Yes, I took this pic and it turned out quite nicely
You’ll always be short on time in Paris. If you’re visit is particularly short, say as short as a long layover, here’s my guide to crunching all of Paris in a short amount of time. Of course, this guide is for first timers who haven’t already seen the top six sites. Since there are so many ways to personalize your Paris visit your way, you’ll have to tailor objectives to fit your interests.
Depending on your Parisan savoire faire, physical fitness, and walking speed you should be able to squeeze in all six. However, if you’re more leisure, you can at least do the top four.
Top Six Sites Notre Dame Musee du Louvre Tour de Eiffel Arc De Triomphe Basilica de Sacracure Moulin Rouge
Don’t waste time:
· Exchanging money —have your credit card and Euros with you
· Looking for luggage security —- If you must, lock up your luggage in the train station(research ahead of time where the lockers are), but its best just to travel with a day bag!
· Trying to figure out the metro —here I tell you what metros you use, but if you’re going to delineate, already have your metro stops mapped out. My friends and I wasted an hour navigating the underground transit system during our 12 hours in Paris. I made this mistake, so you don’t have to!
· Buying snacks and drinks — have an ample supply of bottle of water and granola, slim jims, crackers, etc stuffed in your day bag beforehand.
· Being lost: come prepared with a have a Paris map& phrase book, If you go to the Louvre, have a map of it before time.
· Buying metro tickets: buy a pack of 10 tickets the first time
· Standing in lines: If you can, get your Louvre and Eiffel tower tickets ahead of time. You’ll spend more money to save more time.
Day Bag check lists:
Paris Maps
Metro Map
Euros in Cash & coins (for the toilettes) Snacks & bottled water Camera & tripod blanket for pic-nicing ipod sunglasses (summer)
Hour One Whether you’re coming from the airport or the train station, map it out to start your whirlwind adventure at the Louvre.
Arrive at one of these Metro stops: Palis Royal Musee du Louvre, Louvre Rivoli, Tulieries, or Pont Neuf
Hour Two & Three With over 30,000 things to see, you could easily spend the whole 12 hours exloring the Musee du Louvre. Get your picture with Venus and Lisa and get out. Get a souvenir from the cafe gift shop. You must take pictures of Paris from the windows of the Louvre. They’re delish! Use the (free) toilettes before you leave.
Hour Four & Five
Take a leisurely stroll through the Tuileries Garden /Jardin des Tullieries. On my 12 hours in Paris I actually started at the Plaza de la Concord & walked through the gardens before the Louvre, the sculptures here made a delicious appetizer before the Louvre.
Cross the massive Plaza de la Concorde and you’ll be on theAve des Champs Elysees. Keep walking here and you can’t miss the Arc de Triomphe & the Unknown Soldier. You can go on top of the Arc if you wish and if the line isn’t too long. It costs €9 for older adults and €5.50 for those 18-24 if you want to go on top. Just don’t try to cross the street here. Drivers have enough to worry about with six lanes of cars merging every which way in a circle than to also swerve away from tourist…which is why they don’t swerve. You will get hit! There’s an underground passage way.
The walk alone should take about an hour. Budget your time to spend no more than another hour stop for a light snack & coffee here to people watch alfresco in the typical partisan fashion. Do not get a meal here. It will cost you a pretty euro.
Hour Six
Take any of the tree streets to the left of the Ave Champs Elysees (if you’re looking at the Arc from the Ave Champs Elysees ) and you’ll come upon the Eiffel Tower (Ave d’lena, Av Marceau, Av Kleber) Ave Kleber Has the best views. If you were to have a picnic, this would be the place to do it. No three hour wait in line to climb the tower…sorry ya’ll, that’s reserved for those with a week to spend. Take your pictures in front of it and be happy! Better yet, cross the bridge and go up the hill toTrocadero for better photos of the tower and the Seine River.
Hours Seven and Eight
Travel by metro to Notre Dame.
Leave the Eiffel Tower from any of these Metro stops: Champ de Mars Tour Eiffel, Bar Hakeim, or Trocadero across the river from the tower. End at the Cite metro stop. The majestic architecture of Notre Dame doesn’t just stop on the front side, so be sure to walk all the way around Notre Dame. Get your crepe, escargot, wine and ice cream fix here in this neighborhood. The lines are usually long but move fast enough. Multi-task in the line to get your pictures in.
