czech mate

astrological clock from 1400's

st. vitus cathedral

overlooking prague

laurel says:


i wish i could have seen prague like my dad did back in 1970.  as he tells it:  'when i was in czechoslovakia in 1970 it was still occupied by soviet troops and travel in/out was very restricted.  we had to check out at the german border, then walk on a road across a 1 km 'no-mans land'- the ground to both sides was filled with land mines and guarded by machine gun towers- before reaching the czech border station. not another person or vehicle moving along the road, pretty creepy. but once we got in we had a great time, three things i remember pretty distinctly: the girls were very pretty, the beer was very good and because they were unaffected by ww2 bombing or combat, the medieval architecture was wonderfully preserved.'  now that would have been a real adventure! (and also noted where i get my love of travel from.)  these days prague is the 16th largest city in europe and the 6th most touristed city on the continent.  this tourist to local ratio just does not work and sadly the city is simply overrun with tourism.  the good news is, you just have to wander a few blocks off the main drags to discover the character and charm that originally put prague on the map.  spectacular architecture, a rich history and a taste of the real bohemia await.  and who wouldn't love a place where the beer is cheaper than water (no really- it is).

prague castle

trying to be a vegetarian in prague is not pretty

charles bridge

oldest working synagogue in europe

emil says:


standing on the charles bridge and looking out over the medieval city-scape is amongst the most visually stimulating scenes of the trip. it's fascinating not only for its castles, spires, towers, oh my but for the millions and millions of tourists from all corners of the planet that descend upon this city.  prague is just overrun, filled to capacity. it is difficult to take a photograph without someone in the way of everything at all times.  hordes of folks walk the main thoroughfares at all hours of the day and night. gangs of pub crawling high school kids, flocks of bachelor parties, herds of my-first-eastern-european-vacation.com members abound. but all that diatribe aside it's a glorious physical spectacle of a city. there's a reason why folks come here en masse. the nightlife (at least that which laurel allowed us to experience) is first-rate, the cuisine is international enough if you can't handle anymore ghastly goulash and the women are amongst the most beautiful anywhere (aside from loveland colorado of course). i would come here again but next time in the middle of winter when hopefully it feels a bit more genuine. 

the hordes at the main square

town square

bridges of prague

beautiful skyline

sunset on the charles bridge

picturesque prague

prague by night