Prague

The bus ride from Cesky Krumlov to Prague (3 hours) was so luxurious! The bus company called Student Agency operates just like an airline in terms of service. Shortly after we were on the road, a bus attendant walked down the aisles handing out headsets and asked whether we wanted coffee or hot chocolate. They showed a Czech film which made the time pass so fast, especially reclined in a comfy leather seat…

Arriving in big city Prague after five nights in a quaint little city was a bit of a shock (in a good way though). By this time in my trip, I felt pretty comfortable dealing with the first day challenges of getting to know a new city. The weather was great and I had a map and a good guidebook, so I felt set. My hostel was in New Town and was so nice and modern. With 24 hour reception, laundry service, full restaurant and bar downstairs, internet cafe, comfortable beds with fluffy white duvets it felt just like a nice hotel.

Prague is a great city with a lot to see. Walking down the street in Old Town, it seems that everywhere you look, you see a beautiful building. In terms of the layout of the city, it reminded me of Budapest in that the city is divided by a river and several bridges run across connecting the two sides. The far side is quite hilly and is the castle district which when you are up there, you get a great view of Old and New Town.

During the peak summer months, there are an incredible amount of tourists visiting Prague. It is believed that the ratio of tourists to locals is close to 9 to 1. Wow! The good thing though is that the big tourist groups really just stuck to the main streets and the main attractions, and so by veering off even just a little bit took you to much calmer streets where you actually could walk on the sidewalk and hear yourself think.

I really enjoyed riding the tram in this city. One of the trams right outside the hostel would go right across town, over a bridge and up to the castle district (which was about a 30 minute ride). So I started off the first few days by hopping on and hopping off whenever I saw something along the way that I wanted to see. Kind of like my own tour bus. It was perfect. The metro was really efficient too, I just found that above ground transportation was more fun because it allowed you to see the city, and it was not like I was in any rush to get from place to place, so it worked out well.

The Czech language has a really sweet intonation. Again, Russian came in really handy for me. I was able to read signs and understand bits of people’s conversations (which is always fun). There were a lot of Russian tourists as well and I managed to help a group of older women buy metro tickets at the station. I think they were a little confused when an Indian girl in Czech Republic spoke Russian to them…!

I found that when you go to a cafe in Prague (and similarly in Vienna) it is totally normal to order a coffee and drink it but still be able to hang out for a long time after reading or simply just enjoying the atmosphere. You are not made to feel uncomfortable or obliged to keep on ordering anything. I went to a great cafe that made fresh desserts in house and had a list of dozens of fresh teas and gourmet coffees. It was such a nice place to hang out that I probably spent 3 hours there not even realising the time was passing.

There is a good amount of international cuisine as well. I tried a Mexican restaurant which was recommended by a friend and it was so delicious! I also went to a vegetarian restaurant that I had read about that serves fresh juices and organic meals. In a country that has such a heavy emphasis on meat, it is impressive that a vegetarian restaurant has been established and is committed to fresh organic foods. Hats off to them.

One day I took the tram to the base of the castle district and walked up the stairs that wind their way up to the top. There are a lot of stairs, but it is so worth it because at every landing interval, you can stop to appreciate the view develop. Prague is so picturesque! At one part near the top there is an open area where a lot of young guys come to skateboard. How cool is it that they get to hang out in the castle district with their friends practicing skateboarding tricks with a million dollar view of a beautiful city…

In every city that I visited, the first thing I did was get a map. When you unfold the map on day one, you start from scratch trying to get your bearings, and familiarizing yourself with the street names that are often hard to pronounce. More than likely you get lost on day one. Prague was especially confusing because all the streets curve and veer off. Trying to take a short cut usually meant taking a long cut or landed you full circle back where you started. Day two is usually more fun, although you still have to use your map a lot. Day three I find is the best where you feel a lot more comfortable getting around. By day four your map is most definitely ripping which is ok because you don’t really need it anymore, as you can walk around with a pretty good understanding of the city. I tried to spend at least four nights in every city because of this. I wanted to be able to feel like I actually got to know the city before I packed up and moved on to the next.

Next stop – London, and then onwards home!

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