Hours Nine and Ten
Travel via metro to Montmartre district. Here you can get great views of the city like you would the Eiffel Tower only for Free and no lines! The line to Basilica Sacre Coeuris always shorter than Notre Dame’s line. The artists’ corner, lamp-lined cobble stoned streets are just a feast for the camera. If you’re with friends, divide and conquer —one can take pictures of the city while one holds the place in line, while another grabs grub for all to eat in the line! If you have time, take a 15 minute stroll to the Moulin Rouge (put that map to good use— don’t waste time being lost). Do your poses a la Marilyn Monroe on the air vent in front of the cabaret house!
Get off the metro at Place de Clichy, La Fourche or Abbesses.
Hours Eleven & Twelve
Ninety minutes before your departure start heading back. Allot more time if you don’t know where you’re going.
Cost Distribution
For metro tickets (15€ for 10)
The Louvre entry (10€)
An exquisite three course lunch with two glasses of wine (45€)
Paris can be done for 70€ or $91USD in under a day!
Other Quick Sightseeing Options
You can visit all these places faster, with less walking using the metro, however, Paris needs to be taken in from above ground. You miss so much when you’re below.
You can always do the hop-on-hop off tour or L’open. It maps out the rout for you and you can get your pictures from the top of the double decker bus, wear off some jet lag.
Of course, from Frommers to Rick Steve and the travel channel, there are no shortages of tour guides for Paris.
I’ve gotten to the point that I am souvenired out. I travel enough that all the trinkets purchased on my travels are starting to clutter my home and empty my bank account. I’ve come to the realization that most of the typical kitchy stuff (red double decker buses from London, Eiffel tower key chains, mini Michelangelo statue, magnets, beach photo frames) are made in China anyway and easily accessible on-line! I’ve come to the conclusion that the best souvenirs are the cheapest and most totable. Postcards, tickets, city maps, and tons of pictures are all you need to recapture memories made by traveling. However, if you haven’t collected enough gadgets and gizmos to fill a treasure trove, maybe a few of these will direct your shopping.
1. Polish Pottery. Apparently, these made their American debut from American service members stationed in Germany bringing them back to The States where the colorful, functional kitchen art became highly coveted amongst their envious friends. You can even catch Claudia Joy from Lifetime’s army wives drinking out of a polish pottery mug. Now it’s sold at Costco. Amongst my associates, you cannot live in Europe without bringing back plenty of polish pottery.
2. Cuckhoo clock. Frau Kramer once told me, when I first moved here, “All Americans who live in Germany leave with one of two things….A cuckhoo clock or a baby.” My clock is on order.
3. Hardwood Furniture (Antique or not). Antiques do not seem to be as valued here, where furniture has survived multiple centuries rather than decades like in The States. Pieces that survived WWII do not have the same crazy expensive price tags as 1950s furniture pieces in The States. Now, I have had my eye on this beautiful, ornately carved, 16th century, French wardrobe with a 15K euro price tag. But newer pieces are equally as beautiful just as durable, and way cheaper. People have century’s worth of antiques. Apparently, when times were hard, Europeans burned their antique chests to stay warm. That’s all furniture amounts to in the end…firewood. So no need to drop hundred’s of cash on it. Either way, German craftsmanship is awesome — not the cheap, flimsy, press board stuff around here (except at IKEA).
I purchased this soon after my kitchen cabinet crashed.
4. Nutcracker (Germany). Get a custom, personalized one to look like you.
5. Smoker (Germany). you put a little tea candle in this toy and it looks like its smoking. It’s a holiday decoration.
6. Any “Czech me out” whatnot from Prague. So clever.
7. Nordic sweaters (Norway aka Norge). This style is prevalent world wide and the traditional ones found in Norway are made of itchy wool. Wait ‘til you get home and go for cotton or cashmere.
