Prague vs. Berlin by Savannah Welnetz

One of the greatest gifts in life is when things don’t go as planned. This was definitely the case for my study abroad trip to Berlin and Prague. I originally signed up in order to finally get to see the infamous German capital. The idea of Prague was just a pleasant bonus. I wasn’t even sure where it was until I started the classes. But, boy, did I discover a gem.
I fully expected to spend my time in Prague looking forward to Berlin. And in some ways I did. But in others, I never wanted to leave. One such moment was anytime I could stand and gazing up at the Prague Castle. I will never forget the image so long as I live.
The St. Vitus Cathedral peaks out from behind the lengthy castle, confusing tourists who don’t know any better. The castle itself stretches out almost the entire length of the hill it sits upon. The orange titled roof blends in with the similarly painted roofs of the other buildings and homes beneath it, again stumping the unknowledgeable tourist. What struck me the most about this postcard perfect view is the fact that no matter where I went in Prague, no matter how much of a glimpse I caught of the fortress, it was still beautiful. There was never a time in which it looked ugly or off. Even the view from our hostel made it shine.

In addition to the fact that the castle and cathedral looks epic from any angle, the dynamic duo looks just as breath taking at all times of the day. In our exploration of Prague, every time we cross the Charles Bridge I made sure to capture at least one or two quick shots of the castle in the hopes of capturing just how gorgeous the view really was.

I never did manage to capture a picture that fully communicated to the viewer the sheer beauty of the castle. And I often felt guilty for failing to be able to share this hidden gem to my friends and family back home. However, what I ended up doing was capturing a series of shots that showed the castle at different times of the day. Each picture makes the castle look like almost a different location.

Prague Castle during the day…

Prague Castle at dusk…

And finally, Prague Castle at night…

Obviously to the harder to impress, it is the same location. And the not-so-stereotypical looking castle can be written off as something not so astounding. But as someone who grew up with Disney princesses and dreams of fairy tale places, Prague and its castle view really gave the feel that I was standing in the middle of said dream. Standing on the bridge or looking up from our hostel, I felt like I was looking up at a marvel of mankind. Often times I would be just ogling and committing the picture to memory when I would think, “People get to live in this ancient city and look up at this same castle I am everyday”. It’s hard to wrap my mind around that.

For all of our modern technology, I’m not sure there will ever be a camera that could capture the near angelic image of Prague Castle to my satisfaction.

For more information on the castle: