It's a Beautiful Day in the Neighorhood

View from Petřín Observation Tower

Námestí Jirího z Podebrad

I live in the Vinohrady neighborhood of Prague. The neighborhood is home to a lot of expatriates, and is considered very trendy (almost like the Brooklyn of Prague). The square nearest to my house, Náměstí Jiřího z Poděbrad, has a farmer’s market every Wednesday-Saturday and a church. I have also been trying some coffee places around my neighborhood. To order something “with milk” you would say “kavu s mlekem”. In theory you would think they would add at most a few tablespoons of milk or cream to your coffee. WRONG. Every time I have ordered anything with milk, it turns out to be a cup of warm/steamed milk with a faint hint of coffee, or as I like to call it, coffee flavored milk. Clearly, I will have to start foregoing any amount of milk whenever I order coffee.

Žižkov Television Tower

The Prague landmark the Žižkov Television Tower is also relatively close to my apartment. The tower is from the communist era, and yes, those are sculptures of giant babies crawling up and down the tower. Some Czechs are fans of the tower and others think that it ruins the Prague skyline; I, personally, do not care for the TV tower and think it makes for a jarring comparison between the old and the modern. I admit that in a way, it does make you appreciate the beauty of the colorful, historical buildings of Prague when compared with the space age TV Tower.

Petrín Oberservation Tower

I see London, I see France… just kidding! This past weekend I went to visit Petřín Hill, which houses Prague’s miniature version of the Eiffel Tower. Even though the Petřín Lookout Tower is smaller than the actual Eiffel Tower, since it sits atop a hill, it technically rises taller than the Eiffel Tower! The observation deck from the top of the tower gives a fantastic, 360 degree panorama of the city of Prague. Admittedly, after making our way up the hill, we couldn't stomach the idea of climbing the stairs all the way up the tower, so we paid a little extra to ride the elevator up. I also went to an exhibit that portrayed works of Alfons Mucha and Salvador Dalí. Mucha especially is a big deal here because he was born in the Czech Republic. There are many galleries and museums in Prague that showcase more of his works, including the massive Slav Epic pieces, that I have not seen, but am saving for a rainy day.