Prague--escape to Central Europe

This post is long overdue, but you will understand why I haven't had time to write it after you read the next two postings.

The weekend after Easter my friend Kathryn and I flew to Prague, Czech Republic. I had heard great things about this city in Central Europe, but honestly was not sure what to expect. Upon arrival in Prague (Praha in Czech), we met up with Kathryn's friend Alison, and her two friends from Torino, Italy, where she is studying

abroad this semester. The first thing we did once we left the airport was to get money, as in the Czech Republic the currency is the koruna, not the euro. The value of their currency is about 18 koruna to the dollar so the prices of things were pretty inexpensive and the bills we received were 1000koruna bills,

which seemed pretty crazy to us! After we went to the ATM, we tried to figure out how to get to the centre of Prague. We were a little confused about using the public transportation system because everything was in unpronounceable Czech! We finally figured it out and made our way into the city and to our hotel-apartment, near the centre of town.

From our accommodations we were able to walk around the whole city--Wenceslas Sq., the old town, and up to Prague Castle, but first we stopped at Starbucks--you can take us out of America, but can't take the American ways out of us! After a delectable Caramel Macchiato, my first in three months, we headed to get

some lunch at one of the food vendors on the street near Wenceslas Sq.

The food in Prague is amazing--something totally different from the food in Western Europe. I bought a huge hot dog-looking sandwich, which was delicious. Beer is everywhere in Prague, after all the Czechs are the biggest beer drinkers in the world (I know you thought it was probably the Germans). I sampled a few different kinds of beer, my favorite being the Pilsner Urquell light colored beer.

Later we hopped on a tram that took us to the top of the hill where Prague Castle is located. This is where the head of the government lives now, but where the king used to live in the olden days. The castle is magnificent, as is the cathedral next to it. From there we walked down the hill towards the old town, which was very lively.

We tried more Czech foods like Bramborák (potato pancakes) and trdelnik (dough wrapped around a metal bar and roasted then spun in sugar and sliced almonds and then nutella is spread inside it if you so choose). Souvenir shops and stands are abundant in old town Prague. The big souvenir items are hand-painted eggs (I bought six), matrioshki dolls (nesting dolls), paintings, and of course, lots of t-shirts. The rest of the day was spent shopping. For dinner, the group found a wonderful authentic Czech restaurant. I had goulash which was out of this world. It tasted so good! We were exhausted after dinner so we headed back to the hotel and just hung out there.

The next morning we wanted to walk around town some more and see the Charles bridge. We walked across the bridge which is only for

pedestrians. On the bridge there are lots of statues of saints and lots of people trying to sell you souvenirs. On the other side of the river we found a long street full of shops. I found one shop that sold skin products made of wine and beer. I was a bit skeptical at first but I tried them and they were wonderful! I bought a beer body butter and a wine hand cream as well as two kinds of bath salts.

After walking around all day, Kathryn and I felt the need for a spa treatment. We found a nail salon and had a pedicure. It felt so good after walking on cobblestones the past two days! That night we found another Czech restaurant and had goulash once again :) I really want to make it at home because it is so delicious.

Sunday morning we slept in a little and then went to get coffee before heading to the airport to catch our 1230pm flight back to Paris. I really enjoyed my time in Prague and it definitely makes me want to discover more of Central and Eastern Europe!

Au revoir for now :)