My introduction to Central Europe
So far in this blog, none of my travels within Europe have been featured, neither as a gallery of images nor in the shape of a travel guide. I find no specific reason why I hadn’t. I guess I have been busy exploring the myriad of fascinating sights of East and Southeast Asia for the past few years. It has certainly been a worthwhile adventure to tour across many cities and towns with so much variety to admire.
This does not mean that I have no interest in traveling far and wide within the “old continent”. Far from it. My ambitions are big. One day I hope to cross it from end to end by train and by car. Eating cannoli in Malta, walking the Camino de Santiago, placing the palm of my hand on the Berlin Wall, visiting Pripyat, and photographing the aurora borealis of northern Norway are just some of my plans for Europe.
My first ever contact with Europe was with the most central of the central European countries. Namely, Czech Republic. Immediately, I found it easy to understand its popularity among travelers, and that the romanticized reputation of the city lives up to the legend. I was also able to realize how strong its tourism industry is, and with good reason. The architecture, culture, history, aesthetics are so pleasing to the eyes as one roams around discovering streets and alleys ready to be the set of the next love story movie.
An European capital so easy to fall in love with
Thus, it took me a couple of hours of walking under the warm summer sun to process the overload of beautiful scenes to start enjoying the vibes of this city. Prague was an extremely welcoming city during my stay. Locals with an enjoyable sense of humor, sights to please the eyes at every corner, historical sites that I had previously seen only in movies and photos.
The culinary experience did not fall short either. The city is full of amazing food options that are friendly to the taste and wallet of anyone traveling far away from their comfort zone. The restaurants, coffee shops and pubs all shine to their fullest starting from the late afternoon hours and after the night falls. It seemed to me that the city had everything well covered to make even the most ordinary experience something to remember.
On the photographic side, it becomes nearly redundant to talk about the endless opportunities for travel photography. It could be that quasi-mystical shot of Charles Bridge taken before the day breaks, or it could well be the aerial perspective of one of the many cathedrals adorned with their gothic spires rising high to the skies.
Here is a collection of views of that very special time I spent in the capital of Czech Republic, Prague, taken with the best camera I had at my disposal at the time: my mobile phone.
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