After visiting Prague, the very first thing I have to say is this: If you havent visited Prague yet, go visit!

For those who don’t know, Prague is the capital and the largest city of the Czech Republic. It is also the fourteenth largest city in the European Union and is home to about 1.3 million people, but its larger urban zone has approximately a population of nearly 2 million.
They say every city has two faces, and amongst Prague its obvious beauty it has a little of a shadow side as well. First off let me say I loved the city, unexpectedly. I once visited Prague before, but only for a few hours and at that point had no interest in returning again.

Two weeks ago, years after my short previous visit I again had the opportunity to visit. This time, with a camera, a local guide for a day and way more time to explore on my own. Together with CzechTourism and Northern Hikes now was the time to truly explore this city and just a little more from Czech than just Prague. (Bohemian Switzerland)
Looking at Prague, the architecture is off the hook, its truly amazing and there is so much beauty around you. Being from Amsterdam I’m used to a fair share of beauty around me and I will admit, Prague is right up there. Another thing that felt familiar was the tourists. Oh my, Prague is even worse than Amsterdam! So. Many. People. But like Amsterdam, when you know where to go its rather easy to avoid them. They do great food, and the beer is extremely cheap, and quality!
This being my first real visit to the city I had to explore all the places us tourists go to. Both early morning and during peak hour. (Early morning most places looked deserted. Which is perfect.) Most of the time this city gave me a great lively vibe, but at times I also got a weird vibe about it.

Why this weird vibe you’d ask? There’s three things that stood out for me.

• So many pick pockets, who overly obvious single out people to “target”.
• The beer drinking, at any time of day at any place in town. No this isn’t meant for people enjoying a cold one on a terrace, but the young local people mainly, clearly being druk, drinking bottles / cans of beer outside no matter the time. 7 in the morning on a Monday. Early afternoon. Doesn’t matter. When I would look for a coffee, these youngsters would look for their next beer. And as soon as they finished one, on to the next.
• Not in large amounts of course but the drug addicts. Some shooting up right in the middle of the tourist spots. So first I see someone doing his (hard) drugs, next to it is a tourist eating her ice cream and in the background I see kids running an playing. This is just surreal for me.

As a photographer who also loves street photography I’m always very aware of my surroundings, trying to find unique moments to capture before they pass. This makes me extremely aware of the people around me, what they do, and in some way how they behave. I’m always searching for that perfect photo before it even happens. Even though i’m from Amsterdam and am used to quite a lot, these things just didn’t feel right.

Ok now back to the extremely positive, as Prague had way more positive to offer than anything negative. The things mentioned earlier, are all easy avoidable when you pay attention and look after your belongings just a little better.

So let me give you 10 reasons to visit Prague.

• Prague is absolutely gorgeous. The architecture, Chapels, Cathedrals, Baroque places, Parks, gardens, Art Nouveau, thePrague Castle all are stunning. There is so much to see. Being a photographer, I feel after three days in Prague I havent seen nearly enough.
• Looking for a gorgeous sunset spot with a castle in the background? Prague provides you all of this.
• Prague has an amazing beer culture. Their local small and medium breweries make some awesome beers. There are beer gardens all over town, and the prices for beer are very low compared to Amsterdam. It seems these low prices create some issues for the locals as a beer is cheaper than a cola, but for the visiting beer lovers, low prices are a nice surprise.
  (I’ve been told the Czech people consume more beer than any other country in Europe, which made the awkward all day any day drunks fall into place.)
• The Vltava river is amazing, with its brides crossing the river and small islands it a great sight to see and wander by.
• Affordable. Prague is very affordable and in many ways way cheaper than other countries in Europe. This is an extreme plus, taking into account Prague surely also is one of the most beautiful cities.
• The Charles Bridge. Although this one is a bit of a challenge. It’s stunning and one of the oldest bridges in Europe. (It was built between 1357 and 1402.) But, its overly populated by tourists. It’s just way to busy with tourists and merchants to actually enjoy the beauty and history of it. Unless you arrive right around sunrise. Sadly I managed to just be late twice and missed truly enjoying this place.
• Bohemian Switzerland. Ok this is not Prague, but this gorgeous part of Czech, is only about two hours from Prague and offers you a get away from the busy city and great opportunity to enjoy nature during a hike. Northern hikes offers great tours with perfect service. (A little more info and my experience on this place can be found here.)
• The city is perfect for walking around and going to all the tourist places. Next to that, public transport is very good and also affordable. So walk until your feet hurt, and if needed just hop on the tram to bring you back to your hotel, or one of the many great places to sit down and have a drink.
• Prague offers great food with many choices and all at affordable prices. Everything being affordable makes things even better wont you agree?
• It’s beautiful all year long. Every time of year provides its own beauty, but none of the seasons would make a trip not worth while. They all will bring some special views!

After spending three days in Prague all I can say is that I havent seen nearly enough of this city. There is just so much to do, see and experience and upon being back in Amsterdam I’m left wondering how I could not have seen this, or that, and why I didn’t go there, or here.

Guess i’ll need to return to Prague again some time. Something I surely wont have a problem with. So before I went to Prague I had severe doubts on if I’d enjoy this city as I couldn’t remember anything from my previous visit. Now I am sure I need to get back there as it seems I haven’t seen nothing yet.
Therefor I’m extremely thankful for Czechtourism who provided me the opportunity to visit their amazing country and city.

Next to these words, I strongly would encourage you to have a look at my photo journey of this trip which you can find here.