9. Delft Blue Ceramics (The Nederlands aka Holland)
10. Wooden shoe (The Nederlands aka Holland)
11. Barrett & scarf (France)
12. Perfume (France)
13. Art (France)
14. Champagne (France)
15. Hungarian Embroidery or Lace
So pay no mind to the Belgian hottie next to me, my top is an example of Hungarian embroidery. Now, if you can take home a Belgian souvenir like the one to my left, good on you!
16. BMW/Benz/Porshe (Germany) Think, demo version, tax fee, no American dealership middle man fee, no import costs (provide it you’re not shipping it back to the states)
I never understood car love until I met this car. Sexiest thing on the Autobahn.
17. Chicken pitcher (Italy). These pitchers have an interesting history. I thought they were tacky until I learned they were linked to Giuliano Medici murder plot. Such drama behind the chicken. Now they are given as luck to ward off trespassers!
18. Wine (Italy, Spain, Hungary, Germany)
I look like a total lush but trust, these wine bottles are full! One is even personalized with my pic!
19. Beer stein (Germany)
20. Nesting dolls (Ukraine, Russia, or Eastern European states).
Of course, the most valued trinkets from your travels are going to be the new best friend you make on your adventures, photos of you on snow covered Alps, or being silly by the Eiffel tower, or in front of the coliseum. A postcard stamped at a European post will tickle friends as much as any other what not ot thinger mabob.
Switzerland beckons travelers to her snow-covered mountains in the winter and refreshing, cool lakes in the summer. It beckoned me back for a second round of Swiss culture in order to redeem the less than impressive impression it left with me about a month ago.
I visited Zurich with my mom niece at the beginning of July. It was rainy, expensive, nondescript, not distinctive, not special, utilitarian, and venders had attitudes. That paired with a lack of activity and being difficult for my GPS to navigate, I was fine boycotting Switzerland.
City Center. Shops line the lake in a pedestrian only zone.
That was until I arrived at the Lucerne hauptbahnhof (main train station) with the exception of a rude worker in the bahnhof information office who acted as if I was invisible (Entschuldigung! I’m standing here!), Switzerland is legit. It is devastatingly beautiful… A place right out of a dream where the sea and mountains meet. It’s a paradise for land locked countries. Here’s what I did!
Getting There
I bought my Duetsch Bahn train ticket on-line and took a 0730 ride from the station closest to my home and switched trains four times in four hours before finally arriving in paradise.
Lodging I stayed at Casada Hotel. I chose it because it was walking distance from the train station and, from what I could tell on hotels.com, going rate on American hotel room price standards. It was also air conditioned….don’t take this amenity for granted in Europe, you don’t always get it. At the time I booked it, I didn’t realize it was considered a 4 star hotel (on whose rating scale I’m not sure…take these ratings with a grain of salt, but it was nice). It had modern interior decor and a Spanish-themed tapas restaurant. On top of all the nice things I have to say about the hotel, it also had an iPod player! this is rare in similarly priced hotels in Europe. So I could jam while getting ready to go out! Winning! Only issue is that its away from all the activity. It’s walking distance in the wrong direction from the hauptbahnhof. It was inconvenient to run back to the hotel to grab something or change clothes. However, being away from the action also ensured it was quiet. Other hotels were attached to bars and pubs or right beside them. As I walked passed the noisy bars and discos on Saturday night (don’t say “night club” in Europe…night clubs are found in Red light districts), I thanked the Lord I wasn’t staying in one of the hotels near them. Here are some other hotel picks based off proximity to the lake and similar amenities and price: 1. Das Alps 2. Hotel Shiff 3.Hotel Rebstock 4. Hotel Mr. Pickwick & Pub (attached to an Irish bar) 5. The Palace & the Grand Hotel. Two hotels with serious Swiss luxury but prime location
What I did, keep in mind all the sights are walkable from Casada Swiss Hotel:
1. Kapell brücke (Chapel Bridge): A beautiful covered bridge is the focal point of the city center. Apparently, in 1993, someone tossed a cigaret and burned the bridge down to the lake. But it was restored to a similar glory.
