I am a sucker for romance. No, really, I am. Regardless of what my other half or my offspring would like to portray me as, alternating between the screaming banshee and the crazy lady on the warpath, deep down, I believe in knights in shining armour, of princes, of princesses, and castles and turrets and living happily ever after. Which would explain, why, when in my aimless Pinteresting I chanced upon images of Prague, I was smitten. It was love at first sight! With its iconic red tiled roofs, images of the Charles Bridge at sunset and sunrise, and its church spires, it had me at Dobrý den - that's Hello in Czech, for the uninitiated!
My first introduction to something outside of what I thought of as mainstream Europe, Prague, did not disappoint. It was everything I had imagined it to be and then some! From its fairy tale like architecture to its cobbled stone paths to its soaring castle turrets, it was my version of romance come alive.
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| The view from the old tower |
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| Walking across Charles Bridge With just 3 nights in this gorgeous city to spare, we got right down to it. From the first foray into tracing an illustrious individual's path, a la Einstein, at Café Louvre, to my final walk about across Charles Bridge - this city made me pause time and time again, to reflect on its architecture, its history, and you know it, the feeling of romance and chivalry. But, like everything, let us start at the beginning. Landing in Prague, we made our way to the Augustine - a Luxury Collection hotel. Converted from a monastery and still housing a faction of the Augustine monks, this provided us the refuge we sought after a hard day of sightseeing. With their attentive staff who always chatted with us, regardless of their language barriers, to thoughtful touches like slippers beside your bed, and chocolates on your pillows, this hotel certainly lives upto its expectations as part of Starwood's luxury collection. And, I would like to thank the Partners, Associate Partners, Senior Managers, hard nosed clients, my mom, my dad, my brother, my husband, and my little guy, for allowing me to travel for work and stay in hotels and collect hotel points so that in time I could cash them in for some amazing stays. {Cue Music....}
When religions intersect Before we could call it a day, I enticed my travel companions back out to explore the Charles Bridge and the surrounding area. We stopped to savour some traditional Czech treats - the Trdlo. Something that resemebles a chimney and whose batter is grilled and then stuffed with all sorts of mouth watering yumminess, like vanilla, or nutella, or strawberries or all of the above :-)  To walk off the Trdlo and to avoid the wrath of my personal trainer back home, I climbed up the steps to the lookout from the Old Tower Bridge. This was absolutely worth it - the old tower had beautiful stained glass inside and the most jaw dropping views on the outside. Tell me, wasn't the climb up the rickety old wooden steps to ccatch this worth its weight in Trdlos?   Day 2 started early for me - at the crack of dawn. I fought jet lag and the urge to snuggle into the comfort of the bed and explored sunrise over the Charles Bridge - solo! I wasn't too far from the madding crowds though; despite last night's bachelor party still going strong, a bride and groom adding to their wedding album and a model adding to her portfolio, I was still able to carve out a space for myself. This, I highly recommend - catching the beauty of the sunrise over the Charles Bridge - and if this is something you are able to do solo - even better! There is a lot to be said for the solitude that only having yourself for company provides.  
The day continued with an exploration of the Prague Castle. Get there before noon to catch the changing of the guards and to avoid the hordes of tourists. The changing of the guards happens at noon - if you get there by 11am, that should give you enough time to explore the grounds. If you want to explore St Vitus Cathedral or any of the other buildings get there even earlier. We timed it just right, so that we had enough of an opportunity to walk around the massive castle grounds, and then turn into one of the cobblestone streets for lunch.
 The day ended with us a catching a show at the Black Light theater - an intriguing 90 minute show, particularly, if you are travelling with little people. After the show we wandered back up into the Old Town, grabbed a pint of their best, and people watched. And watched the sky changing colour with the setting sun. In the words of Ralph Waldo Emerson, "Every sunset brings with it the promise of a new dawn". This is a shot of the building across from the Astronomical Clock tower (which was unfortunately closed for renovation) - and no, while I did not spot a prince or a knight hiding amongst the turrets, my very own knight in shining armour shot this.  Day 3 provided us a dilemma of sorts. Should we take the whole day to go up to Cesky Krumlov or split the day up by visiting Terezin Concentration Camp and then head to Karlovy Vary before heading back? The overwhelming desire to see firsthand how one man's mania impacted the lives of millions won - and we rented a car to drive to Terezin (about 45 minutes from the city). Yes, it is a bit of a somber setting - but, life isn't always about the Trudlos, right? Walking around this camp, gave us an appreciation for what we have and what we need to preserve. Of how important it is that we not let mania like that sweep the world again. Of how important it is to safeguard the freedom that so many of us have and that so many of us aspire to. Warning: some of the pictures below may be unsettling, feel free to scroll past it to read further.    After the morning at Terezin, in an attempt to shake off the cobwebs of unpleasantness, we made our way to Karlovy Vary - the geothermal town that is said to resemble St Petersburg. The glamour quotient of this town is upped by the fact the quintessentially suave James Bond, featuring Daniel Craig, filmed Casino Royale in the Hotel Grand Pupp. Spend an afternoon wandering around this mildly upscale town, having lunch in one of the many bistros, before you head back to the city for your final night in the city of bohemian romance.    Until next time, Praha, you have my heart! 
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