As a travel aspirant, I have a long list of places-to-go.
In 2018, it was the turn of Europe. I visited my sister in Germany and had
prepared myself to visit other places in Europe. The first place in my list was
Prague (locally called Praha). The idea was for us (me, my sister and 10-year niece)
to take a day trip to Prague. We took an overnight bus from Heilbronn (a city
in Germany) to Prague, spent an entire day there and took the bus back on the
same day.
We boarded the bus from Heilbronn at 12:45 AM and in no time,
I fell asleep. I opened my eyes around 8 AM and glided the window curtain to
peep out. All I could see was a busy beautiful European city, and it was the
beautiful “Prague”. There are multiple
bus stations in Prague and the main bus station is “UAN Florenc”. I was looking
out from the window like a curious kid, trams and buses were moving around
busily. People were wrapped in heavy winter clothes, and I said to myself “we
are going to have a tough time” because we had packed only short dresses.
Once we got down at UAN Florenc, we went straight to the
Tourist Help desk. It’s a massive bus station with Tourist help desk, currency
exchange and some eateries as well. First, we got the day passes for all three
of us which can be used in buses, trams and metros. Next, we got currency exchanged
to Czech Crowns. Euro is also accepted in most of
the shops and restaurants.
Our serviced apartment which was in Prague 3
is located near Flora bus stop. It was easy to figure out the bus number from
UAN Florence to our apartment using Google maps (Google map is always a savior in new destinations). The apartment was a fairy tale pink room - extremely
clean and neatly maintained apartment. The host was very pleasant to talk to
and very welcoming. We had carried some fruits and food from home, which we had
for breakfast. After a hot coffee we started our day in chilling weather.
Our apartment host was kind to share a tourist map with
us and also briefed the routes to visit the famous places in Prague. The nearest
tram stop was 400 meters away from our apartment. We boarded the tram and got
off at the ‘Museum stop’ to start the tour. From then on, it was a self-guided
walking tour which I fondly call “a walk to remember”.
The streets in Prague are beautiful, we were excited to
see variety of eateries, souvenir shops, eye-catching candy shops and trams
moving around. We didn’t spend as much time shopping in the lovely souvenir
shops since we had limited time. We clicked pictures (remember it’s a girls’
only trip) and had yummy food bites (all veg eating girls) along the way.
As we continued to walk we saw a large crowd gathering. To
address my curiosity, I had to look only to realize it was the famous
“Astronomical clock”. We spent quality time admiring the masterpiece from 15th
century which is the oldest operational clock known.
The famous Astronomical
clock
The Old Town Square is located almost adjacent and only a
few steps away. From here there’s an excellent view of several Czech’s
historical monuments including St. Vitus Cathedral. After spending quality time
at Old Town Square, we walked to the very famous Charles bridge. This busy
stone bridge was built in 14th century, you can see street hawkers playing
music, selling paintings and even more souvenirs. The Prague Castle is at the
end of the Charles bridge, which is also an architectural wonder. Near the
castle, there are beautiful old vintage cars which you can hire for a ride. By
now it was about 6 PM, and we were tired after a long day’s walk.
Old town square
It was time to head back to our apartment, pack up and
check-out. We left Prague by bus at 9 PM with loads of memories, great
experience and a heavy tummy. I wish we could have stayed longer.
View from Charles’s
bridge
For those who take interest in History, Heritage &
Architectural wonders, there’s several Castles and Cathedrals around the heart
of the city all at walk-able distance, and one won’t be tired taking as many
pictures. For those who take interest in food, there’s ample eateries and
delicacies.
