I would not consider myself fluent in any languages other than English and sarcasm. That said, I have enough of a working knowledge of Latin and Germanic languages to get my way through most of Europe. I can speak some French, some Spanish, and the rest I can usually figure out — especially if it’s written on signage. My foray into the Czech Republic was my first encounter with a language where I couldn’t even begin to guess how to pronounce the letters, much less the words or what any of them meant. All well and good as we arrived at Praha hlavní nádraží — Prague’s central train station — for a short cobblestone walk with wheeled luggage to the Prague Marriott.
A wonderful hotel, ideally located among restaurants and bars in the central medieval, Cold War-looking city that Prague is. We had four days here, and the city made sure we used every one of them.
Above the Red Roofs
We went up the observatory tower with many, many, many, many, many steps. But the reward at the top was worth every single one. Prague’s red rooftops stretching out in every direction, the spires of churches breaking through, and Prague Castle sitting across the Vltava River — it was the kind of view that makes you just stand there and stare.
We crossed the bridge with all the keys and locks — a tradition that has couples locking their love to the railing and throwing the key into the river. On the other side of town, we saw the former Communist Party headquarters, which was a little bit surreal. The language definitely sounded Russian to our ears, and with the conflict in Ukraine underway, there were many blue and yellow Ukrainian flags hanging throughout the city and what appeared to be a fair number of Ukrainian refugees in Prague with us.
The Castle District
Prague Castle is a city within a city. The Golden Lane — a row of tiny, colorful houses originally built for castle guards — felt like stepping into a storybook. St. Vitus Cathedral was the showstopper, a massive Gothic masterpiece that somehow manages to surprise you even when you’ve seen a hundred photos of it. And the castle guards in their striped sentry boxes added just the right amount of military pageantry.
Pilsners & Schnitzel
One thing I learned while I was there is that the term “pilsner” — the type of beer — was invented in the town of Plzeň (Pilsen) in the Czech Republic. I have personally decided that this needs to be a pilgrimage for a later time. Being a fan of pilsners, I felt quite at home in most of the pubs, including the Beer Hall of Fame in Prague.
With hints of German culture, the food featured schnitzel, sausages, steaks, and pastas. Seafood was a bit rare, which was fine by me since I don’t like seafood — and this is a very landlocked country. A little street market enabled us to pick up some spices and interesting chocolates, and the coffee was excellent. I guess we all need something to get through those cold Czech winters.
Na Shledanou
Departure was out of Václav Havel International Airport, which looked like something out of the 1970s. I should have been expecting a KGB drop at any point. In fact, I think I saw that movie. It also featured some of the worst vending machine coffee that could ever exist — a necessary acquisition after Lufthansa actually moved our flight time up by 90 minutes, which we found out when we woke up at 4:30 in the morning. So we had to hustle.
All in all, I would return to Prague without question. Maybe not as a destination in itself, but certainly as a stop on my way to somewhere else — at the very least. Four days was enough of a taste to know there’s more here worth exploring. And that pilgrimage to Plzeň? It’s happening.