Trip Report: Czech Republic
Visited in February 2005
The Czech Republic was one of the first countries I have been to. In 2005, when I was 19 years old, my school’s graduation trip took me to the Czech capital Prague.
Why Prague? In Switzerland, but probably also in other European countries, many people think of the Czech Republic as the “Wild Kurdistan”. A place far away from the culture we know, equivalent to the former Soviet Union. Young men in particular associate the country, or rather the entire Central European region, with cheap alcohol and gorgeous, willing women. This means that most young men travel there with a certain expectation, but go home disappointed…
The image of Prague described above was also the reason why our class wanted to go. We all had the hope of partying all night long and “getting to know” one beautiful woman after another. The first part may have happened that way, but the second part obviously did not. Maybe there was some eye contact with a woman on the dance floor, but that was the maximum. We had a blast anyway. At our age, it was still possible to party into the early hours of the morning seven days in a row. That’s why we absolutely loved it.
What else did we do in Prague? I remember the metro stations and a guided tour of the castle. We, a bunch of 18-20 year old students, couldn’t have been more bored. Who would have thought that just a few years later I would be voluntarily visiting such places. Also, I have to say that this trip was in February and it was bitterly cold. One day it was so cold that some of the students needed medical attention.
I also remember the “Vietnamese Market”. When I Google this term today, I can’t find anything in Prague. It was just an open-air market a little outside the city center with many Asian merchants. So we called this place the Vietnamese market. And we went there to buy weapons. There was a wide variety of weapons that you could just buy on the street. You might wonder why young students would think of buying weapons in the Czech Republic. I have no idea. I guess when you’re 20, it’s just cooler to bring home a nunchaku as a souvenir instead of a magnet for the fridge.
It was funny how we smuggled these weapons home. Since we were traveling by train (which was probably even cheaper than flying back then), we hid all our items in the most unlikely places. We got really creative. For example, we wrapped a baton in a condom and put it in a bottle of thick syrup. Or in sandwiches. And although the police at the Czech-German border searched our train compartment, they found exactly two ninja stars that one student had hidden not well enough. I don’t want to promote smuggling with this report, but these were the experiences that stuck in my mind 🙂
A few years later, I think it was 2007 or 2008, I went to Prague for the second time. This time with four friends and fortunately not in the middle of winter but in the summer. If I remember correctly, we went for five days, but this time by plane. Those five days were also characterized by long nights in discos and little that could be called cultural. But that was alright. We all weren’t interested in that kind of thing.
More than fifteen years have passed since then. Prague still remained an “in” city, but somehow I didn’t feel like going back to the Czech Republic again. And why should I? I have already been there twice. Plus, there were still so many undiscovered cities in Europe that I put higher on my list of priorities than another trip to Prague. But the more time passed, the more I thought about going back. One reason was that I didn’t really remember Prague. It’s been too long. Since there were no smartphones back then, I don’t have any photos for my memories.
The other reason is a bit more odd. The Czech Republic is the only country in the world where I have absolutely no proof that I have ever been there. For every other country I have either a photo of myself, a flight or hotel booking, or in the best case even GPS data that I could share. For the Czech Republic? Nothing, nada, rien. And now that the journey to every country is slowly coming to an end, I don’t want people to suddenly doubt the legitimacy of my project. 🙂
For this reason, I traveled to the Czech capital a third time in July 2024. This time with my friend Matt. Flight prices were relatively cheap at around CHF 150 (even for easyjet flights these days) and it was a classic weekend trip from Friday evening to Sunday evening. It was also during the Euro 2024, so the goal of this weekend was also clear: refresh my memory about Prague, eat well, experience the nightlife and watch football.
What I remembered from my first two trips was how cheap Prague was. I still have a dim memory of eating a pizza somewhere during my first trip and spending the equivalent of €2 (the currency in the Czech Republic is the Czech Koruna). Something like that was simply unbelievable for me at the time. But even before the trip, I realized that times had changed. A room in a decent hotel in the old town cost at least €160-170 per night, in most cases even more. This may not as expensive as in Paris or London, but prices in Prague have now reached Western European levels.
I also noticed that most hotels increased their prices by 50-100% in July and August compared to the months before. So was July the wrong month to go to Prague? More on that later. In the end, I booked a Cloud One, a sub-brand of Motel One hotels, which was about a 10-minute walk from the city center. Location is always the most important hotel criteria for me on city trips and right next to the city center was a good compromise. The price of €222 for two nights, probably because it was a newly opened hotel, was also unbeatable.