2. Crying/Dieing Lion or Löwendenkmal monument. My favorite author, Samuel Clemons, allegedly called it, “the most mournful and moving piece of stone in the world.” It commemorates Swiss soldiers that died in the French Revolution. I still have a grudge that Switzerland remained neutral during WWII. How can you know millions are being slaughtered right at your boarders but you do nothing? I kinda see it tantamount to living right next door to a pedophile and seeing dozens of children going inside and saying, “I’m not getting involved.” I think that non act needs memorializing.
3. Yacht Tour: $25 for one hour. Absolutely stunning sites of the lake and mountains. My best experience while at the Lake. Natural beauty that surrounds the lake is Lucerne’s #1 tourist attraction. The boat ride is the best way to take it all in.
4. Rosengarten Museum (Skip this). This cost me freakin’ $18. I’ve seen Monet before for a lot cheaper in Stuttgart and Paris. The Louvre is now my standard for museums. There is no reason for any art collection in the world to cost more than the Louvre (whihc is 10 euro…Free 1st Sunday of the month). Even so, it was cool, but not $18 cool. Plus, no one comes to Lucurne for art and culture…do they? Jacqueline’s portrait is the best thing inside. Now you’ve seen it.
4. Shopping – I swore I wouldn’t shop in this expensive country but some deals I couldn’t pass up. I got 4 brightly colored basic tanks, a basic purple cardigan, a cute evening halter (Eva Longoria would approve) and a bath5ng suite for $112. That’s the same as I’d spend in The States for the same items right? Shops close at 4pm on Saturday and stay closed until 1000 on Monday. Did you know Italian sizes are different than the rest of Europe’s?
5. Wedding Crashing– I am always appropriately dressed when I come cross a wedding (first time was at the Sound of Music Church in Salzburg, Austria then again in Slovenia). I think weddings are great cultural lessons. So much the same, very few unique details like this one, something about bread on planks of wood. Not sure if it was a personalization unique to the couple or a Swiss tradition. I’ll delve more into research.If you want to wedding crash, make sure you’re dressed for a wedding on Saturdays in the summer!
Brides carry bread as an omen for good harvests and the groom carries grain for wealth and good fortune.
6. Swimming at Seebad. This is a very cool structure to swim in the lake.It features a sundeck, floating logs to play on. The Swiss guys wear long swim shorts as oppose to the little speedos the German guys wear. It’s 8 dollar adult entrance, $2 locker key plus a $20 or passport as a deposit. Bring your own towel and wine.
The tour guide claimed the lake was drinking water quality.
7. Running. I didn’t bring running gear to Oslo last weekend and regretted it so I was well prepared this weekend. Running beside the lake in the early morning, before the tourist and before the heat, was perfect. My run started at about 0730. It’s a shame I couldn’t pull myself out of my comfy bed to catch the streaks of pinks and purples across the sky reflect on the lake at dawn.
This was actually at sunset but similar to what I imagine the sunrise view to look as well.
Pretty sure Tchaikovsky could have been inspired here.
Where I Ate Mr. Pickwick Pub. Spent $32.50 on 5 chicken wings, Pommes, bitter Limon, tap water, and garlic brot (bread)
Also on the menu:
Small salad $10.50 Grilled ham and cheese with pommes (fries): $17.50 Small nachos $8.50 Four person platter $65 Chicken club sandwich $14.50 Chicken Club sandwich with pommes or side salad $22.50 Ben and Jerry’s mini ice cream cups $6
Remember, Switzerland’s Frank exchange rate to the USD is a 1:1 ration. They just charge a ton for very little.
At Ernesto Italian Ristorante beside the Chapel Bridge I had a Picola sized Penne Aurora, coke, rose wine and tap water for a grand total of $32.70. Carpaccio, which is my favorite European appetizer, was $22.50!
I spent $3 on a snickers and $4 on a .5 liter bottle of water. Goodness it was hotter than blue blazes this weekend. Perfect lake weather.
