My Trip To Prague

As you may know, I returned a few days ago from a trip to Prague. Karen and I went there to meet my parents and my two lovely nieces and we had a wonderful family vacation there.

At first, I didn’t intend writing about my trip here since it’s not a travel blog. However, I had such a great time that I want to share some pictures of the lovely sights Prague and has to offer and to tell you about my impressions.

That being said, this post will also have some weight loss tips. Many people come back from vacations heavier than they were when they started them. Not me. I actually dropped some weight during my 5 days in Prague and I will share some of the things I did that helped me do that.

I hope this travel-weight loss post will come out nicely and convey some of the beauty of Prague.

Prague Is Magnificent

Prague is a city steeped in history. The first signs of human culture there can be traced back over 1,000 years. The city changed rulers over the centuries and saw some bitter fighting. It was also one of the first places in which Christians rose against the corruption of the Catholic Church at that time. You could spend months walking through Prague and learning about the history of the place and the role in played in some of Europe’s biggest events: the 30 Year War, The Munich Agreement, Communism, etc. I won’t go into such detail, but I will say this: Prague is probably the most beautiful city that I’ve visited so far and it has its history to thank for that.

The center of Prague, which is the older part of the city (and the only one worth visiting) is full of magnificent buildings the likes of which are just not built these days. For instance, here is a picture of a tower in Prague which is adorned by some lovely stone statues:

These are the sort of buildings that you run into all through the old center of Prague. I often wonder why they took such time and effort to build these kind of buildings and today it seems like most building are really molded to look similar to each other and are mostly just blocks of concrete and glass.

The beauty of Prague is that you can walk through most of the tourist worthy section of the city. You don’t need a car and it doesn’t take long to know your way about. They also have a great tram system that allows you to travel quickly and cheaply from one point of the city to another, but I only took two tram rides in all my 5 days in the city. The rest of the time I just walked (mostly with my eyes turned upward to look at the buildings).

First Vacation Weight Loss Tip

This is where I can give you my first tip about weight loss on vacation: if you are active, you won’t gain weight.

Some people enjoy beach vacations where they lie in the sun, unwind, read a book, etc. It’s certainly fun, but I enjoy more active vacations which involve a lot of walking and sightseeing. I’m not into extreme sports so this kind of vacation is the only active one I can go on. I also believe that you only know a city through your feet, so I usually do a lot more walking than necessary because I feel more familiar with the place I’m visiting this way.

We were lucky to have great weather during our time in Prague. It was cold, but sunny. Great for walking.

Naturally, you can be active on a vacation by going to the hotel gym, doing sports, etc. The main thing is to be active. Check out my hotel workout post for some exercises to do in your room.

Food In Prague and Second Weight Loss Tip

Prague is a city which offers both American chain restaurants like KFC and Subway and a lot of good and cheap local cuisine. I recommend sticking to the local as it’s tastier. They eat a lot of meat in Prague and the people have great appetites, but not many are overweight (at least that I saw).

In our hotel we had an all-you-can-eat breakfast and we ate out during the day.

All-you-can-eat breakfasts can be tricky. It’s very easy to stuff yourself silly, especially since you don’t really know where you will eat the rest of the day. If you want to avoid holiday weight gain, you will have to resist  that temptation.

I had a good sized breakfast, but I didn’t try to taste everything offered and I never finished the meal feeling stuffed. I had eggs each morning to give myself a good dose of protein and to keep full, and I ate healthy during the day.

In fact, the only time in which I didn’t enjoy the food was at Mcdonalds during one late evening when we didn’t find anywhere else to eat. Have you ever noticed that McWrap sounds like McCrap when you order it? It was the worst meal of the trip. This is my punishment for eating fast food.

My nutrition advice for you is to enjoy the local food and to have fun on your vacation. However, don’t stuff yourself and try to eat healthy and balanced meals.

Christianity and Judaism in Prague

According to our guide, 80% of the citizens of the Czech Republic are atheists. However, during Prague’s history both Christianity and Judaism had a significant impact on the city. Here is a picture of a church that’s very interesting. As you can see, one of the towers is wider than the other. The idea is that the wider tower is a symbol for a woman and the narrow tower is a symbol for a man:

The old Jewish Ghetto in Prague hosts some of the oldest synagogues in Europe. At one time, the city was home to over 100,000 Jews who were forced to live in tight quarters, in an area that was first designed for less than 20,000 inhabitants.

During the 19th and 20th centuries, Jews became part of the modern Czech society, but most of the population was murdered by the German in World War II. Today, the Jewish Ghetto is the most visited area of Prague by people of all faiths. It has Judaic relics and buildings of great historical significance.

The most amazing part in the Ghetto is the old Jewish cemetery where generations of Jews were buried one on top of the other due to lack of space. This caused the cemetery grounds to gradually rise during the centuries and they are now a few meters higher than the adjacent streets.

Here is a picture of an old Jewish headstone. You can still see the Hebrew letters quite clearly in the stone:

And here is a picture of me taken at the cemetery. As you can see behind me, some of the headstones are standing crooked as the earth around them has shifted with time. You may also notice the coat I was wearing as it was very cold that day.

Final Thoughts

September is a good month to visit Prague: it’s not too cold and there are less rains than in the summer. You should find a hotel in the center of town, so all the attractions are in walking distance. Bring a great camera and hire a guide to walk you through the Old Jewish section of town. You’d get a lot more out of your trip this way.

Prague is cheaper than many other European cities (for now) and it’s a place worth visiting as you’ll remember it always.