Prague

Arriving in Prague by bus was a shock. Suddenly I stepped out into a world where my european money doesn't work and the language is completely unintelligible to me. Spanish worked well in Italy and France, and in Germany and Austria I can recognize word roots and so decipher a meaning, but in the Czech Republic that doesn't work. Fortunately once I got over the humps of getting some money, comprehending the public transport system, and orienting myself, I found that Prague is a rather hospitable city. Its inhabitants treat tourists well and are more likely to speak English than in the other countries I've been to.

But once you get over the novelty of being in eastern Europe, its pretty much like other european cities with sprawling plazas, a castle, churches everywhere, and a rich cultural history. One thing I did like very much is that huge swaths of the city where the sights are concentrated are pedestrian only. Areas like those always seem more vibrant and pleasant than places with large vehicles around.

For the capital of a country, Prague has less tourist attractions than one might expect. Prague castle, the largest continuous castle in the world, houses six museums and an enormous church, which altogether takes a day to go through. But after that, there's just the jewish community with their extremely dense cemetary, and the old town with a few art galleries (I visited one on Salvador Dali and one on Alfonse Lucha, who popularized art noveau).

The city is not really that big either, but with subway or tram stops every 100 meters, it seems ridiculous not to use it. I do enjoy a good train system; buses not so much. Czech food did not agree with me. It's pretty bland and tasteless, consisting of just bread and meat in various forms, with few vegetables to be found. But there are supermarkets aplenty, including good old Tesco, the first I've seen in Europe. So all in all, Prague was more pleasant than I was expecting. I thought it would be more chaotic like Rome, but it turned out to be a friendly and relaxing place. Still, I should have left for Dresden a day earlier because I ran out of things to do.