Prague was another stop on my 2005 Europe tour –

My feelings about Prague changed wildly from one day to the next. I arrived late in the evening, having spent most of the train ride chatting with two Americans from Chicago and Atlanta. I had gone several days without meeting anyone that I liked, so it was a pleasure to be able to have a conversation again. 

The first hostel I found was huge, dirty, and noisy, so I was up around 6 am. I checked into another place and headed to Bohemia Bagel, where I met a private pilot from the Bay Area shuttling a client around Europe.

Key sites:

• The mini-Eiffel Tower (great views of the city)
• The Museum of Medieval Torture Instruments (interesting and creepy)
• The Church of Our Lady of Victory, which is devoted to a wax doll of baby Jesus and his numerous outfits. It was truly odd and worth seeing.
• The Jewish Museum, which is actually a series of synagogues and a graveyard. 

Prague is a beautiful place, a setting for a fairy tale. It is extremely different from Budapest, and seems to have reacted to the fall of communism in a very different way. Whereas Budapest is all about commerce and industry and forward movement, Prague seems to be moving backwards to a much earlier time.

By day 2, the charm of the town was starting to feel a little fake. I spent the morning at the castle and toy museum (castle just so-so, Toy Museum excellent).