Welcome to Shields Notes, where we will take you through our 5 month journey!
marykate@shieldsnotes.com patrick@shieldsnotes.com
Welcome to Shields Notes, where we will take you through our 5 month journey!
marykate@shieldsnotes.com patrick@shieldsnotes.com
We had heard how so many people love Prague. This city had a lot of hype, and now we know why!
Although there is one thing that we wish we knew before going. When we arrived at the train station, we immediately looked for the taxi stand. Just like any train station or airport, there is a line of taxis sitting outside. Our driver asked us where we were going and showed us a laminated sheet with set prices for certain districts in Prague. New York taxis have set prices for airport runs, so that wasn’t unusual to us. We got to our hotel. $28 euro. As we sat down for dinner an hour later, we started to do our Prague research. One of the first articles Patrick read said “don’t fall for the taxi scams”. Uh oh! The article detailed exactly how cab drivers will use a fake, laminated sheet to rip off customers at the train station. Sound all too familiar. Guess that is the cost of being a tourist!
We spent our days walking through the Old Town and New Town streets, biking outside the city, and exploring the biergartens and bars. We had a little bit of everything in Prague and loved every second!
Prague is the capital of the Czech Republic. It is also the capital of Bohemia. After about the fifteenth time hearing the word Bohemia, we finally googled what it was! Bohemia is a legacy territory that fits within the Czech Republic and was once ruled by the Bohemian Crown. The people of Prague still identify with Bohemia and care about preserving the culture. We loved the Bohemian culture and their beer. Every local seemed to ask us if we tried the beer and what our favorite was. There was definitely a pride among the people towards their beer. And, yes, it is good!
Prague is Bachelor Party Paradise - the beer is cheap and the city is young and fun, so everywhere we looked there were hilariously dressed groups of guys.
We also had a familiar guest meet us in Prague…Byron! We plan to see him a few more times before the trip is over, too. Since he lives in London, it is very easy for him to jump on a plane and meet us.
After spending our Saturday exploring the sights and biergartens, we decided to get out of the city on Sunday. With our guide, Melita, we set out on a bike ride outside of Prague. Marykate and Byron did not know what Patrick had signed them up for! A few highlights from the ride were the rollerblade phenomenon in Ladronka Park, the forests and views of Sark-Luysolaje Natural Park, field of yellow mustard flowers, and the lunch and beer at Pivovar Unetice Brewery. We left the brewery and took a riverside trail all the way back to Prague. 52 kilometers later and we were back in Prague. To say we were sore would be an understatement!
We spent Monday morning exploring the Prague Castle complex, the largest ancient castle in the world. The highlight was definitely St Vitus' Cathedral. The size of the church and the beauty of the stain-glassed windows left us blown away. It was definitely worth seeing along with other parts of the castle. The views of the city from up here are beautiful, too. The rest of the day was spent exploring the city before saying goodbye to Byron.
Byron Henry
Melita - Our mountain bike guide who is also an expat from Croatia. She is now an elementary school teacher in Prague and has been living here for 1.5 years
