My Prague getaway
A Week in Prague Through my Eyes
Prague, Czech Republic 21/05-26/05
So where do I start?
4 months ago, my best friend Tsampika and I persuaded our
parents into letting us go to Prague for the final meeting of a 3-year program that we
took part in (I went to Iceland with it in 2017). It was very important to us
because through these 3 years we met and became friends with girls and boys
from Prague, Iceland, Italy and Athens. So we wanted to see them all together for the last
time.
When we booked the tickets, we were beyond excited and were
counting down the days until our departure from the island. When we landed in
Prague Airport we both had the biggest smiles in the world :)
We booked an Airbnb near the center for an affordable amount
(thank you mum and dad;)). We stayed in an area called “Lidická”.
In the afternoon we arrived after 30 minutes in the room we
(me, Tsampika and her mum Giota) met up with my friend Adela whom I met on our Erasmus in Iceland and she took us up to Vysehrad, a castle with a very important cemetery and
the basilica of St. Peter and St.Paul
We caught up after almost 2 whole years and had a wonderful
afternoon <3
The first thing we noticed about Prague was how stunning the
buildings are almost everywhere. Grand, rich and romantic, every building
had a different style one more beautiful than the other.
That afternoon we went to a market near our room, Andèl (Angel) and ate “Tredelnik”, a street desert you can find anywhere in Prague which actually isn’t completely Czech despite its popularity in the city!!
Food was probably the only thing that I spent my money on
and there was nothing we didn’t eat...
The next day, we met up with the group and visited the city
center. First things first, it was very very busy with tourists. Prague, being
such a beautiful city, I’m not surprised it’s a destination for many people
from all around the world.
In the old town square, we saw the astronomical clock strike
and it was rather interesting as there’s a reason why the clock strikes as it
does ( visit the link for more). We walked all around and following that we
walked along the Charles bridge and enjoyed the gorgeous view along the way.
Changing Euros into Czech crowns, was easy as there are
exchange stands everywhere but you have to pay attention to the exchange rates.
1€ was 25Czk so we found it a bit difficult getting used to understanding
prices.
It was obvious that the old town was a big tourist an attraction so we made sure we didn’t go all out there as we were also informed
that things there are overpriced.
There was a difference I noticed in comparison to Greece. Due to the excess in tourism, peoples mannerisms towards tourists were quite different from ours. As we went further away from the center we noticed that service we noticed people were more relaxed.
Also, one thing that we noticed after the first two days was how quick service is and how quickly things ran. One night the waiter apologized for the delay of the food and only 15 minutes had passed since we ordered!! It was obvious that we had gotten used to the greek way of things haha.
In 5 days we did over 150.000 steps (according to Apple
health) and at the end of each day, our legs were in agony. But, it was all
worth it.
We visited the zoo, which was very very impressive even
though I’m not a big fan of zoos. We went down a lift and saw a panoramic view
of that part of the city.
Following that, we walked through the city and went to Jon
Lennon wall.
That night we ate and fell straight asleep as our heads
touched the pillows.
Prague is known for its towers and so on the program, there
was to visit the Water tower, Powder tower and then Prague Castle.
Stairs, stairs, stairs... hahaha I have never climbed so
many stairs as I did in one day. But At the top of each tower, the panoramic
view made us forget the tiredness and focus on the moment. Seeing Prague from
above was magical. It truly is a fairy tale city.
We obviously had to visit the magnificent church of St. Vitus and Prague castle and were in awe and just sat to take it in.
One more thing we stated to everyone that asked us how we liked Prague, was that it has a warmer feeling than other cities I have visited. Prague feels safe, easy to get around and most people are very friendly if they know English haha.
Obviously, we ate Czech food as well. My favorite dish was
Svickova (beef in a white sauce with cranberries and dumplings). It’s true that
it’s very heavy but it was also delicious and gave me a warm feeling eating it.
My friend had goulash soup, also very tasty and beautifully plated in a round loaf of bread.
I think one of the best views was from the top of the tower in Petrin (resembled the Eiffel tower) which was a hill that was accessed by a lift. We had a coffee
there and then went for a walk through the forest and admired the view.
Klementinum was also very impressive, a historical complex of building and saw the inside of the magnificent national library and then after... more stairs... saw another panoramic view of picturesque Prague.
Something I loved and had missed was how Czech people always listen to the rules and law. Yes, what a greek thing to say but anyone that has been to Greece understands how ignored law can be. The simplest of things was one of my favorite things: people stopped at the zebra crossings!! Yeah, that's sad right?
So another thing that was obvious when we got to Prague was
how beer is so popular there. Everywhere, anywhere, anytime, all day you can
find beer for a fraction of the price you would find it in Greece;). Oh, beer is cheaper than
Water 😂🤷🏽♀️
It was difficult finding still water, which didn’t bother me
as I like sparkling water, but my friend was let down after she ordered “normal
water” 3 times and got sparkling instead haha
My favorite part of Prague was probably walking along the
riverside and through little streets, getting lost and taking photos
everywhere.
Prague is very picturesque and reminded me of one of my
other favorite cities in Belgium that also shares those kinds of
characteristics.
Probably the best thing, personally, on this trip was seeing
my friends again. Words can’t describe the glorious excitement that fills me
when I see someone I’ve missed for a long time. I live for those kinds of
moments... I didn’t see all my friends for as much as I would like but the
moments we spent together were priceless.
Thank you for taking the time to read my blog. Yet again, another reason why traveling to different places is so invaluable...
Tina xx
