Prague - the doorstep to eastern Europe as some call it

So now that I live in London, short European holidays are bound to happen, in fact it's one of the main reasons I moved, so the first one for me was a bit of last minute planing but to a place I have always wanted to go to - Prague.

I only realised how unplanned I was when I landed at 11 pm missing the last bus into the city with no idea of how to get there. So as you do when you travel alone, I looked around and certainly wasn't alone in this situation. Within minutes there were at least 5 of us gathered around one girl who had data and we managed to figure out a way of getting into town. Great adventurous start to the holiday :)

The first day was all about walking around, exploring on foot since it really is a small city, which I soon learnt is true for most European cities. Morning was dedicated to walking across the river and heading towards the castle. My hotel, Maximilian Hotel, was great and well located just about 5 mins from the old town center and right by the nightlife street of Dlouha.

I was lucky to have amazing weather, the blue sky and bright shining sun made this city look even more beautiful over the river. The gorgeous bridges across Vltava, the walk through the old town square, the views of the castle and the lovely islands in the river can sure make Prague the Paris of eastern Europe. As you explore, look up too and you will notice the different styles of architecture with the cathedrals, houses - Gothic, Baroque and then the cool modern ones like the Dancing House.

The castle, as everyone says, is massive. It isn't like the old Disney type castles scattered around Europe but its very much like the old forts where its a city within a huge wall, with roads, a cathedral and multiple government houses. There are different tickets you can get to see different parts of the castle that interest you. Since I only had a couple of hours to spare I took the Circuit B ticket (covering you for 2 days) and I could see St. Vitus Cathedral, Old Royal Palace, St. George's Basilica, Golden Lane with Daliborka Tower. Keep in mind that the Cathedral has different opening timings depending on the day, so do check that before you head. All of these were spectacular and if you have limited time like me, they cover most of the Castle except some museums. The Old Royal Palace had gorgeous carvings on the walls and for me felt like there were a many balls hosted in the hall. The Golden lane was really cute, with all the old small houses intact. You can see where Frank Kafka wrote some of his interesting short stories and some cool houses of famous film personalities. Very charming. The Cathedral is well stunning, i keep thinking I'm going to get bored of these cause I have seen a fair few now across Europe, but honestly each one is different and magnificent in its own way, so I just need to accept that I love architecture!? :)

A quick lunch later, I was onto the Segway tour, one that I most definitely will not be doing again. The moment I go on one I knew this wasn't going to be safe for me and probably why I wasn't too confident. But before the reason of why I won't ever do them again, I did see a fair few more sites across the city. The start was actually very pretty as we went up the hill through the expansive gardens of Petrinske, Segwaying past the Stefanik observatory and Petrinska Tower which is fondly called the Eiffel tower of Prague not just for its shape but apparently the height of the hill combined with the tower actually is the height of the Eiffel tower.

The views from this hill are absolutely spectacular and you do have the option of taking the tram up there and then walking around (which I recommend over the segway) and there is a lovely bar at the top where you can have a relaxing lunch and take in the view of this gorgeous city. From this we made our way back down and saw the John Lennon wall which well interesting with various graffiti sprawled across despite being cleaned and painted over numerous times by communist regimes, it stands as a symbol of global ideas of peace and love.

Following this we were across the river and there it happened I fell, badly. So even though there are people out there who love the Segway tours, I will personally be sticking with walking and cycling tours from here on! The good thing that came out of the fall though was that I got some really strong pain killers from the American in our group and then when I got back to the hotel, having forgotten I'd taken these and needing to find the courage to clean my terrible scrape, I drank a fair bit of wine, giving me the most intense happy state :)

Finally my relatives arrived and we went for a nice dinner to one of the oldest pubs in Prague. Out of the old city, this was one of the biggest pubs I've been to, with a great outdoor space, massive canteen type rooms and the staff literally walk around with trays of the only beer they have and shots and you just pick the drink and keep getting a mark for your table, clearly a very easy way to get drunk.

The next day we took it easy, saw the infamous astrological clock and watched it turn on the hour and having a stroll along we crossed the Charles Bridge. Lunch was great, one of my colleagues recommended Vkolkovne and their mean 1/2 Duck Roast, it was mean indeed. Along with yummy beers, yes it is I agree by far the best and cheapest beer I've had - there I said it, though caveat is I haven't been to Belgium or Germany yet :)

Then just a stroll by the Jewish quarter and Wenceslas square and my time was up. A short but great visit to a beautiful city, Prague should definitely be on your list of cities to go to. I certainly want to re-visit it for a visit to the Opera.