Teacher Travels – Prague

For our teachers who love to travel and are looking for somewhere to explore during the UK school holidays, we have just spent 3 days in Prague, and we think you’ll love it!

We arrived mid-morning and checked into our Airbnb. We stayed in the old town which we loved. All cobblestone, so wear good shoes!

We wandered through the town and got a feel for the area. We found some markets which had beautiful fresh fruit and produce, along with little gifts.

We made our way through the streets towards Charles Bridge.The buildings here are incredible. Everywhere you look, you’re amazed at the architecture.

A medieval stone arch bridge that crosses the Vltava River in Prague, Czech Republic. Its construction started in 1357 under the auspices of King Charles IV. Do this walk early before the crowds!

There are 30 statues mounted to the balustrade of Charles Bridge in Prague. They form two rows, one on each side.

We made our way up to Prague Castle which was most likely founded around 880 by Prince Bořivoj of the Premyslid Dynasty (Přemyslovci).

Here you will also find St. Vitus Cathedral. St. Vitus Cathedral is the largest and most important temple in Prague. Apart from religious services, coronations of Czech Kings and Queens also took place here. The cathedral is a place of burial for several patron saints, sovereigns, noblemen and archbishops.

You need to buy tickets for entry and make sure you have cash if you want the audio set.

Coming down from the Cathedral we visited Lennon Wall. After John Lennon’s death on the 8th of December 1980, a young Czech artist created a graffiti dedicated to John Lennon on this wall. More people supported this initiative, and the plain white wall turned rainbow with quotes of John Lennon’s songs and wishes for world peace.

There is also a good little gift shop here.

The next day we decided to do a little bus tour (5 hours) to the Terezin Concentration Camp.

Terezín was a concentration camp 30 miles north of Prague in the Czech Republic during the World War II. It was originally a holiday resort reserved for Czech nobility. Terezín is contained within the walls of the famed fortress Theresienstadt, which was created by Emperor Joseph II of Austria in the late 18th century and named in honor of his mother, Empress Maria Theresa.

By 1940 Nazi Germany had assigned the Gestapo to turn Terezín into a Jewish ghetto and concentration camp. It primarily held Jews from Czechoslovakia, as well as tens of thousands of Jews deported chiefly from Germany and Austria, as well as hundreds from the Netherlands and Denmark. More than 150,000 Jews were sent here, including 15,000 children, and held here for months or years before being sent by rail transports to their deaths at Treblinka and Auschwitz extermination camps in occupied Poland, as well as to smaller camps elsewhere. Less than 150 children survived.

This was a very somber experience, but something everyone should do. I recommend booking a half day tour, as this timeframe seemed just right and book a morning session before it gets too hot.

Prague is a definite must do place to visit during your UK school holidays. We found the cost of things quite reasonable. Carry a little bit of cash, as tipping is expected and around 10%. Also, pack good shoes as you do everything on foot.

We were here in August and the afternoons were around 36 degrees.