Prague: Full of History and Beautiful Architecture
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Prague Architecture - Ryan Gargiulo
Let me start off by saying that Prague is undoubtedly one of the most fascinating, charming and beautifully well-preserved medieval cities I’ve ever had the joy of visiting. Staring out over the city’s warm sea of orange-red roofs, only punctured by the sharp black spires of its awe-inspiring churches and cathedrals will forever stand out in my mind as the quintessential image of Prague. Check out mydestination.com/prague, and you’ll see what I mean).
Unfortunately, its bounty of rich, ancient history comes at a price; Prague’s layout is the polar opposite to New York’s grid system. Organization was not a top priority in medieval Europe, probably due to the constant threat of death from rampant disease, random witch hunts, wars, and so on.
Image courtesy of EastCapital on Flickr
What’s so fascinating about Prague in specific is that you can see layers of history in its district systems, which I can only imagine are a culmination of different ways in which people have tried to make sense of the great city. There are several incompatible district systems in use today, each with their own particular uses.
Furthermore, each building also has two numbers – a red and a blue one. I decided to spare myself the headache of trying to understand all of this and give myself plenty of time to get lost in this city’s cobbled streets.
Image courtesy of AshleyPalmero
The best thing about aimless ambling is that you tend to find some great deals. The prevalence of cheap and delicious Czech-style hot dogs being sold in the street make it an ideal breakfast, lunch or dinner, mostly because they only cost around 15 CZK ($1). I had way more of these than is healthy, but it’s a great way to save money, and adding ketchup makes it one of your five a day!
Blatantly wrong nutritional advice aside, saving money is surprisingly easy in Prague. About 15 minutes East of the city centre I found a cheap place to stay – the Hostel Elf, a lively hostel with friendly staff which cost a mere 260 CZK a night. It was here that I learnt my first and favourite Czech (and Slovakian) word: Ahoj. Meaning both hello and goodbye and pronounced ‘Ahoy’, this word amused me way more than it should have. Unfortunately the Czech Republic is a landlocked country, so I didn’t get to greet any sailors.
Prague has many tourist attractions, such as a castle, several museums and a massive Cathedral which you can visit for reasonable prices, but really, the main attraction is the city itself. The price of admission into the castle is completely worth it, but if you need the money, don’t worry about it. Getting lost in Prague’s cobbled streets brings you back to another time, and getting lost is free.
