I read this somewhere... If the East (Europe) is said to be the new West, then Prague will definitely be the new Paris. To say Prague is "beautiful" would be an understatement. Being there is like being in a fairy tale because most of the buildings are castle-like. No words will be adequate to describe this city so gorgeous belonging to its very own class.

26 ~ 30 December 2008
Czeching out Prague, with C H Tan

Is it Prague's or is it our luck that we still can get a glimpse of a different era through Prague's architecture today? Prague is said to be one of the few cities which has stayed unscathed during the world war 2. Most of the similar architectural legacy in other European countries have been either destroyed or bombed back then, which made what is still left in Prague today sophisticated.The buildings in Prague are mostly painted in bright colours. (Why can't all the buildings be painted this way and then people will be so happy looking at them and eventually everyone will be living a happy life everyday. So simple...) And despite its old age, all the buildings still appear to be in good condition. Guess the government must have invested a lot of great effort in maintenance. The public transportation system in the city is good enough to keep travelling from one place to another convenient. Metro and tram are fast and clean, and affordable! though the tram route can be quite confusing sometimes. But for tourists, I'd say #22 would be the main tram you need to take to get yourself to most of the main attractions... And that's how we reached this Prague castle standing on the hill across the Charles Bridge. Some friends have told me to walk up the hill for the scenery's sake but we figured that our energy and stamina would be over-consumed since the outdoor temperature was below 3 degree celcius and so we decided to enjoy the convenience of public transportation instead. SMART choice ;)A typical gothic architecture. Impressive, isn't it? Since the cathedral and what's inside the castle had failed to interest us much, we just spent some time looking around from the outside and decided to take the walk down the hill this time :-) At least walking DOWN is easier than walking UP, rite? SMARTx2 choice :DInhaling the breathtaking view of the city from hilltop. A bit misty from the photo but it was fine on that day itself.Prague is, like what the internet says, always packed with tourists. So, if you want your holiday to be something different where you can watch normal people living their lifes doing their daily chores and feel special since you're on holiday and NOT working, Prague is definitely out of your list. It isn't easy to find the way to the Old Town Square, or better known as "布拉格广场" for people who listen to Jolin's songs. The biggest Christmas market in town was held there.There are many stalls beautifully decorated in Christmas lights selling everything from German sausages to piggy's knuckle, hot wine to icy cold draft beer, Christmas ornaments to heart-shaped cookies...... and etc. We spent almost every evening here hunting for food, enjoying the Christmas atmosphere, though the tourist crowd can be quite annoying sometimes. 'Trdlo' is one of the traditional Czech pastry. This bread is rolled in cinnamon and sugar, coated in caramel and served hot! It looks unusual, but tastes delicious! And then there's always time to warm ourselves up with a glass of hot wine... After all, the most important thing when you're on a holiday is not to rush places, but to relax and have fun.Besides the splendid architecture, the relaxing park lying just along the riverside is as inviting in the evening.. Sunset across the Charles Bridge was romantic :)

This unusual-looking building is called 'The Dancing House' and it hasn't got a single straight line on it.

We had a good time in Prague. Of course there were places we didn't have the energy to go this time, for instance the cathedral which is said to be made of human bones, located somewhere out of Prague.. that will be saved for the future. There were also things which we shouldn't have done, like the concert in some old broken cathedral. It was a waste of money.. Even though Czech is famous for musician like Beethoven, going to these so-called concerts isn't a very good idea unless you're going for the real orchestra in the concert hall which will definitely cost a bomb, but go prepared and it'll be worth it. Just my two cents :)