I’ve been flying by the seat of my pants recently, which is uncharacteristic for me when it comes to travel. Other big trips I’ve taken have involved a lot of Lonely Planet guides and googling and asking around for recommendations and learning at least a few foreign language phrases, but this trip has been largely following whim after whim, improvising and stumbling. It doesn’t always work (see: sudden realization I can’t actually really get from Croatia to Greece when I want to; eye rolls whenever I tried to say “hallo” or “danke shoen” in Germany; utter failure to book lodging early enough) but when it does, it feels so magical.
Prague has been such a delight in a way that Amsterdam and Berlin weren’t quite (more on those legs of the trip in later posts). Even the train trip, which I realized would be pretty because I knew abstractly that Bad Schandau is pretty, turned out to be stunning enough that I’m planning a return bike trip at some point in the future. I booked a hostel more or less at random weeks ago, and not only is it not a party hostel as it threatened to be, it’s also in decent shape and provided good information about getting around town.
(Not my digs — just buildings I dig.)
I basically only have a day and a half here, and tomorrow is taken up by a tour I also booked at random, so I decided to wander up to Prague Castle this afternoon. I was so charmed by everything. The buildings are all such confections. It’s easy to walk around, and I don’t feel ogled or hassled or in anyone’s way. In spite of all the obnoxious tourists (there are plenty), it feels like a down to earth place, especially away from Old Town. And the beer prices don’t hurt (I haven’t had beer this cheap since Vietnam).
(More architectural confections)
The walk just kept getting better as I went. I don’t understand anything about the language and I didn’t really read any maps, so I just kept walking uphill until I got to what seemed to be the right place.
(a farmers’ market I stumbled into)
(Castle spotting)
The entrance didn’t have any English signage, so I just wandered into what seemed to be the entrance. It was, in fact, Wallenstein Garden – the senate garden. I almost tripped over a peahen before I realized there were multiple peacocks wandering freely through the garden. I kept going toward the sound of music, and stumbled upon a children’s choir (!) performing a regularly scheduled concert. Every turn seemed to offer some equally surprising and delightful discovery, like the owls caged in another corner, or the dripstone garden, meant to invite visitors explore hidden crannies and mysteries.
I’d forgotten how fun and necessary it is to wander without real reason and without a schedule. This works better in some places than others – there’s an awful lot of scope for the imagination in Prague, as Anne Shirley would say, even if there’s also a sort of uncanny, hyperreal Disney aspect to some of the city’s charms (see: confectionary buildings, deliberately constructed whimsy in the dripstone). I’m glad I’m here now, though, and I’m looking forward to coming back for a longer stay.