Praha

I think I have talked about the possibility of going to Prague with at least 8 or 9 of my friends, and nothing ever came out of it as there was always a delay somewhere or a lack of co-ordination or something or another. Rather unsurprisingly though, things proved to be a lot simpler with Radzi.

Me : Have you been to Prague?
Radzi : No.
Me : Nak gi?
Radzi : Jom!

And that was how we decided to spend the bank holiday weekend in what has to be one of the more picturesque cities I’ve ever been to. I must admit that i went into the Czech Republic with various negative connotations in mind, especially as everyone I’ve spoken to about Prague had warned me about the dangers of getting pick-pocketed.

That was rather unfair of me though, as the city that gave us Mucha and Kafka is bound to stir the imagination with its rambling streets, its hundreds of spires and the rather wonderful mix of architecture, from the gothic to the art nouveau. I was particularly impressed with the gorgeous stained glass in St Vitus’ Cathedral, which is no mean feat as after you’ve been to a few dozen of the cathedrals in Europe, you tend to have this ‘seen them once, seen them all’ kinda feeling, to quote Radzi.

The palace itself was filled with wonderful nooks and crannies, from the little display of medieval weapons (where we were able to fire crossbows ourselves) to the tower in which torture was meted out to dissidents of past lords and kinds. The latter proved to be rather disturbing (a feeling that was revisited when we accidentally walked into a shop selling live firearms, as opposed to the usual replicas that attract our eyes) and it did make me wonder about human nature and our thirst for the macabre.

Charles’ Bridge deserves its reputation, but the other area that struck me as being particularly beautiful was the Old Town Square; a hive of activity that was close to all the major attractions (including the ornate but rather liveless Astronomical Clock) as well as the pastry shop that was the source of all the tasty cakes that Karin used to bring back from her trips to Batislava. We did indulge ourselves a little when it came to food, from dining in the austere atmosphere of the elegant Kampa Park to soaking in the ambience of the Cuban cafe, La Bodeguita del Medio whilst going through a Romeo y Juliet each and clumsily adding to the graffiti on the wall.

Combine the above with blue, sunny skies, good company, the wonderfully efficient transport system (a relic of its communist history, methinks) and the general friendliness of its people, and you get a rather nice weekend trip away from Blighty. Definitely recommended, and like Barcelona, a place I wouldn’t mind going to again. The only downside is that you really, REALLY don’t feel like going to work again.

(I’ve spent too much time uploading pics onto Facebook, so I’m not going to bother to do so here)