They (whomever ‘they’ are) say you should allow yourself to enjoy your vices while on holiday. And that I did this morning when I was presented with a breakfast buffet with every type of sausage and cheese known to mankind. At home I don’t eat a lot of meat but wurst and kielbasa are definitely my weakness.
Suitably stuffed (like a sausage) I showered and generally beautified myself as best as can be done and we headed out to explore Prague. And what a gorgeous city it is. Look closely and you’ll find clean streets contrasting with crap graffiti but it all comes together with an overall charm that many other cities lack. Another noticeable thing is the styles—ranging from 80s eurotrash (including some remarkable perms!) to modern haute couture—everyone seems to have a place in Prague.
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| Slovanský ostrov tower—I love the onion-shaped roofs you see all over eastern Europe. |
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| Everywhere you look is full of greenery. |
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| The lock which allows boats to pass the waterfall. |
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| Zev here. It’s wet and my shoe has sprung a leak. |
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| What’s a little rain when you live in London? |
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| There are spaces in this city which don’t seem real! |
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| One of many bridges crossing the Vltava (or Moldau)—a river which has inspired artists to write symphonies. |
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| Another corner, another beautiful space. |
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| The Dancing Building (aka Fred and Ginger). |
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| Kostel Svatého Ignáce. |
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| Kostel Svatého Ludmily with its two clocks. |
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| Free bags to clean up after your pooch! |
After walking around half the city it was time to have a rest before dinner (these are holidays after all). We decided to try out the Italian restaurant on the lower ground floor of our hotel. The restaurant prominently advertises that they make their own mozzarella in house and the prices were extremely inexpensive (about €6 for a huge pizza, see photo below).
We ordered a vegetarian antipasti platter to start which had a selection of grilled Mediterranean vegetables with olives, fresh and sun-blush tomatoes, and of course several generously thick slices of mozzarella. The bill came in at a princely 430Kč or €15. Excellent service, definitely worth a go!
Ristorate L’Artista
Legerova 9
120 00 Praha
Czech Republic
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| The street entrance to our hotel restaurant Ristorate L’Artista which prides itself on homemade mozzarella. |
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| Pizza ‘Lecce’—artichokes, wild mushrooms and salami... yum!! |
After dinner I took a few photos of the hotel car park—this building was around before cars and was likely designed for a horse and carriage to enter the courtyard, not modern cars at nearly 2m in width... It’s great for a motorbike, but would be far too easy to knock off a wing mirror squeezing a car through the aperture.
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| Sharing a space with a Swiss registered R1150GS—have yet to run into the owner, perhaps he/she will find this blog post? |
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| Driving skills and spacial awareness required to squeeze a car into the car park—no problem with a bike! |
We popped out to a traditional-style Czech pub for a couple pints of tasty local lager before going back to the room for a good night’s sleep—it’s off to Wemding, Germany tomorrow, 350km away.
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| Česká Společnost Antropologická (Czeck Anthropological Society) at dusk. |
Europe 2014 quick links
