Anyway, I'm back and back for good!
I thought long and deep about my next article. We made a couple of hundred photos during our trip and it is difficult to decide what to publish first. But, I remembered what I need to do!
About a month ago a post by @czechglobalhosts reminded of my trip to Prague back in 2012 (actually, a couple of days before New Year 2012), a few years before I met Vida. That remained one of the best cities I have ever visited and I'd like to share my photos from the trip with you.
Bear in mind that in 2012 I only started to develop my photographic skills and I only had a compact camera Samsung ST50, so please don't expect too much quality haha.
Anyway, I'll try to remember my journey step by step, photo by photo, and describe what I saw and experienced.
Because of too many photos to choose from, this will be part 1 so stay tuned! Let's start.
I will start with the most significant location in Prague - Charles Bridge ('Karlův most' in Czech). This is the location where I have spent the New Year's day's midnight and watched the fireworks with my friends. Nowadays I despise everything fireworks-related, but that's another story.
It's the bridge crossing the river Vltava. Pedestrian-only, cars are not allowed. It's really easy to find it no matter where you are located in Prague. There are many statues along the way and it is a beautiful place to watch Prague's river flow and ships passing by.
A very nice sight on the river Vltava is seeing the building with the river flowing underneath them. I never saw anything like this before and after during my trips around Europe. Vltava is the longest river in the Czech Republic.
At the time there was also a night cruise on the Vltava on a boat (with buffet food included) for €20. I don't know if anything changed until this day. The view during the night is mesmerizing.
Now it's time to stop with the bridge and the river for a moment and go explore the inner city.
The display on the photo above says "Čekejte" ("Wait" in English). It is a device that works on the push of a button, so you can stop the traffic and cross the road on the crosswalk. This one was taken right after the Charles Bridge.
Six years ago Prague was similar to my city, Zagreb. The public transport consisted of modern trams like this one (at first I thought it was a truck!)...
...or older ones like this one.
This is the exact same vehicle used just until a couple of years ago in the Croatian capital - a lot of older trams in Zagreb were Czech made, so this was an interesting sight for me personally. Nowadays there are no trams like this where I live and I can only guess that the same situation happened in Prague.
Actually, this city reminded me very much of my own - the buildings, the streets, the city center - I felt like I'm at home. Maybe that is one of the reasons this trip meant so much to me. Anyway, there is too much to see in Prague so a few days just isn't enough to explore everything it has to offer - if you plan on traveling here make sure you spend at least a week in the Czech's capital. It will be worth your while.
During busy days the city is full of people and tourists. There is also a subway in Prague so that was the first time I ever tried one. When it comes to food, there is a self-service restaurant called "Havelska Koruna", similar to student cafeterias, where you can eat a lot for cheap.
Another interesting fact, at least for Croatian people and European football fans, is that Hajduk Split, one of the biggest Croatian football clubs, is founded in a pub in Prague called "U Fleku" by a bunch of students from Split in 1911. There is a commemorative plaque there and a very good beer to try while you take a break from exploring the city.
When it comes to tourists, Prague is offering a whole variety of different shops with everything you can imagine.
As you probably know, the Czech Republic was once part of one country - Czechoslovakia. The photo above shows souvenirs that are still popular because of long-lasting communist regime there.
Alcoholic drinks are also very popular in Prague (beer being the most popular). A symbol of the republic is Becherovka, a herb bitter made in Karlovy Vary. There is even a museum devoted to it. Most popular beer brands are Budweiser, Pilsner Urquell, Krušovice, Staropramen, Gambrinus and you can also try Duff beer (The Simpsons fans know what I'm talking about).
The city center is the part that most of all reminds me of my city, especially the view shown in the photo below. Gornji Grad in the centre of Zagreb is so similar to this that only people with a good eye can tell the difference.
Wherever you go, there is a big possibility that it is going to be crowded with people. Especially in the city center.
Tourist groups with their guides are a common sight here.
Like in every other European city, there are more than enough signs to see where you are and how to get somewhere, so even if you don't have a GPS device you'll be fine.
Another thing that's similar to Zagreb is the system of Roman roads, built a couple of thousand years ago during the Roman Empire. You can see how they look like on the photo below.
Now, since I would like to keep something for part 2 of this journey, I will end this article with a panoramic photo and let you try to enjoy my description of Prague and what it has to offer. I hope you liked what you see and I would appreciate you comment your thoughts and experiences, especially if you are Czech or have been in Prague before.
Thank you for reading and goodbye!
Daniel