Yes! We are finally in Prague, Czech Republic. This trip had been on the books for a very long time, but for some reason or the other never came to pass until now. I finally booked it while we were still wavering between leaving Spain altogether and trying a new country or staying on. Federico, being the daredevil was all set to move without having visited, while l was a bit more cautious. We had moved to Malaga without a prior visit and ultimately, neither of us loved it. We liked it well enough, but a weekend visit maybe, not to live. Seville suited us much better, as does Valencia now. I was therefore not eager to do the same thing with a new country. Besides, as a black woman, I wanted to make sure l would feel comfortable enough among the locals. I can’t afford to make those decisions willy-nilly! 🙂
First impressions of Prague? A very pretty city. Picture perfect in fact. I think we picked the best time to visit. The weather is warm, the crowds are plentiful, but nowhere as much as the summer crowds. It has given us a chance to see how the people live. We are staying close to the center, about a 15-20 minute walk in a residential neighborhood and in an awesome AirBnB apartment. Why oh why do we have different opinions you ask? Federico loves the city. He finds it gorgeous, spacious, lives up to the hype. He could live here blah blah blah. He almost choked when l told him l was not impressed 🙂 . We had sat down to take a breather after walking uphill through a beautiful park, the whole city laid out before us. I described it like this – Prague feels like my Mac laptop. It looks fantastic, sleek, silver, sexy..then you go to use it, and it is cold to the touch. That’s how it feels to me now. My hope is that it starts to feel warm like the computer gets after using it for a bit. We’re on our 4th day and have a bit to go, so l hope it happens soon. It has absolutely nothing to do with being a minority, in fact this is one of the few countries where l see black people working behind the counter at stores etc.. and not just relegated to selling cheap knockoffs in alleyways..so yeah! 🙂 .
I’m curious to see what l’ll have to say at the end of the trip. Will l join every other person in the world and keep spouting that Prague rocks and deserves all the accolade or will l stand by my lonesome, banished from society for daring to be different? :-). I didn’t come with any preconceived notions. It’s like an episode of “Batman” or “Soap”, so stay tuned, same bat channel.
Have you been to Prague? If yes, what was your first impression..and did it change over time? If not, do you believe the hype?
Ok, I hope Prague will grow on you! I don’t know what to recommend, as your opinions differ so much… I’d suggest go stroll in Nový Svět, that’s a beautiful area that might warm your heart 🙂 Also the island of Kampa is nice and you can go to a recently reconstructed villa not many people know about (yet). It’s called Werichova Villa (Werich Villa) and there’s a lovely café inside.
I hope so too Veronika. Thanks for the suggestions. I will look it up and make an effort to get there. Haha! Federico is like “exactly what do you expect the city to do for you?” It’s one of the rare times that we don’t agree on a place…and l find it kind of funny. Usually l get all fuzzy or nonchalant pretty quickly, but this has me kind of neutral for now.
Looks lovely Kemkem. I have a friend who adores Prague. Expat buddy of mine in Thailand who helped found the first English speaking university in town. He lived there for decades I believe. Awesome dude who raved about the place….and I see why.
It is indeed lovely Ryan. Very lovely. I expected to feel the warmth right away, and l waited till 4 days later to write this hoping in the meantime, l would different..but nope..not yet. I hope l figure out why soon. I really want to love it as much as everyone else does. 🙂
Have visited Prague twice – quite enjoyed our time there. It’s the only place in the world where I’ve been pick pocketed – from my front pocket!!!!
Haha! I mentioned that to Federico and he immediately put his wallet in the front pocket as he always leaves it in the back and l tell him how easy that is to lift. We have a few days left still, so maybe l will “get” it :-).
