For our first side trip during our long-term stay in Germany, we decided to rent a car and self drive Berlin to Prague for the weekend. We soon learned, the Autobahn is the ultimate in driving altogether. The roads are excellently designed, built and maintained for high speed driving. Amenities were numerous along the way and drivers seemed to be uncharacteristically cooperative on the four hour jaunt.
It’s common enough to get lost in European cities, with their narrow, winding streets, but as we slowly rolled past our hotel for a third time, we had to laugh at our unadventurous arrival. After settling in, wandering aimlessly became a goal in itself. That evening, we managed to visit the Charles Bridge (Karluv Most), Old Town Square (Staromestske namesti), and the Astronomical Clock (Staromestska Radnice), before stumbling onto a restaurant / playground for Esmei to practice her Czech toddler gab.
In the morning, the staff at Hotel Residence Agnes, offered to give us and our stroller a ride to the Strahov Monastery, so we could simply walk down the hill visiting the St. Vitus Cathedral, Prague Castle (Prazsky hrad), St. Nicholas Cathedral, and Dancing House on our way back to the hotel. After spending the day in Prague, I am convinced, anyone visiting will find a place where the crush of big crowds will fade away. It will happen in a park or garden, or even in the middle of the city along its many cobble stone streets. I take pride in my sense of direction, but loathe the thought of being lost (perhaps stemming from the days my father would plant me in the woods with a rifle and tell me to meet him just over the ridge at nightfall). Prague was different for me, as I was all but happy to lose myself for a few hours.
For us, Prague created that feeling you have when you’re on a great vacation: your stress levels drop and trivial concerns reveal themselves to be just that. Unfortunately though, what makes Prague spectacular is that so much of what is encountered has been completely obliterated by war in other parts of Europe. That being said, we feel lucky to have been afforded a visit and would never want to take away from what could be Europe’s most beautiful city.
