists but later on it was elbow to elbow. When we visited the obscure parts of the city with our tour guide, Jana, she took us to regular neighborhoods where the locals live and there was so much to see and do there as well. I think there is more of the city people would want to see and that would become the theme of our final project.

We took another group shot in Old Town before we left for the Manifesto Market

We left the center part of the tourist area after the lecture and talk for a tour and lunch at the Manifesto Market Andel, a gourmet sustainable grouping of restaurants in a market like setting. I have seen concepts lie this in Brooklyn where a grouping of ‘hipster like’ restaurants with seating and really nice visuals like fountains and pools with gardens is the focal point of the visit.

We met with the Senior Marketing Manager who explained the concept to us. After lunch I discovered that the Google and Pfizer headquarters were just down the street near the cable car station so I understood why it was located here.

The Manifesto Market Andel entrance

https://www.manifestomarket.com/prague/andel/en/

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g274707-d23650020-r894095129-Manifesto_Market_Andel-Prague_Bohemia.html?m=19905

The inside eating area of Manifesto Market Andel with lounge chairs and pool with fountain

The Senior Marketing Manager talked with our group about the restaurants that they choose for the market complex, the sustainability practices that everyone has and the shared services that the market provides to all of its clients.

Senior Marketing Manager Marc Felton explaining how the Manifesto Market works and the restaurants and services that it provides to the community.

After the talk was over, we all had lunch at the market. I chose to go to Dirty Dog Barbecue, an American barbecue restaurant inside the complex. I had not had good barbecue in awhile and they had a dish called “Triple Sliders”, which was a barbecue pork slider, a hamburger slider and a fried chicken sandwich slider. The food was really good and the place filled up for lunch with a twentyish crowd of customers.

Ordering a slider combination for lunch at Dirty Dog Barbecue

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My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g274707-d16816538-r892659108-Dirty_Dog_Barbeque-Prague_Bohemia.html?m=19905

The triple sliders at Dirty Dog Barbecue

The weather really cooperated that afternoon and it was a clear, blue sky sunny day. It was perfect for eating outside. The only thing about the Market concept that a lot of us questioned is what do they do when it rains or when the cold weather comes. There is no way to cover the complex and there is no proper roof to cover the restaurants. I am not sure how they have worked this out.

When lunch was over, we had the rest of the day to ourselves and everyone dispersed and made their own plans. Our tour guide let me know that the cable cars were just down the street and I could pick them up to head back downtown again. After I finished my lunch, I walked down the street and discovered why the Manifesto Market complex would work so well in this neighborhood.

I passed the modern complex building of several American companies and right at the end of the block was an American style mall right down to the third floor food court that was larger than anything I had seen in the United States lately.

The Google headquarters was a block down from the market

The modern four story Westfield partnered mall at the end of the block.

I felt like I had entered a modern American zone of the city. I decided that since I had some time I wanted to walk into the mall and see what the difference was between this mall and the ones at home. I felt like I had been transported back to Paramus, NJ. It felt so much like home down the people shopping there were dressed like everyone in America. They just spoke a different language and with the diversity now in New Jersey of residents, it was not far off Garden State Plaza near my home.

The food court on the fourth floor was amazing. They had restaurants that I had never heard of before serving all sorts of casual food both in their seating areas and the large communal seating area in the middle of the floor. Who was the most busy? The large McDonald’s both inside the food court and in the first floor outside cafe. I felt like I was home. I have to say one thing is that if I ever move here for school or business, I will never feel homesick.

After I walked the mall and walked around the neighborhood for a bit, with its modern skyscrapers and Americanized businesses, I took the cable car back to Old Town to take a longer tour of the city. I retraced my steps and walked back to the Astronomy Tower which was packed with people later in the afternoon. As a matter of fact, the entire Old Town district was filled with tourists one on top of another.

I watched the clock tower perform again and then took an extensive walk around the entire part of Old Town, touring all the nooks and crannies of the side streets and then walking around “Paris”, a street of fancier designed buildings that housed all the exclusive stores from Paris and New York. Between the architecture and the stores and just coming from Paris, it did look like a Parisian street on the right bank.

Passing the old Opera House

After walking around the city for the rest of the afternoon, I decided to head back to campus. I was not sure what cable car to take and then looked at the map that I had and I decided to walk back to campus and explore the city. That was fun. I did it all at my own pace and stopped where I wanted to stop.

The Old Town Square

Crossing the bridge into the older part of the city

Creative bars at the riverfront

How these tunnels have been reused as bars

The Tunnel bars

The Riverfront from the bridge

Looking from all sides of the Prague riverfront

The statuary by the riverfront in a little park

It was a wonderful way to explore the city. I walked at my own pace and walked down roads and through small parks. I was able to peek into the windows of stores and restaurants taking mental notes when I might be able to come back.

I got to admire beautiful architecture, make detours on the road and just followed my Google Map on my phone that took me things marked on the map. The city seemed quiet that afternoon so I had the sidewalks to myself. It was a interesting walk through the city as I got to explore both the old and new sections of the city and then took a second bridge to the other side of the city back to campus. I must have walked over five miles back to the “Williamsburg” section of the city to the NYU dorms.

Passing artwork in our neighborhood

Passing interesting street art in our neighborhood.

When I came back to our section of the city, I realized how close everything was and the walk was not bad at all. I really got to see parts of the city that tourists usually don’t see or just pass on a bus. I also got to explore more if our part of the city. We really had a unique neighborhood.

The artwork on the buildings

After a long rest in my room, I headed off to dinner at a Chinese restaurant around the corner from our dorm. The neighborhood had some interesting Asian restaurants and I wanted to try a lot of them before we left. We would only have two nights free but I got to try some of the neighborhood spots that I had passed when touring.

Xing Wang Cinska Restaurace at Ulkomunardo 13

https://m.facebook.com/profile.php?id=179136336308881

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g274707-d26102899-Reviews-Xing_Wang_Cinska_Restaurace-Prague_Bohemia.html?m=19905

The Hunan Chicken with White Rice at Xing Wang was really good.

I was really surprised with dinner. The food was really good but it reminded me more of Americanized Chinese food than something really authentic. I think the concept of Americanized Chinese food is spreading around the globe. Even so, the Hot & Sour Soup was really good and had a nice fire to it from the chiles in the soup. The Hunan Chicken with white rice was also delicious. The service was so friendly too and the owners spoke perfect English which made ordering easier.

After a nice dinner, I walked around the neighborhood again and admired all the buildings and parks. NYU really picked a great neighborhood to put the dorms. It really was a great day of exploring the city and seeing how it has so much to offer not just to tourists but to locals as well.

I see a lot of potential in tourism here.