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“Czech” it out – Joshua Hall

This morning brought our first full day in Prague in the Czech Republic. We started our day with breakfast provided by our hotel. Shortly after we began our bus ride to Prague Castle and our tour of the city. We visited Prague Castle and St. Vitas Catherdral. If one word could describe the City of Prague it would be miraculous. The city itself holds so much beautiful architecture and history. With over a million inhabitants Prague leaves no stone unturned, and in the spirit of this packed city, both historically and architecturally, neither did we. The group turned over every little stone that Prague had to offer. Seeing street performances, drinking the local pilsner, and walking its many winding gorgeous streets, we stumbled across an experience of a life time.

Shortly after arriving at Prague Castle, the largest series of castles in the world according to the Guinness Book of World Records, you could immediately tell we were in for a treat. Lined with medieval buildings and tcobblestone streets we navigated this ancient subcity with cameras in hand and eyes wide open. The most breath-taking building in the Prague Castle complex was definitely the St. Vitas Cathedral. This gothic style church is packed with so much history, reminding us that we are so much more than we see on this earth. Shortly after singing a few numbers in the center of the church and finishing our tour of the castle we found ourselves traveling down hill where we found the most amazing and mind-blowing views of the Old City and the Charles Bridge where we were heading.  The Charles Bridge is the oldest bridge connecting Old Town to the outside world. While strolling the bridge we found many street performances, but the most impactful was the classically-trained accordian players.

The sheer volume of the architecture here in Prague is absolutely astounding. After the Charles Bridge, we made our way to the square where the world famous astronomical clock stands. At 10 stories tall, this clock overlooks Old Town keeping time as the lively city passes by. In the early evening, we went to see Adam Plachetka of the Vienna Opera perform at the Rudolfinum, the home of the Czech Philharmonic. This was a special show for a few of us because he performed songs that we as students have studied in past semesters of voice lessons.  His performance gave us a reference to the work we are doing back in the States. After four encores, we made our way to dinner to celebrate the days activities.

Prague has left me with an absolute appreciation of the world around me and has shown me that there is beauty in small and large cities. I cannot even begin to describe the feeling and mental pictures that this magical city has given me. It has been and will be an experience i will cherish as long as I live. If you get a chance to visit this magical city, “Czech” it out!

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