The photos make me think of Budapest and any city that brings Budapest to mind is a city that I would love to visit. But I completely understand what you say about it not clicking the right way. Sometimes even the most beautiful things can be hollow and lack something that you can’t really put your finger on. Or maybe you just know that Prague doesn’t have the same great weather that Valencia does… And that is all it takes :)))
It’s a very nice city indeed, prettier than Budapest l think. It does in deed feel hollow and we have now been here a week with no change in my emotions, not like Budapest. Haha! Maybe it is the weather thing, even though it has been super sunny every day instead of the rain they had predicted, so that l am very grateful to the gods :-).
My son and i visited Prague last year- and found it picturesque and beautiful. But, you described it well- it felt distant, too.
Oh Thank God someone else has felt the distance too. It’s hard to explain, but it’s definitely there. Gorgeous city no doubt though :-).
We’ve been to Prague 4 times now and combined have spent 6 months in Prague. With each visit we’ve enjoyed the city more. Part of it depends on the neighborhood you’re staying in. It also depends on where you go and what you do. You can easily come away feeling that Prague is waayyy too touristy…but that’s if you go everywhere that other tourists go. The great thing about Prague is that there is tons to see including many things that many tourists will never visit.
And apart from tourist sights, there is beauty everywhere in Prague, even in some of the little neighborhood parks where only locals go. Go see Havlíčkovy Sady park for example, you’ll find some impressive rock grottos and – in the middle of the park – a vineyard. Go to the top and you can sit up there drinking wine over looking the city. And you won’t see any tourists. I could give you tons of similar examples. It’s our favorite city.
Hey Frank, I totally remember that you guys spent quite a bit of time here and how much you love it. I actually don’t think Prague is that touristy, at least not right now. There are plenty of tourists, but still a very manageable size everywhere. We made it to Charles Bridge today and there was plenty of room for everyone. Summer time must be madness, but right now feels the right amount. I like the area of Letna that we are in. I like going to the grocery store and how friendly and helpful people are. I wish l could put my finger on what it is. That Sady park looks very nice and we will definitely check it out.
Hey, KemKem. How do you work out your housing? In Valencia, you moved to a better apartment after being in the first one for a few months. Do you not sign a year’s lease? If Federico convinces you to move, do you have to break a lease? Looking for a feel of how apartment rentals work. Thank you!
Hi Victoria. We did sign a year’s lease, hard to believe we’ve been in Valencia a year!. You might have missed the part about our lease being up (maybe it was in the newsletter). Long term leases have to be for 12 months (don’t fall for 11 months, that is no longer valid). You are allowed to break the lease after 6 months by law, but you can pretty much forget getting your deposit back, they always find excuses, a common thing in Spain. Our old landlord was a decent guy and we had no problems. We got our deposit back, but it is a rarity. We’ve only broken the lease once, in Malaga where we left after 7 months and did not get our money back. If he convinced me, it would be after the lease was over. We have renters too and l hate breaking lease, so would try to avoid it.
Kemkem, I have never been to Prague and therefore will not be making any suggestions. It is hard when the “feeling” for a place is just not there. Although giving time you can grow to love a place. You looked very relaxed and chilled on that photo😄 Brian and I are off to Peru on Saturday, we will be away from for over 5 weeks….it feels exciting to be away from home longer than our usual 2 weeks holiday😄
Oh how exciting! 5 weeks would be amazing in Peru. I hope you have an exciting time, but l’m sure you will. I hope Prague grows on me. I realized we scheduled just under 3 weeks so as to get a feel for the place for future moving if needed, so we’ll see. I actually didn’t mind the bit of hiking, but man..is it hot! :-). I can’t wait to read your thoughts on Peru. I’ll have to live it through you as it is not on my list :-).
We loved, loved, loved our month in Prague last year (end of April and all of May) and I’m with Frank in saying that it’s one of our favorite cities with plenty of places off the tourist track. In fact, driving around the Czech Republic had me day-dreaming about making it a part-time home as the country lives up to the all the hype and the cost of living is amazingly low. It’s those nasty winters though, that would totally keep me from thinking I could live there year-round. And the language looks even harder to learn than Portuguese! Anita P.S. Your comment on knocking the lady off the scooter had me howling!
