A weekend in Prague, Czech Republic

For so long now many people have told me that Prague is a beautiful city, so given its only 4 hours from Berlin I figured it was time to check it out.

They were right. It’s beautiful. Well the old town and surrounding area is.

Prague is the historical capital of Bohemia (largest region of Czech lands), home to about 1.3 million people and the fifth most visited city in Europe. That last part I can attest to. It was fully of tourists when I was there but I was expecting that.

I decided to stay in a private room hostel not far from the bus station and about 1.5klm walk to the old town.

Day one…

The first journey was to walk to the top of Petrin Hill via the cold war memorial, have a look at the Kings Palace and reach the observation tower. I think this part of the walk was about 5klm to the top but well worth it as the view from up there is excellent. Not to mention the great sights I took in along the way.

Charles bridge is a very popular attraction. To be honest though I really don’t know why. Yep it’s nice to look at but as you can imagine its full of hawkers and selfie experts.

To finish off the day I strolled along the river slowly making my way back home.

Day two…

I decided day two was old town day. This is the jewel in the crown, the pièce de résistance.

I found it hard to photograph though because the streets are so narrow and the building are so large I couldn’t get far enough way to take a proper shot. Also, many of the oldest buildings are constantly being refurbished so they are under wraps and many facades have commercial advertising. Subtle in a way, but to see a beautiful building with any type and size of a McDonald’s sign on it is a shame.

In any case I walked these streets for hours completely content to see something more than once as a different view was just as interesting.

The major town square is full of local food tents offering various traditional cuisine. This was too tempting to pass up and my eyes were too big for my stomach. Before this lunch, I couldn’t remember the last time I wrapped up food in a tissue and took it home because I couldn’t eat it all.

That evening I treated myself to a concert in the Municipal House, Prague’s most significant Art Nouveau building. There was no way I was going to miss the opportunity to hear a chamber ensemble from the Bohemian Symphony Orchestra play Pachelbel and Vivaldi. And I was not disappointed. Great acoustics, beautiful venue and a quality and professional performance.

Prague is a great city. It is worth a visit and I think a weekend is just about the right amount of time to spend there.