The 4th in Prague

What a difference a year makes!  Last 4th of July, we made the ill-advised decision to travel south to Rome, with KKP and JLP.  Temperatures were easily in the 90s every day.  We spent more time wiping sweat out of our faces than seeing the sites.  Rookie mistake.

Eastern Europe= our new favorite travel destination!

June is about the cut-off for our Southern trips.  After that, everything is North.  So for the long weekend, we were headed to Prague. That and Wizz Air- the Hungarian version of RyanAir/Easy Jet- only flies from Venice to Prague on the exact days we needed for this 4-day, so it was a decision we didn't really think twice about.

As we soon realized, there are many reasons you should go to Prague besides the weather and the cheap Wizz Air flight.  Even in peak tourist season, Prague was more tame that some of the other "big" European cities.  It is very American friendly and almost everything was in English.  It feels kind of like Germany, but also a tad more exotic.  The food is amazing.  And, thanks to the Czech Republic's inability to get its act together and get on the Euro, it's cheap if you avoid the major tourist areas.

Touristy, but a Prague must-see!

We were so determined to avoid the heat, we failed to realize that like its neighbor Germany, the Czech Republic can be downright cool and rainy in July.  And it was.  We left sunny Venice in shorts and t-shirts and stepped off the plane in Prague needing jeans and coats. We needed those jeans and coats all weekend.  The weather was a bit damp and raw the entire time, but we didn't let that ruin our stay.

The streets of Prague

Prague is a very walkable city and its public transportation is also very easy and convenient to use.  We used both modes of transportation to get around and see the Old Town Square with its famous Astronomical Clock, the Prague Castle, the Charles Bridge, Wenceslas Square and even some of the lesser known areas.

The Charles Bridge

We have been to many Eastern European countries this past year, but none have felt so ex-Soviet as the Czech Republic and Prague have. Once outside the major tourist areas, traces of the city's Communist past were very evident in everything from street names to architecture.  And speaking of architecture, since Prague was largely spared during World War II, the architecture is a beautiful mix of new and old with a lot of authentic charm.

Crazy Prague architecture

On Monday, July 4th, we decided to take a day trip out of Prague to the city of Plzen, better known as Pilsen, the birthplace of Pilsner beer.  After a nice train ride, we arrived just in time for the English tour of the Pilsner Urquell factory.  Now that we've been on several famous brewery tours, I have to say this one was by far the most comprehensive and the cheapest!  Highly recommend it if you are a beer lover and in Southwestern Czech Republic.

Home of Pilsner!

Pilsen is also a city that was liberated by the US Army in WWII, so they have this very nice monument to thank us!  We felt it was a good way to spend the 4th!

This is on Amerika Street!

We enjoyed a nice lunch in Pilsen before taking the train back to Prague...or so we thought.  About 20 minutes into our return journey, we were ordered off the train and onto buses.  Outside Prague, not as much English is spoken, so we followed the crowd, completely unaware of what was going on.  We rode a bus through the Czech countryside and then our bus driver got lost.  There was yelling.  There was confusion.  But we eventually made it to a small train station where a train awaited and took us back to the city.

After that bus ride, time for beer!  Banana beer, coffee beer....

And Gluten Free Food!

The highlight of our Prague experience was the food.  It was delicious.  And hearty.  And cheap.  And GLUTEN-FREE!  We found two places in the city with dedicated GF menus.  One restaurant was 100% GF and I could eat everything on their menu, including the bread, the dessert and the world's only GF draught beer!  Even the non-GF folks in attendance said that this food was some of the best we've had in Europe.  It was so good, we ate here twice.  On both nights, we ordered two entrees, two drinks, dessert....and the bill came to $29 US dollars.  I'm not kidding when I say that I would consider flying back to Prague just to eat at this place.  It made our trip all the more memorable!

BEST RESTAURANT EVER!