Next time: I’ll be adhering to a budget! I could have saved over $300 had I not gone post card shopping (they’re $2 a pop here), fashion shopping, and eaten out. My goodness, in one overnight I spent $100 on food, snacks, and drinks. Had I been prepared, I could have been making sandwiches or eating Rammen so I wasn’t starving to the point that I didn’t notice $30 was a bit much for 5 wings. Next time I’ll pack my own meals! I know people say live it up when you’re on vacation but, I vaycay like this every weekend. This isn’t a once a year type event for me so I need to think a little more frugally. Besides, I went to two of Europe’s most expensive countries within five days. Maybe not the best financial move. Next time I go to Norway or Switzerland, I’ll make sure the rest of my trips for the month are more economical.
It was so hot I was guzzling water by the liter. Keep in mind bottled water was $5 for .5 liters…little bottles. I can get 2 liters of water in Germany for .40 cents! From 1300-1700 was the hottest time of day. I could have napped during this time to avoid the extreme heat and spending money to stay hydrated. Then I could have been ready to party all night.
I’d pack a swimsuit. I don’t know why I over looked this important item. But they had cute affordable ones there. I may also give a paddle boat a go, or at least convince someone to paddle the boat for me…that’s a lot of work. Better yet, I’ll have my Idaho Beau, a sailor by trade, rent a sailboat to sail around the lake. With all that, I won’t be saving much by not eating out.
Red benches could be found all over.
What I learned from this visit
Germans and the Swiss have very different mannerisms, even though they speak the same language. And the Deutsch was understandable…none of this Schweizerdeutsch I was warned about from my Deutsche friends. But I could often identify the Swiss from the Germans. There were a group of bachelors enjoying their stag weekend acting wild and crazy! I was excited! They reminded me of the Brits I see everywhere enjoying their final unmarried days but they were speaking Deutsch! Sure enough, they were Swiss asking for Swiss Franks and not Euros. That’s what you do in both Germany and Switzerland, you give $ to those on their stag and hen weekends. Anyway, I expected the Swiss-German dynamic to be like the Canadian-American one…basically indistinguishable from one another at the surface glance but I was wrong, their mannerisms are distinctly different.
I talked with a father and son team of German Jehovah’s Witnesses. They chose to spend their Saturday witnessing. The son chose Spanish as the language to approach me. I actually get this regularly when I leave Stuttgart, people see me and and choose French or Spanish to initiate conversation…never English. Stuttgart has a high American population so English is the first go-to language. But outside Stuttgart…English is not the fall back language. Sorry buddy, I don’t know enough to talk about Jesus in Spanish…which is a pity. I realized this as another reason to learn a new language, if not just enough to talk with others about the glory of the Lord. Typically in the states, folks try to duck and dodge the LDS and the JWs when they come a knockin’ which never allows you to hear what they have to say or how they are different. Basically, from what I gathered, Jehovah’s Witnesses are different from other Christians because they 1. Don’t think God and Jesus are one and the same. 2. Jehovah is the only name of God and should be honored just as Jesus said in his Lord’s Prayer. In Hebrew, God was named YHVH, but since we can’t say this in our language, Christian Scholars filled in the missing letters. 3. They also think God will turn the world into a Paradise on his own without the help of people. I asked the men how people responded to their witnessing. The German men said the Swiss are more polite and educated than Germans so they listen to what they have to say or they politely tell them they are not interested.
I learned that in Germany and Switzerland, St. Nicholas gives children toys on 6 December here. He also watches and protects the sailors on the seas. The town has a sandstone statue of him out in the lake and named a lake view church after him.
I also learned that I don’t need to pay extra to reserve a specific seat on the Duetsch Bahn. I did this and ended up just sitting where I pleased. What a waste. Now if traveling in a large group and you want to all sit together, by all means do it. But with two or three…its not necessary
I over pack. I could have done a weekend in 1 backpack instead of a carry-on sized suitcase and a backpack. Bathing suit, sundress, flip-flops, sunglasses and shorts don’t take up much room. that carry on could have been filled with food or with room for my new purchases. Instead I filled it with things I hardly used. This was definitely a “take half the stuff and twice the money” kind of trip.
Lake Lucerne is a beautiful holiday location. Full of sundresses, flip flops, and sun tans. Short, cut-off shorts that are socially unacceptable in most places around Europe are welcome here. Lucuren redeemed Switzerland from Zurich’s image in my mind. It’s a prefect mix of chill and party. It’s a spot I look forward to returning to soon. I can add it to my list of favorite experiences. When you’re needed a city break, and can’t get to a beach, Lucurne is the perfect place to go.
