Praha je nový Paříž, Y’all!

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.

Praha je nový Paříž, Y’all!