Visiting Prague, Czech Republic

November 17, 1989 marked the autumn of change in former Czechoslovakia twenty years ago. Just short a few weeks after the Berlin Wall fell in Germany, another pinnacle historical moment in Europe took place in Prague, Czech Republic. The Velvet Revolution took place in Prague and in Bratislava with hundreds of thousands of students and citizens showing their support for a peaceful separation between both countries to mark the end of the communist regime.
When I think back to this time, I was eleven years old in Toronto, Canada witnessing these historical moments unravel on television news and to see freedom amongst the people, I could only think that Europe was a fantasy for me. It seemed so far away, so out of reach, but yet, twenty years later I live in Bratislava and have explored Germany, Czech Republic, Slovakia and Austria. It is an honor for me to have the great opportunity to see and live in such a wonderful part of Europe with so much history and greatness of culture. So to mark the twentieth anniversary of the Velvet Revolution, I took a trip to Prague, Czech Republic and had the chance to explore a city filled with culture, architecture, interesting sights and amazing night life.
When I came to Prague on Saturday, November 14, 2009 it was my third time that I had visited this wonderful city, and I still felt like there was so much more to explore.
Seeing the Prague Castle, Charles Bridge and the Astronomical Clock were must-sees on my itinerary as I just love these parts of Prague. Walking around and doing photography I was thinking that twenty years ago it was, virtually, impossible to come as a tourist to Prague because it was closed off. I cannot imagine with such a beautiful city how it was unexplored for such a long time. It is, indeed, one of the most beautiful cities that I have ever seen and along with historical monuments the night life is just as exciting and shopping centres galore.
During the day we did geocaching. (geocaching.com) whereby you can explore a country and discover some of the most interesting monuments like the Karlstejn Castle in Czech Republic.
Then in the evening, I went shopping at Euro Park Shopping Center and Centrum Chodov which housed all the name brands from Zara to H&M.
For night life, I can recommend the trendy M1 Lounge and modern K.U Bar and Lounge all located in the centre of Prague 1.
Also if you're not a beer drinker, I would recommend trying Czechs traditional pivo (beer) in Prague, as Czech's do not mess around with their beer. Czech's take great pride in their beer brewing and it is really quite good. Popular beer brands such as: Pilsner Urquell and Budvar rank as my favorites and compliment any traditional dish at the Czech Kitchen restaurant I went to near the Prague castle.
If you have downtime, you can relax and get a traditional massage at reasonable prices at Thajske Masaze in Prague 1.
With so much interesting culture and stunning sights, it is not hard to believe, that after twenty years Prague has grown into such a popular destination for all European travelers.
Twenty years ago, Prague was only a fragment of my imagination that I only saw on television and history books, but today it ranks as one of the best places that I have ever visited in the world.