Czech Republic, XI-XII.2014

So after 19-hour drive from Sofia we arrived in Prague, the first stop on the journey to Asia. Why Prague, you ask? The answer is simple – to get cheap flight tickets sometimes it is necessary to add one destination more to the list. Surely it gets more expensive that way, but one more place to see and I’d heard that Prague is definitely worth paying a visit.

We’ve managed to contact a host from Couchsurfing, Tomas, so we’ve already knew where to go in the first place. And in front of his flat I’ve managed to celebrate that fact by dropping my tablet on the ground, losing it for most of the further trip. But sometimes great adventures start with some misfortune, don’t they?

I’ve known Prague from: A. Lovely small paved streets. B. Lovely Charles Bridge over Vltava river. C. Lovely Czech beer. Maybe not a lot of information, but enough for the beginning. So lets tackle them in this order and later I will add some small things that I’ve found out about the capital of Czech Republic.

Lovely small paved streets

That’s definitely a yes. The whole old city center and Mala Strana (Lesser Town) situated across the Charles Bridge is full of charming little streets, where you can enjoy getting lost and just sink into the atmosphere of this old town.

Behind one of the corners in Mala Strana (Velkopřevorské náměstí, to be precise) you can find a wall covered with colorful graffiti, a must-see for every hippie and Beatles fan – Lennon Wall. I guess few next pictures will tell more about it:

 

 

Going up to the castle, going down to the river, stopping for a beer and just drinking in the life of the city (and some pilsner, of course).

Charles Bridge

 

What can I say? Impressive due to it’s beauty and size, a real masterpiece of engineering. Over half of kilometer of length that we’ve crossed several times during these two days. Necessary to visit both during the day and the night since it’s becoming a wonderfully illuminated way to even better lit up castle.

 

 

One fun fact that I’ve discovered while writing this text: the construction of the bridge had been inaugurated by king Charles IV on 9th of July 1357 at 5:31 a.m. This date is supposed to be a palindrome consisting only odd numbers- 1 – 3 – 5 – 7 – 9 – 7 – 5 – 3 – 1. How much truth is in this explanation – judge for yourself.

Czech beer

 

Ah, Czech beer! Magnificent and cheap (relatively, in comparison to other prices) pilsner, but not only. You can get the most out of experiencing beer in Prague by going to Prague Beer Museum (Diouha 46) and ordering samples of your choosing. Museum is not really a museum but just a pub with a freaky and intriguing name. You won’t get to know how the beer is made, you won’t see any utensils from previous era… but damn, is the beer choice worth a visit all by itself!

 

 

After Tomas has finished his work we also went with him and his friends for few beers in two typical Czech pubs, more for locals, with hockey posters on the walls, cigarette smoke and old men inside, cheap cloth on wooden tables made from plywood, tasty sausages, and not so tasty fried cheese that I’ve ordered out of curiosity… while searching for new experiences you fail sometimes.

On the way back from Asia I haven’t repeated this one mistake and actually all that we’ve ordered was delicious. Table full of beer-food in affordable prices! – sounds like an advertisement, but really, it was awesome.

 

 

Ok, so two other things that I’ve discovered as previously unknown about Prague, and very curious:

 

 

Thai massages – don’t know why, but the city was crowded with Thai massage places. Got us in the mood before actually arriving in Asia, but after I’ve experienced one of those in Chiang Mai later on, I am looking differently now on these places of pain and suffering…

Second – segways, segways everywhere. Don’t know why and what for, but really gave the impression of a futuristic tourism:

 

 

Altogether – Prague is a great place to visit. I’ve enjoyed it a lot while still having upcoming adventures in Asia in my mind. Stay tuned!

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