First let’s get this out of the way, we stayed at the Czech Inn. How amazing is that!?! The Czech Inn while in the Czech Republic!?!? I mean come on. They absolutely nailed the dad joke. Okay back to my post.
Unfortunately, we were in a bit of a time crunch here as we had a small window to squeeze in Wroclaw and Prague between our time in Germany with family and flying to Ireland. Due to this we had to blitz both cities. That said, we still covered a lot of ground and absolutely enjoyed our time in Prague!
Like most cities, we did a free walking tour on the first day so we could get background on the city, history and culture and see the main sites (the 600 year old astrological clock, Charles Bridge, St. Vitus Cathedral, etc). Our guide was about our age and really bubbly and talkative. Throughout the tour she shared a lot of personal stories about growing up in the Czech Republic with heavy government control. One thing that struck us was growing up in Czech Republic she was consistently told to keep her emotions in check and not show too much of them. Her parents would tell her if she appeared happy then people would think she had stuff they didn’t and if she appeared sad people would assume she was unhappy with the government. She said this mentality is a reason why many eastern Europeans always have a straight emotionless type of expression because over the years this was how they had to be. She obviously was breaking away from that now as her vivacious personality was great for the tour but really crazy to hear about. The tour itself also gave us a roadmap of what we needed to add on the next day to complete all the main bucket list things. We took tons of pictures as the downtown really is beautiful and full of tons of character.
After the walking tour we made our way across the Vitava river (the main river) so we could see Prague castle and get a better view of the city. While it took us an hour or so to make our way there it was well worth it as there really are amazing views from the top and some fun street food. There was even one of the crazy coolest Starbucks we have ever seen at the top. Ironic and kind of sad to see but as a Seattleite it felt like a piece of home.
Unfortunately, we didn’t get to embrace the nightlife here but realize through talking with locals the beer drinking in by locals in Prague rivals anywhere in the world and some even claim they are bigger drinkers than the Irish or Germans. Quite the claim and one we will have to see put to the test next time we come.
