Prague with an Argentine

When two friends who met when one was a high school exchange student from Argentina in a little town in Colorado find themselves in a big city in Europe, they also find adventure.

That’s how a pretty below average film for lame kids would start if it were about Fermin and I. Fer was an exchange student for all of my senior year and we became good friends. Now he’s doing a college exchange program for a semester in Prague so we had to meet up. I expected to just enjoy a good bowl of goulash together or something but he had planned a grueling six-mile walking tour up and down Prague’s gorgeous streets. We loved every minute of it. 

At first we felt bad that we were making him play tour guide and walk so much but he said he was happy that he had people who could walk as fast as him. Apparently his eighty-year-old grandma was going to come and he was bummed that he wasn’t going to be able to take her on the walking tour because she’s too slow and it was too much walking.

He took us to most of the sites on the map and to a lot of little hidden gems. For the sake of not boring you with words, I’ll bore you with a lot of pictures.

 But first, a few photos from our morning visit to Pražský Hrad (Prague Castle) with Jessica's parents. So don't be mad that some of the pictures weren't actually taken on our grand tour.

St. Vitus (Vito if Fermin is talking) Cathedral. We climbed 288 steps to the top of that spire. You'll get most of the benefit with none of the work by keeping on scrolling.


The view from the top of the bell tower. 



Fer's tours™told us that the reason Prague is so pristine and undamaged compared to most European cities is that it was one of Hitler's favorite cities, so he tried to protect it from the ravaging of the war. 


The Basilica of St. George. Because all castle complexes need both a Gothic cathedral and a Romanesque basilica. 


The columns and ceilings of the royal palace were intense. In person they look even more like tree branches extending upward. 


This was basically an HR move by the royals. They decorated the ceiling with the coats of arms of the people who worked in this room (accountants, if I remember correctly) so they would feel important. 


The big oxidized-copper dome that you see in all the aerial photos of the city is home to Prague's most famous Baroque church, St. Nicholas. It's overwhelmingly over-the-top and ornate. Mozart played here in the 1700s, which is cool. 

And now we finally bring you to the beginning of Fermin's tour:

The view of the communist-era TV tower


We walked through the royal gardens outside of the palace where there were trees from all over the world and peonies the size of your head. 


Found this pretty man lounging around the senate gardens. We accidentally wandered onto the Polish embassy and got chased out while we were looking for this place.


Don't be fooled. Those aren't real stalactites (real leaves though).


The world's smallest street.



A close-up of the communist TV tower. The people of Prague weren't super thrilled when this thing went up, but supposedly they really loved this crazy baby installation. It was so popular that it's been there for thirteen years longer than was originally intended. Also, apparently there is a one-room luxury hotel at the top of this tower. Best bathtub view in the city. 



It was truly fantastic to catch up with Fermin. He has a great perspective on life and I'm a better person for knowing him. We can't wait til he can give us a tour of Buenos Aires.