Old Town Praha

Our first full day in Prague, it was recommended to us by an American at our hostel breakfast to do the free walking tour of Old Town. If any of you know my traveling style it is first and foremost to do the walking and/or bus tour to get a broad overview of the history, points of interests, and must-sees of whatever town you are visiting, so this was right up my alley. We bundled up cuz it's snowing weather and took off in search of tour guides. Since neither Fatin or I know Czech, nor do we really know what is considered "Old Town", it was quite funny trying to navigate the streets via the map app on my phone, trying to figure out where and what we were doing. We loved wandering around though and came across some amazing mixes of Baroque styled architecture, a bit of Art Nouveau, and some Medieval gates thrown in there for good measure. And we found our tour guide...Pistis was his name, the Israeli-now-Prague-resident.

Pistis had a great story. He was living and working in the UK, then met a girl from Prague he really liked. He came to visit her one weekend in Prague, but it was turned out to be awful. They couldn't communicate very well, it was awkward, he had a dreadful time, so he was happy to be back on a plane headed home to the UK. Oh, but wait! When he landed in London, the airport security detained him, questioned him, wanted to know why an Israeli was coming to the UK from Prague, etc., etc. They kept him overnight, by which in the morning they decided his work visa was no longer valid and they sent him back to Prague. He's been in Prague ever since for the past four years and it has become a city he loves. He passes his passion and love for Prague on to the tourists he meets everyday as he gives his tours.

Pistis says Prague is magic and I am quite inclined to believe him. The name means "doorway" and maybe this place is a doorway, into another place or time or world. Who knows! I will tell you it is a lovely city, safe, clean and beautiful. There is a rich history here that many do not know, but I can guarantee once you find out, you'll see how it's connected to your history somehow.Read more