Prague

Prague simply takes your breath away.

It's as though you are walking through pages of a fairy-tale rather than a real city.

There seem to be countless nooks and crannies to explore on the gorgeous cobblestone pathways. The riverbanks are lined with red-shingled rooftops and views from the famed Charles Bridge are unsurpassed. Our hotel overlooked the Wawel Castle and when I awoke (Arun missed this because of course he was asleep) there was a gorgeous fog that hung over the city. The foggy mornings seemed only to add a mystique to the city and within a couple of hours, (when Arun finally got out of bed), there was clear blue skies.

Arun's choice of hotel was rather interesting- he chose a fantastic 4-star hotel (NOT a Hilton, gasp!) that is frequented by celebrities because it is out of the way. It stands on a hilltop and has an amazing view of the city but wasn't anywhere close to public transportation. When we trekked 15 minutes (uphill, no less) to the hotel, I turned around and asked Arun if he chose the hotel because it was in a good school district because although it was located in a very posh part of town, it was definitely not convenient for tourists. Sigh. Last minute travel plans and Arun doing the planning....

Still, the walking was rather delightful since Spring was in the air and there were gorgeous flowers and cherry blossoms in bloom everywhere.

Naturally, the romantic city is also filled with great restaurants and Arun certainly had his fill. We tried a Brazilian churascaria, a fantastic Indian restaurant and OF COURSE Chinese food! We could not resist grabbing a trudle pastry and gelato every chance we got!

The only drawback to this wonderful city is the fact that it is really TOO touristy. Everyone has already discovered this city and most of the time we found ourselves surrounded by Americans. At Wawel Castle we were shuffled through the throngs of tourists as well as at the Jewish Quarters. Reprieve seemed to come at around 3pm when most of the tour groups subsided. Prague is just not a 'best-kept secret' anymore. Prices of crystal were ridiculous and we decided to hold off for Poland to purchase our wares. The prices, however, didn't prevent Arun from purchasing this shirt- ha! Such a sap for tourist traps! (He proudly wore it to work too!)



We visited churches (goregous stained glass windows) and perused museums (original manuscripts of Beethoven!) and spent our evenings walking through the Old Town. I'll end on some random trivia that I learned:

• The Czech Republic has the highest density of castles in the world
• Bata Shoe store was founded here (largest shoe retailer and manufacturer)
• Freud was born here
• The soft contact lens and the sugar cube were invented here

Now go impress your friends! :)