Pedro from madrid wanted to take this picture before he started asking way too many questions. No Pedro, you don’t need to know donde es mi hotel or Dónde trabajas or if I Viaja solo . Good bye!
This weekend I journeyed to Oslo for a long overdue visit with a friend from The States. As I packed, the music from my latest crush, Luke Bryan, was on replay in my head,
“Hey there cutie with the Kentucky Coozie, Have you ever hung with a Georgia Boy.”
That was the characterizing theme song for the weekend. I met Georgia boy two years ago when my work colleague who happened to also be his fraternity brother invited me to spend New Years in Atlanta with his friends. We met over an unforgettable dinner at Fogo de Chao and have been friends ever since. At the time, Georgia boy lived in my now neighboring German state of Bavaria and was just visiting his family for the holidays. By the time I moved to the German state of Baden-Württemberg, he had already moved to a Norwegian village outside of Oslo. Anyway, after living on the same continent for a year, it was high time the two of us got together and since Germany was having another one of its many holidays; it was me who did the traveling.
A BEAUTIFUL sneak view I caught while ridding along the cobble stone streets on my rented bike.
A 3-day weekend was just enough time for a relaxing yet productive, comfortable visit. I arrived Thursday evening after a half day at work and left Sunday afternoon. I feel like I could have packed more activity in, but the weekend was just the right pace.
Bummer of the week: I inadvertently submerged my camera in water prior to my trip and it wouldn’t turn on anymore. Plus side, I bought a new camera. Downside, this new camera’s battery refused to charge and did not work all weekend so I had to use my less dynamic back up. On the plus side, my old camera which I later submerged in dry white rice for the weekend turned on again!
Making a habit of this. I posed by the Budapest guards as well!
Drammen Church
Norway has a population of 5 million and is the least densely populated country in Europe. Likewise, the greater Stuttgart metropolitan area has a population of 5+ million. Needless to say, Oslo was not the bustling, happening metropolitan that I once imagined. Fortunately, it isn’t overpopulated with tourist this time of year like so many other European capitols. The Royal palace is a bit less grand than any other European palace I’ve seen…and even our America Palace (the White House). The gardens, however, are lush and everyone relaxes in them all day.
Oslo makes a refreshing city break. I took a relatively inexpensive KLM flight to Amsterdam then to Oslo. I lived off of about $200 and the hospitality of friends the whole weekend. The highlight of the trip was hanging with Georgia Boy, rooting on Norge, Deutschland, and the USA in the Olympics, and the interesting cultural conversations with his friends.
You come to Norge (as they call it in Norway) for the nature, not the shopping or partying which can certainly rack up quite the bill. I spent the equivalent of $12.17USD on a six pice chicken nugget meal at McD’s…making it more shockingly expensive than Switzerland! I suggest waiting until you’re back in the Euro to do your shopping…better yet, back in the USD to go on your shopping sprees.
Converse with dresses. Yes, the high top tennis shoe with sexy cocktail dresses. This was the hot fashion statement. And I can appreciate this style. Instead of having your feet suffer all night, you can be comfortable! And you can run away from creepsters that seem to come out at night. Actually, back in Germany, the girls wore converse with their dirndels.
One of the conversations I had with one of Georgia Boy’s friends centered around me living in Germany. He told me they are required to learn German and English in school but how redundant German was because everyone in Germany also speaks English. French and Spanish were more functional languages to learn because less native speakers of those languages speak Norwegian, German or English. He actually had five years of German but wasn’t very good at it even though he could speak two other Germanic languages well. Road signs were easier for me to understand here because of my knowledge of German. For example the German word for entrance is “Eingang.” In Norwegian, its “Inngang.” and they spell Center, “Senter.” I love how there are so many ways to spell the same word. There is no denying “senter” does not spell center. You certainly read it that way. In the same conversation, he asked, “so you live in Germany…and you like the Germans?” I chuckled. What a funny question. He expanded that he was not a fan of their sense of humor. “If you tell a joke…like a man joke, they do not laugh. They don’t have a sense of humor. Not good ones like the Brits.” That got me thinking. I had never thought about the Germans being a non-humorous bunch. I had quite a few comical moments with them but no, the Germans are not known for their fun-having antics like the Brits. German humor is a topic I’m going to have to explore further.
