Graveyards and Greater Prague

Our last day in Prague was spent gathering in graveyards, exploring greater Prague and involved endless steps up and down metros and mountains.

First stop was Vyšehrad, a historic fort that commenced in the tenth century. After climbing a steep set of stairs, we reached the first cemetery of the day. The ornamentation and opulence on some of the gravestones was intriguing. There was even a few famous residents, such as Dvorak, the nineteenth century Czech composer. Following on from the cemetery in the same complex was another massive Basilica dedicated to Saint Peter and Saint Paul. The view of Prague from the hilltop fort was breath-taking and provided a perfect landscape for some great photos.

Next stop: the New Jewish Cemetery. After about 400 years of burying bodies in the Old Jewish Cemetery, a new cemetery was established West of the city centre. While the graves were not as ornamental as the cemetery at Vyšehrad, and in fact very uniform in design, there were a number of famous burials, including Franz Kafka, Ota Pavel, Jiří Orten, Arnošt Lustig, Heinrich Porges and Kurt Deutsch.

After the graveyard gatherings, we decided to explore Greater Prague. It was our last opportunity to see areas of the city not yet explored. So we jumped on trams and trains, travelled up and down what seemed never-ending stairs and hopped out at any stop or station that took our fancy. At one point, we ended up at a nature reserve in the northwestern outskirts of Prague called Divoká Šárka. The gorge and mountain scenery was such a contrast to the urban streets of Prague.

We couldn’t leave Prague without tasting some of the traditional Czech cuisine, and on the recommendation from our Air B&B host went to a restaurant on the north side of the Vltava River. Unfortunately, the food at this particular restaurant wasn’t quite as great as the city but an experience nonetheless.

Sbohem Praze! We will be back.

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