Prague

Trip Start Sep 01, 2005

Trip End Ongoing

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Flag of Czech Republic Prague, Czech Republic
Friday, October 7, 2005

I won't dwell too long on Prague. The first thing that everyone says about it is "Prague is so beautiful," then second "and it's so cheap too." The beauty I won't deny as for the prices, besides groceries, it is not cheap anymore. I was there in 1996 after traveling around Europe with a euro rail pass that I won, on a shoestring students budget. Bread cheese and free breakfasts at hostels had been my staple. For the same price as a baguette, some soft cheese and an apple in Paris I got a hot entr�e with garnishes, strudel and a beer in Prague. Prague 2005 was different. Ironically I was returning to the cheese, bread and apple diet. After being a tourist destination for so long we found it overrun with crowds, charging standard western European fares, and the locals seeming sick of it all. It is a gorgeous town with its lovely bridges and castle. If you time it well you can avoid the shoulder-to-shoulder crowds that distract from its beauty. Late night walks and early morning strolls seemed to offer the best in the town

architecture prague

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For three people, we found the best value in a two-bedroom apartment near the town center. Each morning we started with a brunch of tea and juice with fried eggs served on toast with salami. Groceries were very affordable and having a large kitchen and a place to relax was a treat. The days followed with long walks taking as much in as possible. On our year long budget, Prague would not be an extravagant stop. But just enjoying the long walks and pleasant sights kept me happy. I don't think that I can say the same for our companion Brian. By the second day I think that he was tired of walking. Actually, by the time that we reached Trier I think that he may have been tired of the road. By our final day in Prague he was definitely ready to be home, getting back to work, the home and the dog.
In my mind his reaction surprised me, though I suppose that I can understand it. Even though we agreed that Prague was overrated, I still enjoyed being in a foreign place. It made me wonder just what the attraction to travel was. The journey from Germany to Prague was the easy part. Everything from there on would just become more foreign and, with that, more difficult. Why would a person want that? Then again, why wouldn't they? In Spanish they say "cada cabeza es un mundo differente." Just before Erin and I boarded the night train for Budapest we were excitedly talking about going further into Eastern Europe than either of us had been. Brian left us saying "good luck and better you guys than me." Though I knew it was true, I wondered why.