I really wanted to knock her off that thing! You should have seen the image before this, I had such a wicked grin on my face.. I could just picture it. I don’t know why the city is not jelling with me, it is certainly pretty enough and l am seeing the local side. The cost of living seems to be a bit cheaper than Valencia, but not by much from the grocery store prices. For sure the language would be a bitch to learn :-). We need to figure out the 6 months in/ 6 months out thing..haha! I have no desire to live here as of yet.
Kem, with your history of travel, I say trust your instincts. Not that Fredrico isn’t right also, you are both just “feeling things differently.” I will be curious to know if you figure out what it is that makes the city feel distant. We have only visited there once, and loved it. I could easily return for a longer stay, but, it would not be on my short list of places to live.
I think you’re right Suzanne, I have traveled long enough to know when some place just doesn’t click with me. No use trying to force it at this point. If it happens, it happens. If it doesn’t, I am okay with it. The city is big..and pretty for sure. I’m glad you liked it when you visited, and l do hope l figure out why it’s not making all googly woogolie :-).
My husband and I spent 6 weeks in Prague and I felt the exact same way you do. I really wanted to love such a beautiful city. But there was a coldness of interaction that I couldn’t acclimate to. A Russian friend of mine, who had once lived in Prague, mentioned that there are different cultural norms in Russia and Eastern Europe and that maybe I shouldn’t smile at people so much, “it puts them off.” That comment prompted me to research “smiling” and “eye contact” in the Czech Republic. Wow, cultural norms are very different from North America. In the recent past, smiling was seen as mocking someone or laughing at them. Eye contact was a threat. The American smile and hospitality was seen as fake and insincere. As CZ (and almost everywhere else in the world) becomes ever more cosmopolitan, these norms are becoming less intense. But, I can still feel the absence of warmth and hospitality in familiar ways. For some people this isn’t an issue, for others they don’t even notice, but for me it was akin to taking cold showers in Asia – I can live with it, but I never really enjoyed it. Great for a visit, but not enough warmth to call home.
NPR has a relevant podcast. The 2nd half of the show talks about training Russians (who learned in school that smiling at strangers makes you an idiot) to smile when working at McDonalds. http://www.npr.org/programs/invisibilia/481887848/the-new-norm
Thanks for chiming in Nikki. Very interesting what you say about cultural norms. I’m a bit used to the aloofness because the Spanish and Maltese are the same way till you get to know them or see them often. I had a neighbor who l smiled and said hello to for days on end who would just look at me and not say anything 🙂 . After about 11 months, she turned into a chatty Cathy and would say hello, ask about the dogs etc..of course..we moved at the end of our lease. I think they are so used to foreigners being around for such a short time, they don’t bother trying to be friendly. I have actually found the people in Prague friendly, my horrible pronunciation of dye-koo (thank you) in Czech has done wonders..really amazing that one word could make them just melt. I am intrigued by the fact that your opinion didn’t change after 6 weeks which proves to me that first impressions are usually right. It’s okay though, l think it’s great that the whole world doesn’t love the same things and places. I will check out the podcast..it sounds educational. Thanks again for the great comment.
‘Nice one KemKem!
I’ve been out of the loop for quite some time, but I’m back now! Yeah, Prague. Whoop! Whoop!
We’re going to agree to disagree here. I lived in the Czech Republic in the mid-90’s (ahem!) I was supposed to be out there for 6 weeks, and ended up staying there for 2 years! Like Berlin, I know how to navigate my way around and even spoke a little Czech back in the day. Not now though, although people tend to assume I’m “just a tourist,” and might try a little scam here and there. It doesn’t work though!!
The key to Prague is to read the Czech version of things rather than the English or German version as there are sometimes 2 prices (oh yes), and also local establishments that at first sight look intimidating, but those are the right places. Go in! They might stare for a few seconds, but after that, they’re quite friendly, and very open, and before you know it – vodka for everyone!
