Prague
My trip from Berlin to Prague was a very trying experience. I went by ride share with 7 other people in an un-air conditioned van in 37C heat for 6 hours. Oof. After arriving I stayed in a nice hostel on the north side of the river, but, quite like most of Western Europe, there was no air conditioning. At least the rooms had some relief in that they had oscillating fans.
As is usual with travel, your experiences are more determined by the people you spend time with than the things you see. Immediately after checking in I met a very cool Englishman who'd been traveling through Eastern Europe, Neil. We spent most of that first night enjoying a few pints while trying to stay cool in the pub deep in the basement under the hostel.
The first full day in Prague was spent walking the city in the stifling heat (37C, but feels like 44C). Thankfully, Neil and I had the same outlook on how to explore a city: walk and then walk some more. We spent the day walking through a park (in the shade), visiting the beautiful and imposing castle and its very cool (as in cold) cathedral, hiding in a cellar to lower our body temperature in the Golden Lane, having lunch in the blessedly cool metro (gross?), and visiting every church in the old city after crossing the Charles bridge. To cool down, of course.
Our second full day in Prague was not terribly different, except for the fact it was a bit cooler and a brief stop for a beer was enough to cool down without needing to go church hopping. The city is quite beautiful and is also quite small and walkable. I wasn't particularly impressed by the Charles bridge or the thousands of tourists all over it, but I did like some of the odder parts of Prague. Giant cloven faced naked baby statues? Sure, why not!
As sometimes happens when traveling you meet people who are hard drinking without meaning to be. Having a drink is just what happens when the sun goes down. My three nights in Prague all went the same way. I think Czech beer is maybe the easiest drinking beer I've had on my whole trip, but I still have a special place in my heart for the complexity and deliciousness of Belgian beer. I suppose its a good thing the beer does go down so easy as we managed to completely run the hostel pub out of beer on the second night. Good job, us!
Breclav
As my time in Prague came to an end I headed to Breclav to catch up with another friend, Weston, an archaeologist working on a Moravian site right near the tri-border area with Slovakia and Austria. I've always been interested in anthropology and archaeology and this was my first opportunity to go to an actual dig site and even to partake in the action!
My time in Breclav came on a weekend for the archaeologists who were traipsing all over the Czech, Slovak and Austrian countrysides - visiting ossuaries and the nearby major cities of Bratislava and Vienna. Weston and I hung out in the area of the dig site, Pohansko, where he introduced me to more Czech beers and Czech culture, Czech food, and the stunning Czech women sunbathing at the lake.
Breclav was a bit of a relaxation stop for me and the good company of intelligent and educated people, good beer (Czech AND Belgian) and good food made it an excellent stop on my trip. Not only that, I had a morning at playing archaeologist. It was quite cold and wet and I think I got to experience the favourite past time of many an archaeologist: complaining about the weather or the mosquitos.
Conclusion
My time in the Czech Republic feels a bit like I went from one extreme to another. The extreme heat of Prague, a vibrant city with filled with living history and landmarks. The cold and rain of Breclav, looking at ruins and half dug patches of cold clammy ground filled with the dormant history of Moravia. I feel that if I had been able to spend more time in the Czech Republic I would've found this dichotomy of history everywhere I went. Either that or I would've drowned in a lot of beer.
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