We met a nice girl at the train station who after some bartering, agreed to rent an apartment to us for the bargain price of about 40 U.S. a night. The apartment was on the outside of the town center, but was only 10 minutes away on the subway. We found our way to the right stop and right away realized that we were entering a whole new world – Eastern Europe. The Czech Republic has only been a country for a dozen or so years and before that, was in the grip of the Iron Curtain and this was well evidenced by the soviet era apartment blocs that greeted us on the surface. Finding the place was a little bit of a chore and after about 30 minutes of walking up and down the block and unsuccessfully asking people in english and german (who spoke little of either) if they knew the address I was seeking, I found a bike messenger who pointed us right direction. The apartment was actually quite nice and located on the 15th floor of a the building which offered good views of the 20 story apartment bloc right outside of our window. After relaxing a bit from the train ride and the expedition to find the flat, we grabbed the subway and headed back into the heart of Prague.
Prague is without a doubt a beautiful city. The architecture is amazing and the skyline is dotted with ancient churches, cathedrals, castles and the palace on top of the hill just west of the river is quite a magnificent site to be sure. Unfortunately, Prague has become quite the tourist trap. Maybe it was the time of year I happened to be there, but I have never seen so many people walking the streets in one city at one time. Las Vegas on News Years Eve would not even come close in terms of how many people were out and about. The streets of Prague, especially in Old Town are pretty narrow and it was literally shoulder to shoulder in some spots. Additionally, in the handful of years or so since the collapse of the Soviet Union, the people of Prague have become quite good capitalists. It costs money to do and see everything. Many of the churches and cathedrals in Germany are open to the public free of charge, although they do like you to make a contribution. This was not the case in Prague. Any building that was of any historical or architectural significance had a viewing fee associated with it. It even cost money to walk down a historic street lined with 16th century shops, which of course were selling various things, and every corner seemed to have a cheesy souvenir shop on it. Don’t get me wrong, Prague is a magnificent and picturesque place, but somehow, the whole vibe of the place kind of made me feel like I was in Disneyland. They even lit up the more dominant buildings at night just to complete the effect. I was a little disappointed at the taste left in my mouth, so there was nothing else left to do but wash it down with some good Czech beer. However, we did manage to find a few cool places off the well-beaten path. We explored and old wall that was built several hundred years ago just for the sake of giving people something to do and we toured the Prague Technical Museum which completely thrilled my dad to no end. After a few days in Prague, I felt like I had seen enough, (although I will never get tired of seeing all of the beautiful women the Czech Republic has to offer!) so it was off to the train station and back to Germany.
For more pics of my trip, visit the following link.