After visiting Prague, the very first thing I have to say is this: If you havent visited Prague yet, go visit!

For those who don’t know, Prague is the capital and the largest city of the Czech Republic. It is also the fourteenth largest city in the European Union and is home to about 1.3 million people, but its larger urban zone has approximately a population of nearly 2 million.
They say every city has two faces, and amongst Prague its obvious beauty it has a little of a shadow side as well. First off let me say I loved the city, unexpectedly. I once visited Prague before, but only for a few hours and at that point had no interest in returning again.

Two weeks ago, years after my short previous visit I again had the opportunity to visit. This time, with a camera, a local guide for a day and way more time to explore on my own. Together with CzechTourism and Northern Hikes now was the time to truly explore this city and just a little more from Czech than just Prague. (Bohemian Switzerland)
Looking at Prague, the architecture is off the hook, its truly amazing and there is so much beauty around you. Being from Amsterdam I’m used to a fair share of beauty around me and I will admit, Prague is right up there. Another thing that felt familiar was the tourists. Oh my, Prague is even worse than Amsterdam! So. Many. People. But like Amsterdam, when you know where to go its rather easy to avoid them. They do great food, and the beer is extremely cheap, and quality!
This being my first real visit to the city I had to explore all the places us tourists go to. Both early morning and during peak hour. (Early morning most places looked deserted. Which is perfect.) Most of the time this city gave me a great lively vibe, but at times I also got a weird vibe about it.

Why this weird vibe you’d ask? There’s three things that stood out for me.

• So many pick pockets, who overly obvious single out people to “target”.
• The beer drinking, at any time of day at any place in town. No this isn’t meant for people enjoying a cold one on a terrace, but the young local people mainly, clearly being druk, drinking bottles / cans of beer outside no matter the time. 7 in the morning on a Monday. Early afternoon. Doesn’t matter. When I would look for a coffee, these youngsters would look for their next beer. And as soon as they finished one, on to the next.
• Not in large amounts of course but the drug addicts. Some shooting up right in the middle of the tourist spots. So first I see someone doing his (hard) drugs, next to it is a tourist eating her ice cream and in the background I see kids running an playing. This is just surreal for me.

As a photographer who also loves street photography I’m always very aware of my surroundings, trying to find unique moments to capture before they pass. This makes me extremely aware of the people around me, what they do, and in some way how they behave. I’m always searching for that perfect photo before it even happens. Even though i’m from Amsterdam and am used to quite a lot, these things just didn’t feel right.

Ok now back to the extremely positive, as Prague had way more positive to offer than anything negative. The things mentioned earlier, are all easy avoidable when you pay attention and look after your belongings just a little better.

So let me give you 10 reasons to visit Prague.

• Prague is absolutely gorgeous. The architecture, Chapels, Cathedrals, Baroque places, Parks, gardens, Art Nouveau, thePrague Castle all are stunning. There is so much to see. Being a photographer, I feel after three days in Prague I havent seen nearly enough.
• Looking for a gorgeous sunset spot with a castle in the background? Prague provides you all of this.
• Prague has an amazing beer culture. Their local small and medium breweries make some awesome beers. There are beer gardens all over town, and the prices for beer are very low compared to Amsterdam. It seems these low prices create some issues for the locals as a beer is cheaper than a cola, but for the visiting beer lovers, low prices are a nice surprise.
  (I’ve been told the Czech people consume more beer than any other country in Europe, which made the awkward all day any day drunks fall into place.)
• The Vltava river is amazing, with its brides crossing the river and small islands it a great sight to see and wander by.
• Affordable. Prague is very affordable and in many ways way cheaper than other countries in Europe. This is an extreme plus, taking into account Prague surely also is one of the most beautiful cities.
• The Charles Bridge. Although this one is a bit of a challenge. It’s stunning and one of the oldest bridges in Europe. (It was built between 1357 and 1402.) But, its overly populated by tourists. It’s just way to busy with tourists and merchants to actually enjoy the beauty and history of it. Unless you arrive right around sunrise. Sadly I managed to just be late twice and missed truly enjoying this place.
• Bohemian Switzerland. Ok this is not Prague, but this gorgeous part of Czech, is only about two hours from Prague and offers you a get away from the busy city and great opportunity to enjoy nature during a hike. Northern hikes offers great tours with perfect service. (A little more info and my experience on this place can be found here.)
• The city is perfect for walking around and going to all the tourist places. Next to that, public transport is very good and also affordable. So walk until your feet hurt, and if needed just hop on the tram to bring you back to your hotel, or one of the many great places to sit down and have a drink.
• Prague offers great food with many choices and all at affordable prices. Everything being affordable makes things even better wont you agree?
• It’s beautiful all year long. Every time of year provides its own beauty, but none of the seasons would make a trip not worth while. They all will bring some special views!

After spending three days in Prague all I can say is that I havent seen nearly enough of this city. There is just so much to do, see and experience and upon being back in Amsterdam I’m left wondering how I could not have seen this, or that, and why I didn’t go there, or here.

Guess i’ll need to return to Prague again some time. Something I surely wont have a problem with. So before I went to Prague I had severe doubts on if I’d enjoy this city as I couldn’t remember anything from my previous visit. Now I am sure I need to get back there as it seems I haven’t seen nothing yet.
Therefor I’m extremely thankful for Czechtourism who provided me the opportunity to visit their amazing country and city.

Next to these words, I strongly would encourage you to have a look at my photo journey of this trip which you can find here.