And my heart will forever go Pra-ha, Pra-ha...

You often hear that Prague is one of the most beautiful cities in Europe, maybe in the whole world. After finally having visited the capital of Czech Republic, I cannot disagree.

If you have not been there yet, imagine this: a city with the classic sheer beauty of Vienna, but less posh and more colorful; as richly varied in architecture as Budapest, but cleaner and smaller; as culturally excessive as Paris, but more lighthearted; and with the mix of bohemian and hedonistic party life you otherwise only find in London, Amsterdam or Berlin.

In short, this is probably the capital of Europe - walking the streets of Prague you collect views of architecture and art that ranges from  Medieval and Renaissance to Baroque, Rokoko, Gothic and a throw-in of Empire, Neo-Classique and Art Nouveau. I don't think I saw one ugly or boring building during my stay.

As if this was not enough, prices are lower than in Western and Central Europe, beer and food is good and richly varied, parks are grand and extremely lush, and through this breathtaking urban landscape floats the calm river Moldau.

Of course, this attracts a lot of people. But, like in Amsterdam, you only have to move a few blocks beside the main streets of the Old Town to find slower pace, original bars and cafés, and the possibility to blend in among Czech people living their every day lives.

Already my first evening I made some new friends - a very interesting Czech guy working as "professional knight", e.i. he is a fighting actor working for one of the tour companies traveling around central Europe to perform large, scenographed, choreographed and script-bound battles from different historical periods. Later, in the same bar, I also met a nice and interesting Serb woman and her Bulgarian friends, taking time off their interesting work for an NGO concerned with education issues and projects.

However, one of the first things I noticed was that people did not smile as much as I had gotten used to while traveling Southern Europe and Balkan. I was clearly back in Northern European land, where feelings are supposed to be disguised...

Loyal to my habit of challenging my fear of heights to get the wonderful bird's perspective of my surroundings, I went up the tower of the Old City Hall to see this immensely beautiful city from above.


With sun and 25 degrees Celsius, I also spent some time in various parks, sitting on the grass and feeling like Summer is going to happen this year too.


















































































I met up once again with my Serb and Bulgarian friends for drinks, and my last eve - just before taking the night train to Krakow - I went to one of the concerts.











I have enjoyed a lot better classical concerts before - even though this one was given by a small string setting from the Royal Czech Orchestra, it felt more like I was paying to see a sort of rehearsal rather than an actual concert. Playing some of the most requested pieces by Mozart, Dvorak, Vivaldi and Beethoven, but with the tempo taken up at least 1/3 from the original to fit in as many pieces as possible in 70 minutes, it felt like I would have been given more musical value for my money going to a larger concert in the Opera. But, the concert was held in the Colloredo-Mansfeld Palace, where Mozart himself has actually performed and where parts of Milos Forman's film Amadeus were shot. The beautiful but not too well-kept interior displays the original frescoes from 1735, something that is very rare in Europe. And on the program was my absolute favorite classical piece, the Lacrimosa movement from Mozart's Requiem. So even if the musicians in general could have performed better, I was happily enjoying the experience.

"Street art" in Prague is often rather a way of promoting a bar or a brand...

...like this tattoo studio announcing its existence on the wall

Dinner in a large, touristy but still quite authentic Czech restaurant...
however, being given the flag of your nationality complete with a
menu on your mother tongue, I felt like I got what I deserved for
bragging on my blog about all the "local people" I meet...

Prague is honestly a city I cannot wait to visit again. I have not fallen so hard for a city since I first got to know Amsterdam. With a population of only 1.2 million inhabitants, the city is not the overpopulated mess a lot of other European capitals feel like, and the combination of classical beauty and bohemian, cultural lifestyle is definitely something that inspires, encourages and frees my soul.