After our adventures up at Hradcany, AN and I wandered back into Old Town to explore the buildings there, including the building where Franz Kafka’s father kept a shop. We also saw the Kafka statue near the Old Town Square.

Franz Kafka, the famous author of The Metamorphosis and The Trial, was born in 1883 and raised in Prague in a middle-class, German-speaking Jewish family.  He trained as a lawyer but worked for an insurance company while writing on the side. His books explore absurdity as only someone intimately acquainted with bureaucracy can understand and describe. Unfortunately, Kafka received very little recognition for his works, most of which were not even published until after his death by tuberculosis in 1924. His contributions are now honored by the people of Prague with a statue near the Old Town Square.

While in Prague, we also tried some trdelník, a traditional Slovak pastry. They wrap the dough (which is yeastier than you’re expecting) around a pole and cook it over open coals. They will then add cinnamon or chocolate (usually Nutella) for a little extra. We tried the regular sugared trdelník and both liked it.

AN and I took a bus from Prague back to Vienna after our adventures in Prague. It’s cheap and easy to catch a bus in central Europe from city to city, and the bus depots are usually centrally located. In fact, both buses we took on this adventure ended up being nearly empty. Trains are convenient as well but tend to be more expensive.

Title quote: Franz Kafka