Czechlist

We rented an apartment in the Old Town square. With vintage cars and horse-driven carriages, it looked like a grand movie set. Most of Prague’s historic sights are in this 12th century square—the Old Town Hall, two Gothic churches that were rebuilt in the Baroque style and a splendid clock tower.

Thankfully, the Czech croner doesn’t burn a hole in your wallet (though if you’re vacationing with your husband, exchange rates should be disregarded anyway).

I walked into a beauty salon where no one spoke English. But it looked chic enough, so I signalled for a haircut. I don’t recommend trying this out, especially if you want to look attractive for the rest of your trip. But at Rs 1,000 for a shampoo, cut and blow-dry, it was, to me, a steal.

The Old Town also has chic high fashion boutiques: Versace, Christian Dior and Louis Vuitton find place within age-old walls. And the touristy buzz of cafes and bistros reminded me of a compact Champs-Elysees.

One evening we walked down to the Vlatava, a 10-minute stroll from our apartment. The embankment was lined with cafes and restaurants, some of which are on the decks of small boats. If you enjoy a cappuccino by the sunset, here’s where you should be.

Then there’s the New Town (it’s 500 years old). The popular store-packed Wenceslas Square is where most shoppers head to. It has all the high street fashion stores—Zara, Mango, and the like.

But the Museum of Communism, tucked in a remote corner, was extremely interesting—it made me dislike Stalin all over again and develop more respect for Gorbachev.

The Old Jewish Cemetery is a tourist hot spot, but I wasn’t in the mood for morbidity, so we skipped it. The old Jewish Quarter, however, (Prague not only looks like Paris, it’s beginning to sound like it too) was breathtakingly beautiful, with a monument in every corner.

Even more interesting was the Charles Bridge, a stone bridge lined with statues of Jesus, Mary and the Apostles. Unsurpassed in its positioning, it has the best views of either side of the Vlatava. Folklore has it that one of these statues is a miracle worker, if you pray real hard. I did have a long list, but all my husband wished for was to hit the pubs on the other side of the bridge.

As you reach the last statue and before you enter the Lesser Quarter, there are some cozy restaurants that take as long to serve you as the Taj coffee shop on a Saturday night.

Food, for the most part, gets predictable. Most restaurants have similar cuisine and there’s no way to figure out which is better than the rest.

Sitting elegantly on Prague’s highest hilltop is the city’s biggest landmark, the Prague Castle. It is a magnificent piece of architecture but that’s about it. Far more beautiful is the sweeping view of the city it offers. The brick red roofs of modern homes stand apart from the gold and chrome colours of the historic landmarks. Prague is a stunning city and despite so many historical and political changes, it still manages to look as it did in the 14th century.

On an extravagant whim, my husband bought first row seats to the opera at the majestic National Theatre, for 65 euros each. It gave us a chance to dress up in formals and smile smugly at the rest of the crowd behind.

Even though the conductor had his back to us, I could tell he was a handsome Italian man. The knights and beggars sang and cussed in Italian, the crowd hollered ‘‘Bravo Bravo’’, and the husband napped.

I just longed to hear someone speak English. In the interval, we left very elegantly, as though there was an emergency we just had to attend to.