RE: MyPictureSunday #19 - Prague, the golden City
Always beautiful as usual. Very nice one @timsaid.
Who doesnt love the beauty of Prague 🇨🇿
I lived there from 2006-2010 and had some of the best years of my life.
The pros are that it is architecturally beautiful, that the public transport system is extremely thorough and cheap, there is no real 'ghetto' and violent crime is not a major issue. It feels like a big city, but it's not crazily big. You can meet really interesting people and even after several years I was still stumbling upon 'secret' places or weird hole-in-the-walls. If you like to drink beer, well, there's a bar on virtually every corner. There are layers and layers of history piled up - not just the famous sites, but normal corners may have traces of the Communist days, the post-WWI Republic, the 19th century, and even further back. Also, you can get to other countries very quickly.
The cons are that there are drunk tourists and expats all over the place, so it can be very noisy until late at night (good when you want to be out yourself but bad if you're trying to sleep). Also a con is that I found Czechs more stand-offish than a lot of other nationalities. I learned Czech, went to Czech bars, etc. but I can't remember anyone local striking up a conversation with me in those places. This doesn't mean Czechs can't be great, just that they're quite reserved with strangers. When you get to know them a bit, they're quite friendly. Compared to some other European capitals like Berlin, it doesn't feel as cutting-edge or hip, though I met lots of really cool people. People in Prague can be pretty gruff, sometimes out-and-out rude, and dealing with bureaucracy is a serious hassle - they love stamping documents, getting double authentic copies, and generally making you jump through hoops. There is dog shit everywhere and the city gets smelly, especially in the summer.
But, it's a great place. The pros very definitely outweigh the cons.