eurocation part three: prague

I never thought my Eurocations would actually become a trilogy in blog posts, but alas here it is - our third European trip in the last 3 years.  Unlike Eurocation 1 or Eurocation 2, we stayed put in one city making our trip very leasurely and relaxed.  Once again, Matt and I flew via NYC to drop the little mignon off with the in-laws and off we headed to Prague.

Prague was never on the top of my list of places to visit.  In fact, it wasn't even on my list, but I'm so glad that I let Matt choose the destination because this place quickly won us over.  I've never been a Harry Potter fan, but I imagine that a lot of its setting is inspired by this pristine medieval city.  With the cobblestone roads, colorful rooftops and unique architecture, this city is truly breath taking.

Matt and I are the type of travelers that don't do a lot of pre-planning.  With the exception of having one scheduled bike tour, a list of places to eat and reservations for a "fancy" dinner, we let our days usually dictate our agenda.  Truthfully, sometimes we just want to set up shop in the middle of the busiest part of town with an espresso or a glass of wine (sometimes both), and just soak in the culture.  Hearing people converse in different languages, watching how people eat local foods and appreciating the views I can't get at home are all I need to make it a great trip - and I enjoyed a lot of all three during our stay.  While we didn't plan ahead, here are a few of the things that we did that I would highly recommend if you're planning a trip to Prague in the near future:

• Ride electric bikes with EBikes:  This by far was one of the major highlights of our trip.  We covered 16 kilometers of Prague's scenic sites on electric bikes.  I'm not the most confident bike rider and the thought of biking next to crazy drivers made me a little nervous, but these bikes made it so much easier - especially when treking up the steep hills.  Our guides were extremely knowledgeable and hospitable, but most importantly the tour took us to places that we probably would have never seen had we not done it on bike.  Things like the rose garden, public apple orchard, the Metronome and much more.  Did I mention that the bikes were amazing and did most of the work for us?
• Walk across Charles Bridge:  Experience this bridge during the day and at night.  While it's the same bridge, its beauty is completely different at opposite times of the day.  During the day you'll find street vendors and performers, while at night you'll get the most beautiful view of Prague Castle at night.  Either time of day, expect a lot of foot traffic, but it's all well worth it.
• Climb the top of Powder Tower:  Looking up from below the tower can be extremely intimidating when you think about climbing it, but truthfully, it's a short walk up with the best reward - an amazing view of the city.  Not to mention that this tower is less congested as the others in the center of Old Town.  When we climbed up we were one of 3 couples roaming the rooftops gawking at the un-obstructed view which made competition to capture the best pictures of the city non-existant.
• Explore spy gadgets at the KGB Muzeum:  This for sure is a hidden gem that you either stumble upon when walking around town or you learn about through word of mouth.  We found out about it through Trip Advisor and based on the good reviews we decided to give it a go.  It terrifies Matt how little I know about world history, so for me this place was quite eye opening, but what made the experience is the owner who tours you through his collection of KGB items that range from guns disguised as cigarette boxes to various types weapons and gear that each agent had in tow.
• Soak in Prague Castle:  Oh how I wish we spent more time at Prague Castle.  This "castle" isn't even a castle.  It'a palace with an amazing church that peeks at the top of the hill.  The grounds were absolutely beautiful and the church was truly breathtaking.  I could have captured every inch of the unique detail on camera if I had time, but sadly we didn't.  If churches and large promenades are your thing, then this is definitely right up your alley.

The rest of our time in Prague was filled with wandering around aimlessly admiring all the architecture and grabbing cheap wine at local shops.  We walked everywhere and by the end of the trip our calves were sore from walking on cobblestone streets.  If you're ever traveling to Europe and are even toying around with the idea of stopping in Prague I absolutely say you must.  This ranks as one of the favorite places we've visited and are reliving all its beauty with the whopping 600+ pics we took of our trip!  Food and wine recos to come in the next post.