"Prague, city of cities" a Prague Travel Page by OlafS

Back after nine years. When I first visited Prague in 1995 I totally fell in love with it. To think that it had been a second-choice destination back then! I had planned to go to Moscow that year, but the infamous Russian bureaucracy prevented that from happening. Then one of my friends suggested to go to Prague instead. A little reluctantly I agreed. I knew nothing about that city. Was there anything to do? Anything to see? Funny that it is only nine years ago. What an ignorant person I must have been. Of course there was no internet back then. At least, I didn't have access to it. Information in those days came from books. Books that never did Prague total justice. I just had to wait until I was in Prague before I could decide what to think of the place.

We travelled by car. First day took us to Bavaria, close to the Czech border. Second day we drove to Prague, to a camping to be exact, where we would be joined by three more guys. For some reason we didn't get to go to the centre until the evening. First thing I saw of Prague were the illuminated monumental buildings of the Old Town square. I was sold. We stayed in Prague for a whole week, until we decided we had seen enough. I soon doubted if I really had. Prague can become addictive.Years passed away. My whole life changed. Steady job, marriage, emigration. The wish to return remained, but I never returned. Until this year, 2004. My wife and me had planned to spend a week in Maastricht, in the old country. But when we bought a house we cancelled our plans. We could use the money for more important things. Somehow my wife changed her mind, when she booked a trip to Prague, knowing how much I'd like to go back there. We needed a holiday, we never really had one together. Once again I reluctantly agreed, this time for financial reasons. But, I did agree. After all, this was Prague!

After a tedious bustrip we arrived in Prague, where we would stay for the next three days. With excellent weather and a nice combination of guided excursions and plenty of spare time. Once again, it was not enough, but for now it's OK. Once again I'm addicted, and chances are that we go again next year. Yes I know, there's so much more in the world. But once you're addicted to Prague, the rest of the world may not matter that much anymore.

My tips are mostly in the Must See-category. Reason: I was here only three days. Enough to "see" a lot, not enough to actually "do" a lot. Most of my tips therefore are about historic architecture. They're arranged by the part of the city where they can be found. Some of the tips are about highlights, others are simply about things I liked. I know there are many tips but then there's a lot to see in this great city. I hope this way of presenting them is useful.