C'est Ma Vie

As someone who craves for the unusual, I didn’t find the idea of going to Rome or Madrid as appealing as visiting Eastern European cities. Prague is definitely one of the most beautiful cities I have ever visited. With its cobbled pavements and colorful gothic houses, it truly is an architectural treasure chest. There was just something medieval in the air as we walked along the golden city.

“It’s like the old Paris,” my boyfriend told me. “But cheaper”, I added.

We checked in in a marvelous hotel called The Bridge. It is located in the heart of the city and I was quite surprised by its huge area size. For 40 euros per night, I was expecting something that resembles a cheap motel, but clearly, I was wrong. As the receptionist showed us our room, I was amazed by how high the ceilings were, that there were 2 bedrooms, a kitchen, 2 doors that connect to the hallway, bathroom, and kitchen, and the bath was just superb. It must be at least 60 square meters. The windows were a whopping rectangular size with dramatic curtains. I could just live there.

I wasn’t a big fan of the local food though. I can’t describe what’s lacking but I wasn’t motivated to eat well. I ended up eating Italian food most of the time and fast food, which I think was better. Though the coleslaw in KFC was simply disgusting – it was dry and felt like cardboard in my mouth.

Beer is an important part of the Czech culture. And one must always drink beer in this city. For one, it was totally cheap. For 40 Czech cronos (1 euro = 25 cronos), we got to drink 500 ml of beer in fine bars. Smoking is allowed in public places and most of the time we drank our alcohol outside so we wouldn’t suffocate from the smoke. I think we were drinking more than exploring. One time, while enjoying a Sunday night chillout, I saw 3 people sitting down and sipping beer on straws quietly from the same pail. Pail – not glass, bottle, or mug.

Anyway, what I found weird in Prague is that even if things are cheap, you have to pay for a lot of extras. Ketchup is not free. I had to pay 6 kronos for one sachet. The bathroom is not free either – 5 cronos. One time, the waiter asked us if we want some bread – and it cost us 19 kronos! Drinking by the Vltava river cost us an extra 8 cronos because the table is not free.

Well, I wouldn’t let that ruin my mood. Nothing stopped us from enjoying our trip – we walked around the Old Town Square, the Jewish area, the Prague castle wherein the guards don’t move (only their eyes), and by the river. We even rode the metro and the tram (which reminds me of SF’s cable cars) and got discounted tickets for 2 euros that lasted us 24 hours. I found the tram really enjoyable because I got to see hidden places inside the city without walking too much. And they stop on red lights!

Going back to Strasbourg was a drag. We drove for 6 hours but at least, we had some fun crossing Germany. Speed limit doesn’t exist in some parts of the highways and it was cool to see German cars zoom by like airplanes!

street tram

Prague Street signs

Prague

entrance to The Bridge hotel

The Powder Tower