However, being that I didn’t like Romania, and you did, I’m the last person to convince you of your gut feeling. I hope you change your mind about Prague, but if you don’t, that’s perfectly alright too!
Haha! so true..we seem to be on the other side of the fence from each other when it comes to Prague and Romania which l loved. The world is good as long as there are different strokes :-). Congratulations on the new job. I am catching up as well and hope to get caught up soon. We actually did a day trip to Dresden a few days ago and it was lovely. I just can’t get excited about Prague for some reason. Now back after a week off and still feel the same way. The think that kills me is that everyone has been really nice and the place is pretty and everything should be peachy keen, but it’s not. Haha! Agree to disagree sounds like a great middle ground. 🙂
Thanks so much for your kind words re-my new job KemKem!
As much as I adore Prague, I’d suggest that you continue to go for your gut feeling.
You’ve travelled the world long enough to know what you like, and what you don’t. ‘Sometimes, there isn’t even a reason, it’s just that “this isn’t my place feeling.” I felt similar not only in Romania, but South Africa too. I was staying with a German girlfriend of mine, we were on the wealthy side of the cliff opposite the sea. We went on safari, day trips, saw the penguins, had High Tea at the Nelson Hotel, everyone was super nice etc, etc. I ws there for 2 weeks, but I still didn’t like it.
I didn’t like Singapore either! And don’t get me started on the Dominican Republic! I’ve always known that I have a thing for wind and rain, rather than sunny exotic beaches, and the Caribbean Island confirmed it. Haw! Haw! No palm beaches for me!
You know how l feel about Asia travel. It just doesn’t call out to me like it does for others. Even after visiting Thailand and Japan, I am not too keen to travel other places. I just know myself ( I however wouldn’t mind going back to either place, especially Japan as l really liked both), but other places like Singapore that you mention have no appeal to me, even though l can appreciate peoples travels there. I am the perfect armchair traveler and enjoy reading others travels. Nope..my feelings for Prague didn’t change much after Vienna 🙂 . I had a grand time in J’Burg and would go back, I have heard about Cape Town and l have mixed feelings about that, we’ll see when we eventually get there. I love the fact that one size doesn’t fit all, and we can all enjoy different places.
It does look postcard perfect but maybe it’s your gut instincts telling you it may not be right for you. Maybe a month long stay will help the decision?
I totally understand your concern about being a black woman in new territory- no one wishes to be stared at, or worse- treated poorly! I love that overall you have had great experiences and I’m always excited to read about your latest adventure! Full disclosure- when we were thinking about visiting Malta, your extensive articles definitely swung the vote! 🙂
I think so. At this point, I think l have a pretty good litmus test to places. It had all the right elements, but they didn’t gel for me. You know after the week in Vienna, and going back for the last 4 nights, I still felt the same. It’s just not a click for me. I’m sure at some point, it might occur to me why not..if it does, I will share. I was really impressed with seeing black people working regular jobs there, something you don’t see in Spain even. Your comment makes me smile, again and again. I am so happy that l can help in any little way. I hope it stays that way :-).
Among the cities I have lived, some felt warm and welcoming right away, others felt polite but chilly. Funny thing though. Some of those instantly warm places never developed much depth in the quality of connections and community. While some of the more stand-offish (at first) became over time my favorite areas to live with amazingly warm people once you got to know them and they you.
Perhaps Prague is one of those places that peels away its reserve over time. Who knows? In any case, a lovely place for some to visit, a lovely place for others to live!
I hear you. My problem is that there are so many, many places l want to visit still that l do not feel like l can afford to give the place more time to do that. A place like Amsterdam which l didn’t love either, l would give another chance because l feel it might grown on me, but Prague…nah… l just didn’t feel it. It’s okay though, l would only go back to complete seeing the auto museum and maybe other parts. I feel like Prague is more for youngsters. If in your twenties and early thirties, you would have an amazing time there l think. Me? I will go on looking for more places that fit me better😁.