Prague

I went there mostly for a tournament I was participating in, but since my first and last visit in Prague was like 15 (?) years ago, I needed to spend at least 2-3 days sightseeing too :)

First of all I went there by a night train (adventure!!! XD).
The couchette had 3 "beds" inside. I travelled with 2 people and it's quite hard to imagine how would it be if they were strangers. I chose the lowest bed, cause sometimes I'm moving a bit too much when I sleep. The highest bed was right under the ceiling, so falling down from there could be a bit painfull (the rail had a low chance to stop me). Anyway the whole room was as big as a normal compartment were 6 people sit in a train. Now you can imagine putting 3 beds, a sink and a closet there.
While going to Prague we were trying to do something to distract ourselves from over 10-hour long ride. The road back home was way easier - we were so tired, we just laid down and slept the whole time.

 Now to the main part - Prague:
 If I wanted to tag the city with three words, it would be #architecture #Mucha and #lager
I think it would be enough to tell what city I'm talking about. Of course Prague has a whole lot more for you to see :)

Architecture:
The city wasn't too much ruined during the world war (comparing to Warsaw where I live). That means, there are a lot of architecture monuments for you to visit. The streets are also quite narrow and sinuous, so it's easy to get lost while walking around. The buildings are well-managed though. The restaurants serve tasty food, the shops are modern and well equipped. If you're there for sightseeing reasons, you'll need a few days to see at least the most important places.
We had just a little time in Prague, so we set a high-speed mode, walking almost everywhere to see as much as we could and catch some sense of direction. Luckily most of the important places are quite close to each other. I signed some of those I visited just so you could see what's possible during 2,5 days. The 2 full days were like 10 a.m.-10 p.m. with a little time for coffee and lunch. (note, that these are just a part of all the places we've visited!)

It's not my point to show you everything like a tourist information. :)
I'd like to tell you about my impressions mostly, but a few photos will help here. Prague looks like the buildings were frozen in time long ago, but unlike many other cities, it's really clean and the people here are behaving very well. Even though it's rather crowdy, I didn't feel as uncomfortable as usual in this kind of situation. I bet that's because the city is pretty calm. Not sleepy, but just calm. The cars let you easily cross the streets, the people don't push you on the sidewalks. Life goes on with no rush - the only exception are street lights, but the passers-by seem not to care for the light's color too much and just go :)

Mucha:
He's just an example, but the city is full of art - museums, sculptures, galleries and more. Unfortunately it's forbidden to take photos in many museums and galleries and you'll spend a lot on entry fees. The museums are very traditional. It surprised me a bit. In Poland it's common to make museums as interesting for everyone as possible, which means using modern technologies, adding improvements for the handicapped people and organising many different events. Prague museums were rather old-fashioned, but I guess it might be easier to focus on the art/historical treasures this way.
 Many churches are worth checking as historical/ art museums too (again, lots of them require paying an entry fee...)
The lights here are not artificial. It's just sun shining through stained glass window. Wow! :D  

What I really missed were tourist books. I mean - all those, that let you discover the places that you're visiting more. In the City of Prague Museum there were no english language books. It was the same in the Museum of Alchemy (by the way the place & the tour were awesome, but I'd love to have some souvenir other from a "magical" potion. An alchemy book would be soooo perfect! :( ). Most of the books I could find were jewish legends (I got one), but most of them have the same author, so there's not much to choose from. I also got one book about Kafka's connections with Prague and something about astronomy in the city, but in french. I'm not learning the language, but as far as I checked, the book seems rather easy to translate. There was also chech, russian and some other version. No english.


 Lager:
 There are many restaurants using some artist's name or a tourist-summoning themes. Ok. It's just marketing, but still it's a pleasure to sit in this kind of place, chilling out. There are a few popular beer brands and they are really cheap, so I recommend you to try it. I liked the one called Ferdinand and some grapefruit-tasted one (in Katr restaurant. 100% worth checking and eating there!). It tastes good with meat, which you'll probably be eating in Prague.
If you don't like lager beer... Well, try to get used to it or just order a coffee. It's tasty too.
Also you must try the sweets! They look & taste awesome, no matter if ordered in a cafe or just bought on the street shop.
If you watched "The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack" cartoon, here's a little hint where to go: 

Soooo... The Prague adventure is finished now! 
I loved the people there, the clean streets, the art and architecture. Check it and tell me if your impressions were simmilar. Don't forget to try the cuisine! :)