Make Time: Private Classical Concert in Prague

Where do I begin? Wow. I'm more than impressed with the beauty of Prague. I see many similarities to both Bratislava and Budapest, but this place goes way above and beyond both. The people are more lively and energetic, and the city is insanely beautiful. It's not a big place, but it's packed with so much culture, including music and art, that it could take you a week to get through it all (if you dove in deep).

I got up yesterday around 9ish and headed towards the main square to meet up with this free walking tour which I learned about from my hostel. Hostels really are fantastic for learning about new cities and getting a quick jump on where to go and what to do. So it takes me about 30 mins to get down there and it's a sunny and beautiful day - little cool but felt amazing. I get down there and the first tour group I see I jump into and the guide is hilarious. He's Czech, but he speaks with a british accent which kills me. He's incredibly animated, and speaks fantastic English. He's one of those guys that is probably in theatre and uses these tours as practice. He takes us to all the main touristic spots, including the astronomical clock, which has been in use since around the 12th century. WHAT? Insane. We don't have anything like this in the US, so it's really nice to see these kind of things. Puts things into perspective. So the funny part here is that when we're at the clock, which is in the main square in the old town, I notice that there are probably 10-20 free tour groups. Haha. I feel lucky because I found the best one in my mind - the dude is classic and hilarious. So he tells us about the clock and the way it tells you 11 different things to know, from the lunar patterns to the sunset to the actual time. Amazing. Pics below. After the clock we walk to this beautiful theatre just off the main square, where apparently Mozart did a few concerts. The Czech people LOVED Mozart and his music, which was more controversial at the time it came out. The guide also tells us about this new word: defenestration, which basically means throwing people out of windows :) Yes, the Czech people have done this throughout the ages to government officials they didn't like. Comedy. From there we walk to another square and we learn about some funny holiday traditions of the Czech people, including whipping women you like and then they give you eggs in response. Hm. Ok. And then we learn that the Czech people consumer more beer per person than almost anywhere in the world. This is something I would come to see and witness later last night, when I saw a ton of drunks on the street and on the trams. They LOVE their beer here - that's for sure. The tour then takes us to the Jewish quarter and we see the oldest consecutively active synagogue in the world (outside of Jerusalem). Very cool. There was a huge Jewish ghetto here in Prague for many years, and as you can imagine during WWII almost 80-90% of the Jewish population was completely wiped out. Sad. After the tour I went back to check out the Jewish museum, which included a monument to all the people who died here, and also allows you to see the cemetery. This is the same cemetery from the beginning of the ghetto, and because they didn't have room to expand it over the years they simply built on top of buried people. It's crazy - there are 10 layers of dead people piled on top of one another. The ghetto doesn't end when you die…

After the Jewish museum I head to the train station to get a ticket to Berlin. I got an open ticket so I can leave anytime today (Saturday) and the trains leave every two hours, so I'm fired up about this freedom. I head back to the city because I bought a ticket to see a private classical concert at St Nicholas Church, which is back in the main old town square. It was simply amazing to be sitting in this church, which was built in the 18th century, listening to Beethoven, Mozart, and Bach. Such a special moment for me. I took pics and a video of it and included it below. I hope you enjoy. My thoughts ran wild during the performance, which was about an hour. I thought about where I want to go with this life and what I want to accomplish. I feel as though I've done some great things so far, but I have so much more to do. I really want to open and art gallery. I want to paint. I want to play music. I'm going to make this happen. I need to make it happen. Thoughts run like salmon against the river water of common life paths.

After the performance I sat for a while near the river and read and then watched the sunset - pics below. So amazing and beautiful - very peaceful and serene. Walked back to the hostel and got some rest and then headed back out. Saw a few cool jazz clubs - all in basements, and then grabbed some italian food at a hidden little gem near the old town square. Such a great and chill night. Got back around midnight and find out that the three girls in my room are from Brazil!! Nice. We talk for a bit and then pass out.

So I'm up now and it's Saturday and the hostel is bustling. Just talked to a girl from Toronto who's studying in Vienna, but here in Prague just for the night. She and her crew were out till 4:30am last night and they all look like train wrecks. Classic. I love being the older chill guy. This is new for me. Feels great. Granted, we all know I'm not ALWAYS the old chill guy, but it's nice to be ok with it. Gonna go check out the Prague Castle today and then head to the train and on to BERLIN! Very excited about seeing this new city, and coming in on a Saturday night with be an adventure in an of itself.

!!!SATURDAY!!!