"Mbsimjam's Czech Republic Page " a Czech Republic Travel Page by mbsimjam

Ah the Czech Republic. The forgotten land.

The land that divides East from West has been a strategic stronghold for centuries. It has been the centre of the Holy Roman Empire, a prominent fixture in the Habsburg Empire and, around the time of the 1st World War, had the 3rd largest and fastest growing economy in Europe. Full of educated people, the culture and arts, and the most prominent film industry in Europe, as well as many natural resources, Czech (combined with Slovakia at the time)was on its way to becoming a power on the Old Continent.

Come WWII, things were being divided up like a Risk gameboard, and to many people's surprise, the West took Austria instead of Czechoslovakia.

The result is a nation just now finding its way back into the 20th Century, while wholeheartedly embracing the developments and business opportunities of the 21st.

Visiting Czech Republic will not only give you fond memories of your time there, viewing spectacular architecture, medieval caves, and royal palaces, but give you an insight into the lasting effects of the Eastern bloc, and a people trying to shed that very image and become the European Centre they believe they should be.

The people of the Czech Republic are some of the most inventive and resilient people I have come across. This is shown in their willingness to do, try and learn anything to get ahead in their careers, as well as their endless creative ideas on how to get things for free!

But all joking aside, CR is marked by a severe gap that separates those who have embraced democracy...or more importantly, capitalism...and those that simply haven't. Those that have, have generally found themselves very successful and happy with what they have achieved. Those that haven't seem to emulate exactly the kind of attitude that you would expect them to have during communism...one of nothing going right and everything going wrong.

Despite this, there is one thing that unites the people, and that is their giving spirit. People of this country are very proud to be and very happy to help you in your quest to see their beautiful country. And not to talk about their hospitality in the home. You will leave their house full of food and drunk to the nines if they have their way...and invite you back for more the next day.

Overall, Czechs have a subtle friendliness that is held back by their shy nature, that includes not necessarily trusting anyone right off the bat. However, they are some of the most spirited people you will find, and are truly the best part of this country.

This country has so much to offer that most people do not even think about because they have their 5-7 days and spend most, if not all of them, in Prague. Now, Prague is the Jewel of Europe and one of the most fascinating cities in all the world and you could spend so much time digging deeper and deeper into love with this city.

There are, however, SO MANY amazing places in this country that will give you an experience like no other, that you could spend your whole life doing something amazing every day and not run out.

Kutna Hora, the Spa Towns, Cesky Krumlov, Telc, the wine region, Plzen, and many other places hold amazing adventures for anyone that wants to explore!