Our experience in Prague was yet another unique and amazing mixture of so many awesome people, rich history, art, culture and food. For us, Prague has been one of the most ironic cities we’ve experienced. I suppose these ironies are based on preconceived expectations we had. For instance, we were expecting this ancient city from another time and we found ourselves in a modern mall, saw really cool contemporary architecture and ate at progressive gastro pubs. It also has a reputation of being slower paced – which it is – but it was funny how fast the Metro and escalators were. Stepping onto the escalators for the Metro is like stepping onto a treadmill at full speed. Poor Jett with his tiny legs had to literally leap aboard. And most importantly, the Czech people on the streets can have a bit of a rough exterior. Not a lot of smiling or eye contact when out in public. But striking up a conversation with anyone opens up warm and generous spirit. Like when a movie goes from black and white to color. Praha was a pleasant surprise to us.
Speaking of people, we were so incredibly fortunate to discover VilaFlora on AirBnB. Our hosts Michaela and Hynek and their many friends live in a sort of youth hostel meets wellness center meets hippie compound. They make and sell Kombucha and raw, vegan desserts as well as run an alternative school for teens and adults. It’s a very special place with art everywhere, an outdoor garden and greenhouse as well as a communal kitchen for gathering. We met people from all over the world including Gentry, a young American woman traveling alone for over a year. And Anuj from Vancouver who has one of the most interesting and diverse upbringings I’ve ever heard. Mikal, Jan, Lukas, Ales – so many amazing, creative and passionate people. All interested in improving themselves and, in turn, the world we live in. Very inspiring.
We did plenty of sightseeing during our week here. The Charles Bridge crosses over the Vltava River dividing the city. It’s a spectacular piece of history with statues lining each side and art vendors, street performers and sketch artists on the bridge itself. There are epic towers on each end of the bridge which were used to prevent intrusion back in the day. We also saw the Prague Castle which is over 1100 years old. Kind of hard to comprehend something like that. It’s also one of the largest castle complexes in the world.
One day we headed toward Petrin Hill which has tons of green space and the Petrin Tower which resembles a mini Eiffel Tower. But at our tram stop there was a giant park with funky climbing structures, single rope swings and a cool stream with interactive directionals. So we spent an hour just goofing off before it started raining then headed home. Fun diversion and missing the tower wasn’t the end of the world. Sometimes being together is more important, and more memorable, than the tourist attractions.
Prague’s Old Town Square is a beautiful place to people watch, have some wine and take in all the culture – which we of course did. Lots of tourists taking selfies, devouring street food and taking carriage rides. The clock tower is massive, old and beautiful. You can ride an elevator to the top for a fee but we declined. We kind of have to pick and choose what activities are worth paying for and not. Especially since virtually all public toilets or WCs in Europe cost about .50 cents. Doesn’t sound like much but for a family of 5 traveling for a year – we could literally piss all our money away. 🙂 Anyway, we passed on the clock tower and bought some yummy Trdelníks instead. They’re basically dough that’s wrapped around a pole and roasted then filled with whatever you want: Nutella, whip cream, strawberries, etc. Some even come with ice cream. So good.
We rented a paddle boat one afternoon to explore the river – cheap and fun way to connect with nature and each other. And the best part was pulling up to a dock and having wine delivered. Na zdraví! (cheers / to your health). With Charles Bridge in the foreground and Prague Castle up on the hill, we ended up paddling around for 2 hours and loved it. Bonus that Jett stayed in the boat!
We also found time to hit a few shops and explore the city. Even found a walking alley so narrow it has a traffic light! And spiral-fried potato ‘chips’ were delicious. Back home we made some homemade guac, Jett got a much needed haircut from super awesome Nikol and we celebrated Hynek’s birthday. So much to see and do in this town including doing nothing. There are many parks and open space to meditate, exercise, read, you name it. On one hand it feels like we did quite a bit while here – but on the other, seems like we hardly did a thing at all. Oh, the irony. Díky Praha – we will miss you dearly.
Stivers Tribe 