Instead of trying to decide between a few interesting places, we went a little nuts and we’re visiting three cities this month. Part of the beauty of Europe is reasonable options for flights and rail travel, so we get to be a couple of travel lushes this month and visit more than we would on our usual one-city-per-month agenda. Our first stop is Prague, Czechia.
When we landed in Prague we took the metro from the airport to our apartment. We were only a few block away from the central areas of the city and we didn’t waste any time heading out and exploring. Our first stop was the beautiful Charles Bridge. It’s actually a little gloomy, with dark stone and 30 different statues lining the way. During the day it is crammed with tourists. At night the tourists still linger, but there were also always groups of teenagers hanging out somewhere along the crossing. What a cool place to grow up.
Prague is very walkable and looks just like the city we were sold in pictures. A landscape of spires and a main square that is gorgeous at any time of day. The 600 year old Astronomical Clock of Prague is right near the square and also worth visiting.
We were only here for about a week, but we were able to enjoy a few of the sights. The Saint Nicholas church in Old Town Square does orchestra performances pretty frequently. Although we aren’t usually orchestra people, we felt like seeing a show here would be a memorable experience. We were right, and we highly recommend it to any other Prague visitors.
We also went over to the Prague Castle one afternoon. It’s a large site that is more like a small city than a castle. There is a cathedral and library as well as various living quarters. Up on the hill, the castle give some of the best views of the city and those famous spires.
One small, but unique, spot in Prague is the Lennon Wall. During the communist rule, John Lennon’s message of freedom was inspirational to the pacifist groups. They spray painted his image and song quotes on this random wall, then continued to display their beliefs even after the communist authority tried to paint over and monitor the sight. It remains to this day a symbol of freedom and expression.
The food in Prague was warm and rich. The street food sold around the square was as delicious as it smelled, and we didn’t meet a meal we didn’t like. Our best experience was at U Bulinu. It was a bit of a walk from the Old Town Square, but we were wandering around there one day and it had great reviews, so we stopped in for an early dinner. Our meals were amazing and we enjoyed the restaurants funny little legend about a certain family growing horns on their head… It was great!
Given the time we had, we feel like we explored, experienced, and ate enough to get a good idea of what makes Prague so special and why people love it so much. We totally get it. Plus, the view of Charles Bridge and Prague Castle on the hill was never going to get old.
