PraguePersonal travel impressions in stories and pictures from Prague, Czech Republic. Click on the pictures to enlarge, send as a free e-card, or download for personal use. You can locate Prague and navigate the world using Google Earth Show on map
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In my Interrail period, I was always looking to cross the boundaries of what the card had to offer. At that time, it was not valid in most East European countries. So I decided to visit some of them, and after a short visit to Berlin I went to Prague. I will never forget how I arrived: very early in the morning, I could just get the very first tram towards the centre, and my first impression was greyness. Greyness in clothes, greyness in buildings, greyness in the streets, greyness also radiating from the people around me in the tram. When I had breakfast, it was a greasy sausage which I had to consume standing up in a lousy restaurant with more grey people.
But soon after that I discovered that the city was actually magnificent beyond description. I did not stop walking around the city, and where I normally stayed only one or two days while on Interrail, I left after five! I felt like walking around in a giantesque open-air museum. At least in the centre, on both sides of the river, turning any corner implied seeing more beauties of houses, or even details in a streetlantern. I felt very attracted by the romanticism of this city, its clear hints of medieval times, its peace. Two nights before leaving, I was robbed by two women in a clever trick, and I spent hours in a police office that night with the girl of the youth hostel I was staying in. On the way back, I met Jan, a guy who was studying English and German.
Ever since, I have been back many times. By far the most special visit was the one shortly after the Velvet Revolution had taken place, in which Jan had actually participated. It brought a new society, freedom, but also changes which are not necessarily positive. One of them is that the city is now overloaded with tourists, a lot of property has been bought by foreigners, and life for many people has not become much easier. On the other hand, a significant moment in my friendship with Jan was when we met on the shores of Australia, which would have been almost unthinkable before. And anyway, for me the city will retain its attraction.
