Prague

We spent 5 great days in Prague and stayed with my friend Paula and her 2 year old daughter Maia. Paula's parents escaped from Czechoslovakia in the sixties and came to Canada. Paula moved into the house at the bottom of our street in West Vancouver when she was 5, so we've known each other a very long time. Her family still has a place in Prague and we timed our trip so we could spend some time with her and Maia.

The family apartment is in one of the suburbs of Prague and is on the second floor. The main floor has a bar/pub in it, perfect for great food and cheap beer. Eating in Prague is still cheap: 1-1.50euro for a pint of draft. Meals were hearty and large; made of mostly meat, and always accompanied with potatoes and/or bread dumplings, and gravy, yum! France has a reputation of being a meat eating country, but the Czech Republic (and probably all the Eastern European countries) can take that title in my book. Barely a vegetable in sight; most definitely NOT a country for vegetarians. Vegan? Forget about it, I would be surprised if there is even a Czech word for it. They would probably run them out of town like they did to the Russians in 1989!

Typical Czech breakfast: bread, cheese and deli meats. And probably beer, but we didn't have any. Those bananas are not from the Czech Republic, and shouldn't be in the photo.

Lunch and dinner: meat, carbs and beer. Does cabbage count as a veggie?

We barely spent 200euros in the five days we were there. Of course 'western' items are the same price, but we didn't go to Prague to buy a pair of shoes or clothes. Go anywhere in Europe at the end of July and you are bound to be in a sea of tourists. Prague was no different!

One of the most interesting things we did, was the Communism Museum. Very ironically located between the bastion of capitalism: a McDonald's, and a Casino. This is a must see in any visit to Prague. Make sure to spend the time to watch the video's (english subtitles) including footage of the Velvet Revolution in 1989. Being in Europe and seeing all the century old historical sites, castles, palaces etc is great. However seeing amazing footage and reading articles from a major event that has happened in our lifetime is simply amazing.


Most of our time was simply spent exploring different areas of Prague including Vysehrad, Mala Stranka, Charles Bridge and Prague Castle. Walking a city like Prague is a good way to burn off all the beer calories. Saturday was Maia's second birthday, so we had a little party and her grandmothers house.

Prague Castle and Charles Bridge

Apparently the Czech's drink the most beer per capita (although I'm sure the Germans would dispute that). After our first sip we understood why. This stuff just goes down so easily, is so good and so cheap. Of course like the rest of Europe you can drink and buy it anywhere. When will North America wake up. I can't believe we are so anal about beer and wine in Canada. It's absurd - end rant!

Lots more pictures posted in two albums here: picasaweb.google.com/DKSPENCE76