Czech Republic

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY WIFE, MICHELLE! woohoo! What a way to celebrate her bday, Canadian Thanksgiving in Prague! awesome!

• It was also our fly-day back to London so we only had the morning and early afternoon to do stuff. Walked to Wenceslas Square and the street leading up to it was nice! Not sure what the horse statue meant at the top of the street but I know its significant.

• Our handy Frommers Prague day-by-day guide was extremely useful to us and even until the end, we used it to find an off-the-path Czech bar and had goulash and pilsner one more time..mmm goulash..mmm

• Just before we left, we decided to go on a whim and do some paddle-boating on Vlata river and this was a good move. We got to chill and paddle in and around Charles Bridge with amazing views of that and the Prague Castle and a bunch of onlookers on the other bridges and lining the streets....very relaxing and unique way to spend a bday!
  

WOW is all i have to start with for our trip to Prague. Very beautiful city and next to Barcelona, it could be my next fave city in Europe.

• Prague is known for it's beer (i.e. Pilsner Urquell), gothic architecture (Prague castle), very meaty food (goulash, pork knuckle, horseradish, mustard) and women (its actually one of the most popular destinations for UK stag parties!)

• Stayed just outside the Old Town and it was the best location in my opinion. The Old Town has the Old Square where we sat and ate and drank and people-watched while in the surroundings of the twin tower Tyn Church and the Astronomical Clock (clock that actually doesn't tell time but goes with the changing of the seasons and such..)

• Checked out a few lounges/bars in the area (DL1, M1 and Bugsy's) and all were pretty good; at Bugsy's we had a new shot called Vodka Fig which had a fig in it! Sooo good and so mellow, ya the people that we met and introduced us to the drink bought us a round before we left (70CZK = approx 2GBP!)

• Prague Castle is the largest castle in Europe (i think) and the best part about it was the gothic church, St George. It's also the home of past Czech kings and former Czech presidents. We bought the full day pass with the audio guide and got gipped...the grounds were already open to the public and we only saw less than 50% of the 'extras' you could with the full day pass...ah well, nice day and walk to the castle nonetheless (through Mala Strana, the lesser town and past St Nicholas church)

• Shot a crossbow in an area of the castle!! Didnt hit the bullseye but i fired a crossbow!!

• Checked out the John Lennon peace memorial wall in Mala Strana..um yeah. Cool grafitti that was the site of where anti-gov protesters would 'voice' their opinons...

• Of course, we had to walk along/around the Charles bridge, considered by many to be the most beautiful bridge in the world. It also was important in establishing Prague as a main trade route between east and west. The bridge was very nice with 30+ statues or so by the sides of the bridge...nice views and stuff but too many people and vendors ruining the 'romantic' image for me.

• Also checked out an opera at the Prague State Opera. Funny thing is we went to watch 'Midsummer's Night Dream' but halfway through Michelle realized we were watching 'Swan Lake' hahahaha! We found out AFTER the show that a cast member got 'disease' and they had to perforrm SL instead.

• All in all, I would definitely go to Prague again and check out the surrounding parks and just hang out in the center of the city, Old Town or even in the lesser town, Mala Strana. Just feels like a very cool, laid-back vibe not the buy hustle and bustle of London or NYC.