Spring in Prague

A visit to Prague was something we had in our list of "things to do" and we decided to put an end to this situation this week. However, instead of flying from Frankfurt, my way to Prague took me first to Bratislava and from there, by train, to Prague, in a very international train departing from Budapest and going to Berlin, through Bratislava, Prague and Dresden.

The first thing I have to say about Prague is that I have never seen so many Americans in any other city in Europe (including London). American English is heard everywhere in the streets and there are also plenty of American restaurants, like McDonald's, KFC,... It seems that the least pro-European country in Europe has very strong links with the USA, and probably these are going beyond mere touristical visits.

Prague is for me mainly the city of the "Golem", a mythological creature which, according to the legend, was created by a Jewish rabbi to defeat his enemies and which is now in the Old-New Synagogue (how can something be old and new at the same time?) waiting for further orders to act. Nevertheless, although that was for me a clear landmark of Prague, nobody seems to have the same thought when hearing the name "Prague", so I am starting to think that I am a bit "freak".

On the other aspects of our days in Prague, I must first say that it was incredibly warm for this time of the year. Like in similar cities throughout Europe, I got the impression that it is a very tourist-oriented place (like a thematic park sometimes), which, in some cases, was not so special (for example, the Astronomical Clock, Vysehrad Castle or the Charles Bridge are not so outstanding). Other areas, though, are really remarkable. What we enjoyed more was Petrin Park (and the mini Eiffel Tower there), the Strahov Monastery and the Jewish Quartier. I did not catch much of the atmosphere of Kafka either, but it must be because I am more focused on English Literature.

Having said that, after mentioning its comfortable net of trams, and thanks to the devaluation of the Czech crown against the euro (je, je, je) and, not during winter, to its nice temperatures, Prague is really worth some of our time.