Prague

Prague is a beautiful city and I would recommend doing as much as possible while you are there... It's amazing. But, try to hit up the castle, the Sex Machines Museum, walk the bridge, take a boat tour and enjoy the beer. This is the birthplace of the stolen recipe of Budweiser, but this stuff is much better.

Quick Tips:

The best thing to do, to get an understanding of Prague, is walk the Charles Bridge from the old town to the new area, and see what is happening. From there, you can see most of the city and decide what it is that you want to do.

Best Way To Get Around:

I would suggest taxis, since walking around this city is deadly. The streets intertwine like a spiderweb and fan out like lost veins. I spent a good 30-minute lost, with no recollection of how to get back to where I came from. So, taxis would be good since they are relatively cheap and a dime a dozen.

Actually located in the Center of the Old Town! Most of the Prague hostels boast that they are centrally located in the Old Town, but the Old Prague Hostel (www.oldpraguehostel.com) is one of the only ones that really is. With the Town Square not even a two block walk away and the government buildings and tourist markets only five minutes away, the locale of the Old Prague Hostel can’t be beat. With privates renting at about $33/night and dorms at $21/night, the price is perfect. Also, you will never need to take the public transportation, because you are already there. Plus, the Police Station is right across the street, so you can feel safe. The beds are comfortable, the amenities rock and the outlets are American outlets, meaning you will not need your power converter. This is great for someone who forgot to get a converter or lost theirs in travel. There is also free Internet and cheap drinks and food from the front desk. Finally, all clubs and great bars are located just around the corner and the famous Sex Shop is just past the Town Square and worth the $5 cover. If you are in Prague, try your best to stay here. It's worth every penny.

If you happen to find yourself in Prague and are looking for something to do, I would highly suggest the Sex Machines Museum in Melantrichova 18, Prague 1. This place is the only museum that I am aware of that is completely devoted to pleasure machines.

Now keep an eye out because this place is hard to see and you can easily walk right by it. As you head away from the central square on Melantrichova 18, it is on the left hand and barely noticeable. We would have walked right by it if I didn’t have to tie my shoes, therefore making me stop. As the group was stopped, my compadres noticed the same sign indicating the museum. Of course our intrigue and curiosity was high and we headed right in as if the Pied Piper had led us here with his songs.

Upon entering this overtly red foyer, we were asked to pay 250 CZK (about $12 or so) for entrance and told to roam free. The first floor was dedicated to different small toys and different piercings. On one of the walls, were four or five model vaginas with unusual piercings that seemed impossible to enjoy. One even looked as if the vagina had been sewn shut. It was very odd.

Then, as we ascended the second floor, the more unique and cumbersome toys and accessories came into play. There was one dildo that was, no joke, about two feet in diameter and about four feet tall. I have absolutely no idea who would use this, but it was there in all of its splendor and glory. There were also torture beds and chairs and a multi-length galaxy of whips, chains, and mouth gags. It was all very informative and interesting, but a little far fetched, as if we were walking into a Stephen King porno.

But the room that I have neglected to mention is one that I highly suggest you steer clear from because it is a bit unsettling. On the first floor, in the back of the room, there is a little movie theater set up to display old time pornos; the first ones that were mass produced. The videos, most made in Spain, consisted of largely obese women sharing one skinny guy. The images were kind of hard to watch since the activities performed by all of those in the video seemed, not just uncomfortable, but not pleasurable. I unfortunately sat through this video twice because I saw it alone then was brought in by with friends who hadn’t seen it yet. I think that my nail scratches are still embedded on the floors from where I was dragged in again.

So, if you get to Prague, check out the world’s only Sex Machine Museum, but avoid the theater in the back…you will thank me if you miss it and agree if you catch it. It’s rough.

This is one of the coolest sights to see in all of Prague, because you get to see Prague from a bird's eye view. The Astronomical Clock is built on the Town Squares 15th Century tower with both the 12 apostles and the 12 signs of the Zodiac on it. And every hour, Christ himself comes out and marches in front of all while death, in the form of a skeleton, rings the bell to signify the new hour. It is such a spectacle that crowds form in front of this behemoth every hour to witness its splendour and wonder.

But the best part of the tower is up above its unique clock. For the price of about $3 ($2 for students) you can ride the elevator up to the top of the tower and hang out in the lookout balcony. This balcony wraps around the entire tower, giving you the best view of Prague, bar none.

The one down side to this viewing balcony, is that on a beautiful day, the crowds are astronomical (sorry for the pun, but it works) and extremely annoying. People will push and shove and jump in front of every picture you are trying to take. But, to look down on the red roofed paradise that is Prague is amazing and totally worth the vertigo. And if are there on the new hour, you can look down on the crowd in the square as they stare up to you, wondering how the hell you got up there. Enjoy.

There are few things that are more breathtaking than walking over the Charles Bridge over the Vltava River. Here, you get to see the city in all of its brilliance and beauty of the extraordinary city.

After getting myself lost for a while on the ever winding streets of maze that is Prague, I came across the Charles Bridge that separated the old town from the new town. It was here that I was awe struck by the archways leading to this cement walkway over the river. My group and I decided to walk over the bridge, see what the views were like from the center, see what the vendors were selling and just enjoy the ambiance of the bridge. But we had no idea what to expect, so we put on our already worn out walking shoes and trekked across the expanding cement pathway towards the unknown.

People were coming and going from each direction, with hundreds of people stopping along the way to view the creative trinkets that were being sold by the vendors. Then, there seemed to a crowd forming off to the left, looking up the river. When we got to a better viewing area, we noticed what all of the hubbub was; a Red Bull Flying Contest. I don’t know if you have ever seen those commercials on TV for Red Bull, but they usually consist of amateur built flying devices that try to fly over the water. More times than not, though, the apparatus doesn’t fly, but more falls into the water below. There is always a large crowd at these things because watching people fall and get hurt is one of the international pastimes that we all secretly enjoy.

As we got near the halfway point of the bridge, we came across a long line of people awaiting their turn up next to one of the many posts along the bridge. Since we didn’t know what was going on, and it looked like everyone was having a good time, we jumped on line and followed suit. When it was our turn at the post, we rubbed a worn section of the post that was gold in color compared to the weathered exterior. We later found out that it was a wishing stone and that when you rub it, you wish to come back to Prague at some future date.

At the end of the bridge, there were buses, cabs, and pathways that lead you off to the castle set high up on the hill that was the royal complex of days past. We also saw some stairs that went down and winding through the village. Since the village seemed like a shorter adventure (we were tired) we took the road more traveled. But we were famished, so food was our primary objective, and since we were right near the water, the options were endless.

However, since it was on the water, the wait was astronomical, so we hiked around, until we found, down a narrow descending stairway alley, a local seafood restaurant. I can’t, for the life of me, remember the name of this place, but the food was great. I had a mahi mahi over spinach plate and it was amazing and cheap (about 300 CZK or about $14 or so). Afterwards, we were ushered off to the gondola rides that kept passing the restaurant on the canal. This ride was great. 

Finally, after a day of walking, exploring, laughing, and eating, we were exhausted and knew that we had a long, confusing walk back to our hostel, so we headed back. The whole adventure was well worth it and all really entertaining. I would highly recommend it.