"Magical Prague" a Prague Travel Page by dlandt

To date, Prague is one of two places in the world I consider magical. The other is Neuschwanstein Castle, though I debate ading Kyoto to the list. Of the three, Prague is my favorite, because it is both earthy and magical at the same time. Everywhere you turn, you seem to be reminded of beauty, almost in the way of an old romance movie, where it is too good to be true. Then, like the villain in a movie, the bad service brings you back to reality :) Still, I really love this blend of the the real and the too good to be real.

The photo shown here shows a particular side of Prague that I will touch on in my tips. Art in Prague is seldom nationalistic. There are no statues of military heroes, no grand arches for armies to parade under, no victory columns etc. The Czechs design their city and their art along religious or aesthetic lines, with only a few national heroes put out for display. Even then, those heroes are as likely to be seen in a three piece suit as in shining armor. This is because the Czechs have been ruled from abroad for so long, but I find it an interesting aspect of their national character, in part because you wonder what lies beneath.

I've known Czechs all my life, having come from a city which draws Czech immigrants like sausage draws mustard. That experience didn't prepare me for Prague in the slightest, even though Prague is to Bohemia what NYC is to the US or Rome is to Italy, which is to say not very representative. I'd always found the Czechs to be hard working, potato eating, beer drinking people with a collectively serious disposition and a productive culture similar to the Germans and Poles. I never thought of them as having a taste for beauty or relaxation, but they do. Prague was, to me, almost mystical in its beauty. There was an infusion of grace in the city, even in the smokiest beer hall, that spoke of life well lived and loved. You don't get that in many places.

If someone is well read, then Prague will also be famous as a place of secrets, where freemasons and alchemists of all sorts have found a home alongside spies, mafias and and incognito diplomats. This side of Prague isn't as well known as the storybook "kingdom far away", but for me, it was one of the more intriguing aspects of the city. There were times when you would pass an old section of the city and look at a stairwell going down to a basement tavern and wonder who had met there for what over the years. I agree this is something of a romantic interpretation of the dark side of Prague, but Prague is a city that begs romanticisation, albeit often in a tragic way.