We then spent the next 48 hours seeing the sights of the city (again). If you don’t want to spend a lot of time in museums or the castle, you can actually see most of the city’s highlights in a weekend. Prague is pretty compact anyway, so you can get around on foot and don’t have to rely on taxis. Uber also works well in the city.
What strikes me is how often people mention Prague as one of their favorite cities. I always felt that after fifteen years of abstinence I couldn’t really have an opinion about it. However, I wondered how I would rate Prague in comparison to other European cities. So, what’s the verdict?
Prague is definitely a gorgeous city. And probably also a typical European city, situated on a river, with a postcard-perfect Old Town and an old market square from the medieval era with a church whose towers allow tourists to get a 360-degree view of the city for an entrance fee after climbing what feels like 800 steps. Good news: In Prague’s Old Town Tower, you first take the elevator, then a path with a slight incline leads further up, and the typical spiral staircase is only used for the last 1-2 floors. There’s even a traffic light system so you don’t have to dodge people all the time.
Prague is also a paradise for people who enjoy details. I’m thinking of all the decorations on the houses or the sculptures scattered around the city, such as the Hanging Umbrella Man or the Hanging Sigmund Freud. So there are lots of things to discover that you probably won’t find in any travel guide (or at least not on the front pages).
The sights are actually pretty cool too. The castle is massive and if you want to see everything, you probably need to plan several hours (we opted for a relatively superficial tour). I also found futuristic things like Frank Kafka’s rotating head or the Dancing House appealing. All in all, I think Prague is a city that has a lot to offer for visitors. There are also plenty of museums and you can do some guided tours too. For example, the communist tour that gets you to a nuclear bunker. I missed that but it looked cool on pictures.
However, to be honest, I feel that the majority of tourists come here not necessarily for the sights, but for the nightlife. This hasn’t changed much since my first visit in 2005. Prague is and will always be a magnet for young people who come here for a weekend of partying with friends or even to celebrate their bachelor/stag party. In fact, we saw quite a few of them.
Prague is certainly a great city in this respect, as there is a lot going on in the evenings. You will find a lot of bars and clubs, a lot of people are out and about, and there is something for everyone. At the same time, Prague is also a city where you have to be careful not to fall victim to a scam. I’m not even talking about the many touts around Wenceslas Square, but I have heard from quite a few people who have been ripped off in the Czech capital.
Although I enjoyed Prague’s nightlife, I think it is maybe a little too focused on the young crowds and bachelor parties. Nevertheless, I still found it alright. And I can understand why young people call Prague a paradise because of its vibrant nightlife.
Is there anything negative about Prague? Yes, the crowds. Honestly, it was just too much. The Old Town was completely crowded on Saturday. The streets were full of tourists. You should have seen the Charles Bridge and how packed it was. The city seems to have quite a problem with overtourism in the summer. A friend of mine said that the Old Town of Prague is a circus in the summer. Quite an accurate description.
Probably the only Czechs in the Old Town were those who worked in a caf̩ or a souvenir shop. I could well imagine that the people of Prague avoid the Old Town Рat least in the summer Рin the same way that many residents of Amsterdam avoid their city center. Even if Prague is not at the top of the list of crowded European cities along with Amsterdam, Barcelona or Venice, the capital of the Czech Republic is in the top league.
For this reason, my answer to the question of whether Prague in July is a good idea is no. I wouldn’t go there again at that time of the year. I am aware that I am part of the problem, but I try to avoid the tourist crowds as much as possible. If I go to Prague again, it will probably be in April or October… and I hope the weather is nice.
But why does it have to be Prague? I think 95% of all tourists who visit the Czech Republic go to the capital. Why not Brno, Karlovy Vary, Pilsen or somewhere else? I haven’t been to any of these places, but it looks like the Czech Republic has more to offer than the (beautiful, but overcrowded) capital.
I’m often asked what I’m going to do once I’ve visited all the countries. I often answer that I want to really discover Europe. Not just the capitals. Also the second cities or rural areas. I think that sooner or later I will have visited every European country twice. I’ve even been to the Czech Republic three times, but always to the same place. The fourth trip won’t be to Prague, I promise.
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