Travel at 40: Option 6 - Czech Republic

Prague is one of those cities that people who travel to Europe love to talk about. For years I’ve heard about how beautiful it is, filled with bridges and cathedrals, towers and domes. As one of the few old European cities that survived the World Wars relatively unscathed, a lot of its original history remains intact. Hell, it has a castle that was built in the 9th century. It’s also reputed to be relatively cheap to visit, as compared to London, Paris, or Rome. All strong points in its favor.

I’ve been meaning to visit Prague for years but just haven’t had the opportunity to do so. When I was in Austria a couple of years back it was much on my mind. If I’d had more time and money I would have made sure to spend a day or two there.

So naturally, Prague is high on my list of potential places to visit. But Prague is just one city in a country that I’ve never seen. The Czech Republic is actually a pretty interesting country all around. As compared to Slovakia (which not so long ago was a part of the country, known as Czechoslovakia) the country is known for its atheism, which intrigues me. It’s also still using it’s own currency, the koruna. Following World War II, it was pretty much forced into a Communist party system, heavily influenced by the Soviets until 1989 when they managed to peacefully depose the government. Four years later it split with Slovakia and formed the republic that’s still in place today. I find all that rather impressive.

The Czech Republic is also the location of Bohemia, which is where bohemian originates. I’d had no idea. Of course, it turns out that “bohemian” is just a broad stereotype that doesn’t particularly apply but the whole thing is fascinating to me.

The country is filled with historic towns and cities that seem to have a lot to see and experience. And it turns out that there are a tremendous number of castles and other remnants of ancient architecture waiting to be experienced. It’s also well known to have an excellent hiking trail system, considered to be one of the best in Europe.

The rail system seems to be a decent way to visit other cities from Prague itself, though I think I might be more inclined to see about renting a car so I could explore the country and parts of Slovakia. The only concern about that is that the toll roads in those countries are managed not by booths or toll areas but by stickers. Presumably the car I rented in the Czech Republic would have the toll sticker already (and roll the cost into the rental fee) but then I'd have to get another one when driving into Slovakia. It's not expensive, just something I'd have to be aware of.

On a totally separate note, I’ve seen several references to the beer being the cheapest drink you can order. Even cheaper than water.

So it has a lot to commend to it. It’s proximity to Slovakia is also a draw for me. I got to spend one brief afternoon in Slovakia in 2012 but I got completely lost and didn’t see any of the things I’d hoped to see. A trip to the Czech Republic would be a second opportunity to get it right.