Biking is the way to travel
On Sunday morning, I rented a bike to ride up and down the river to take in the gorgeous views of Dramman… a smaller town about 40 kilometers outside of Oslo.
On this trip I realized that guys everywhere seem to find competitive games to play when they drink. The three Americans introduced the group or Norwegian boys to beer pong. The Norwegians came up with a series of team challenges to play while pre-gaming.
My time in Noway in general was peaceful and easy-going. Maybe because of all the fresh air, even in the city. Maybe because my main objective was to chill with an old friend rather than see everything the city has to offer like I often set out to do every time I go to Paris. Oslo is a hot spot for outdoor adventuring. It’s a good mix of both city and nature.
OMG why didn’t I go sooner! Western Europe is so overdone. Boring (OK, Europe is never quite trite to a Southern Belle). I went on a cross-European road adventure with my family while they visited me for the summer and on the final leg of the trip, made it to Prague and WOW! What an amazing European city! It’s the east meshed with western niceties; Ancient dances with modern. It’s hip, chic, active, lively and a whole lot of wonderful melted together!
As an undergrad I decided to study history abroad in China. To me, everyone who studied abroad did so in Western Europe. Western Europe is what we studied in books every year since fourth grade. China was the great unknown that I wanted to chisel at unearthing. I went before the Olympics and before China got popular. Eastern Europe, like China, is a mysterious place. Both are often overlooked in history classrooms in the U.S. and both have layers and layers to disrobe.
In high school we had an exchange student, Marky, from the Czech Republic. Although she had to correct us for still referring to her as Czechoslovakian, I never took time to learn all that I didn’t know about her country. I was just so eager to tell her all about America! The school year ended with me never learning the capital, or find it on a map, or anything about it.
Fast forward a few years. I’m living, working, going to school and loving in Germany. I have my list of things to must visit in Europe. But this list is “the old list” of to-dos…The big three: Paris, London, Rome… A French or Italian Riviera, Western Med Cruise., maybe Amsterdam, Ireland for St. Pat’s Day. I hear a small buzz about Prague for new years. I’m thinking, No way, when there’s New Year’s in Paris (that was a bust). There’s still a buzz about this city. But it’s still unknown to me. It least with China I knew there was a wall and rice and tea and silks. What is in Prague? I still hadn’t taken the time to find out.
This Awesome Prague Pic was taken from fellow Southern Bloggers (and the arch enemy of my Alma Mater) at the University of North Carolina. http://tarheel-blog.blogspot.de/2010/10/czech-me-out.html
While coloring my map of places I’ve traveled in Europe there was a very obvious iron curtain of the colored and non-colored portion. With The Czech Republic being a Germany border country, there was really no excuse not to visit. And it was only about 4 hours away from Stuttgart…lucky me, I’m halfway between Prague and Paris! I planned a road trip for my family’s visit and just visited as a stop on the itinerary not knowing Prague’s fabulosity. I loved this place! It’s almost a known but ignored gem. Everyone’s too busy looking at the models of Paris and Rome to recognize Miss America (Prague). Yes, as you drive from Western Europe to the East you can see and feel the change: Inflated currency, medieval architecture, shift in economic and living standards. You know you’re not in Eastern Europe anymore…actually, after living in Germany, I can cross the border into France and see the lack of German structure that I’ve grown to appreciate and think, “We’re not in Deutschland Anymore.”
Anyway Prague is an active, bustling, charming, wonder filled international city all at once. Right at the cross roads of Eastern and Western Europe you can listen to street entertainers singing the blues in English on the Charles Bridge while dozens of other languages pass you by. My five-year-old niece even said, out of all the cities in the 11 countries she had visited, Prague was her favorite.
Everyone has their favorite cities in Europe. I have a few but after this weekend Prague tops the list. I’m already plotting another visit. You just have to go and when you do, buying a souvenir that says “Czech me out!” is a must.
