Prague
Another trouble free train ride with some nice pine forests and other pleasant countryside to look at between Vienna and Prague.
Arriving at lunchtime we went for a coffee in an old cafe recommended by our hotel called the Café Louvre!
Then a quick walk to the Old Town Square and the Charles Bridge (both breathtakingly beautiful), followed by an early dinner at one of Prague’s classic beer halls the U Medvidku - Budvar Goulash was ordered, washed down with Budvar 🍺
As is my custom, I popped out to a local bar in the evening (the Czechs still have a massive bar and beer culture) and I noted that the barman looked like a young Václav Havel whose picture was on the wall beside him!
Already starting to fall in love with Prague again, 35 years since I last visited, our neighbourhood helped in the process by being a quiet and very cool area with small cafes and bistros, vintage shops and vinyl record stores and lots of students and young folk hanging out on the streets with beers!
Day 2 we did a 3hr walking tour of the old city, mostly in the rain ☔️, although the distance covered was fairly limited. One bit of excitement - the tram in front of us, as we were making our way up to the castle, collided with a car and stopped traffic for a while until the mess was cleared up.
After some veggie borscht lunch Pam retreated to our hotel for the afternoon and I set off to pay homage to the “velvet revolution” and Wenceslas Square. A reminder that I was here with my brother in November 1989 standing with the students ✊
We flew out the day the communist regime fell and Václav Havel appeared on the TV screens at the airport to announce their freedom.
As a side note, the Rolling Stones played Prague in 1990 at the invitation of the new government:
“Tanks are rolling out, the Stones rolling in” was the marketing slogan at the time 🎸
We cancelled a roof top restaurant planned for our last night in favour of going out locally in our now favourite neighbourhood. Salted pig ears as the starter!
In summary, we fell in love with Prague, despite it being a much changed, more commercial and touristy city (crazy amount of cannabis shops) than it was in 1989.
It has more atmosphere & ambiance than most of the cities we visited on this tour of European capitals and it is less formal and more artistic in a “chill/cool” sort of way.
A living city, not a monument to classical beauty like Vienna is.
This is a city we are likely to return to 😍
