Prague, Czech Republic

Prague's Old Town Square.

From Friday, September 5th to Tuesday, September 30th, 2008, I traveled to Eastern and Central Europe, visiting the countries of Czech Republic, Poland, Hungary, Slovenia, Austria, with a one day stay in Paris on my way home. This trip report will be broken down into several sections: Prague, Krakow, Eger, Budapest, Ljubljana, Slovenia, Southern Austria, Vienna, Cesky Krumlov, and last but not least, Paris.

Day 1-Day 2 (Friday, September 5th and Saturday, September 6th, 2008)

After flying for over 20 hours on three different flights, I finally arrived at Prague's airport. From here, I had arranged for a driver to take me to the apartment in Prague I had rented. The drive from the airport to the historical center of town took about 20 minutes.

As I approached the center of town, the paved roads turned to cobblestone and that’s when I really began to feel excited. The city was absolutely stunning with many brightly colored different types of architectural styles including Gothic, Renaissance, Baroque, Rococo, and Art Nouveau; they were a complete mismatch of buildings that when combined together, turned into something beautiful. Another thing that I noticed almost immediately was the mass hordes of tourists. It was actually quite surprising as I had not expected the sheer number of people that I saw.

When I arrived at Konza Apartments I was greeted by the friendly owner, Pasquale Gusmano. He walked me up the two flights of stairs to my apartment, which was huge and spacious! There were four rooms total: the bathroom, hallway, kitchen/dining room, and the large bedroom with a few seating areas. The best part of the apartment, though, was its amazing location, literally a two minute walk to the Old Town Square. I could not have found a more central or atmospheric location! I discovered that he had even included a few items in the fridge for me including a large bottle of water, a container of orange juice, and some milk. I was quite impressed with his level of thoughtfulness as I had never encountered anything quite like that before at any of my hotel or bed and breakfast stays. It’s the little things that can truly make a huge difference.

Konza Apartments in Prague.

Konza Apartments in Prague.

Konza Apartments in Prague.

Afterward, Pasquale took me on a quick introductory walk of the Old Town Square, pointing out important places like the nearby bank and Italian restaurant.

After Pasquale left, I walked back to the apartment, freshened up, and headed back onto the hot streets of Prague to fight my quickly looming jet lag. I was surprised at how warm it was; it was close to 90 degrees that day!

I first walked around the gorgeous Old Town Square, which was filled to the brim with tourists and way too many tour groups. I stopped in at two churches (Tyn Church and Church of St. Nicolas). From Tyn Church, I walked around the corner to Ungelt Courtyard, which seemed a peaceful world away from nearby madness of Old Town Square.

Church of St. Nicholas in Prague's Old Town Square.

Church of St. Nicholas in Prague's Old Town Square.

Interior of the Church of St. Nicholas in Prague's Old Town Square.

Interior of the Church of St. Nicholas in Prague's Old Town Square.

Door nob on the Church of St. Nicholas in Prague's Old Town Square.

Church of St. Nicholas in Prague's Old Town Square.

Tyn Church in Prague's Old Town Square.

The clock tower on Old Town Square in Prague.

Old Town Square in Prague.

The clock tower on Old Town Square in Prague.

The clock tower on Old Town Square in Prague.

Tyn Church in Prague's Old Town Square.

Prague's Old Town Square.

Prague's Old Town Square.

Prague's Old Town Square.

Prague's Old Town Square.

Prague's Old Town Square.

Prague's Old Town Square.

Ungelt Courtyard in Prague.

Beautiful building in Prague.

Beautiful building in Prague.

I continued walking until I reached the Church of St. James, which I had planned to tour the interior of, but was unable to as it was closed for the day.

Church of St. James in Prague.