CZECH REPUBLIC

There is a lot to be said about the Czech Republic, and more so Prague, whether it be good or bad. Unfortunately I only visited the capital during my time here so I can't speak for the rest of the country. Prague is a sort of, Medieval Disneyland, packed with tourists and loaded with sites and sounds that can make your stay here the time of your life or give you the headache of a life. Now I'm not going to say it's black and white, I learned over the course of my trip that there are so many factors that go into making a place great or dull. For instance, if you arrived in a new city late at night during a winter snow storm and had no accommodation booked, forcing you to stay in an outrageously expensive hotel room and not meeting a single soul for three days, then your views of that particular place aren't going to be exactly positive. I was lucky enough to find a hostel and meet some pretty cool people. I ended up spending a week in Prague and I still don't feel like I accomplished much. Perhaps that's due to the hype that surrounds the city. I personally didn't get caught up in it, but the two guys I was with did. Don't get me wrong, Prague is an amazing city, but it's time as the Jewel of Central Europe is running out. Busloads of tourists are overrunning the city half the time, and unless you can handle that, don't spend half your trip trying to beat the crowds and digging deep trying to experience the hype. I'm probably sounding as though I hate this place and never want to go back. That can't be farther from the truth. I would love to go back to Prague one day and I'm telling you now, if you're going to Europe, you have to go there. It is an incredible city with a lot to see, just be prepared.

There are some great things to come out of the Czech Republic. The beer here is probably the best beer I have ever had, and it's cheap. $1.10 a pint, now even if you don't particularly like their beer, you can not beat the value. Absinth is cheap and accessible if you're a little more adventurous and the women...well, let me just say you don't need any beer to make them look better. Now if all these things weren't good enough, the Czech's are a hockey-loving people as well. Beer, hockey, women...what was I talking about again? Ah yes, the Czech Republic...