Czech Republic - Prague

The hostel was not exactly in the nicest area of the city, being quite a way out and requiring a metro journey and much walking to get to. However, once inside it was really quite nice and very colourfully decorated, with the walls covered top to bottom in graffiti.

Lots of building work going on...

Strangely it seemed to rain about five times a day in Prague, which was actually quite refreshing. Just as it started to get a little too hot, a sudden rain shower would appear for a few minutes. Quite a change from the roasting temperatures in Bratislava.

The old town from the river

The city itself is very nice and while for mainstream tourists it might deserve its newfound position as the tourism capital of eastern europe, I'm not quite sure it suits adventurous backpackers so well. It's absolutely packed with visitors and tour groups and visiting some of the big attractions requires a lot of waiting.

The castle at dusk

The royal palace area is definitely worth a visit, although the actual 'palace' section itself is quite small indeed, and I was quite bemused by the need for a ticket to visit a small lane containing some tourist shops. The cathedral was the star-attraction for me, especially the tower which can be climbed in an exhausting 287 claustrophobic steps.

Statues on the historic bridge

The hill next to the castle is reachable by funicular railway, with an observation tower at the summit. It's quite a hairy climb, with the spiral stairway exposed on the outside of the tower and which in the wind could clearly be felt shaking! At the top is a great view over the city.

Best museum of Communism ever!

The museum of Communism, fittingly located behind McDonalds and next to a casino, is probably my favourite museum on the entire trip so far. It has a great sense of humour - one of the many fake-propaganda posters outside stating, "You couldn't get laundry detergent, but you could get your brainwashed!", alluding to the shortages in communist shops. Inside is a wide range of ex-Soviet relics which, having an interest in the politics behind the USSR, I found fascinating,. The museum offers a more detailed and wide-ranging approach to what life was like in Communist times compared with the more narrowly-focused occupation museums in the Baltic states.

Yes, it's a pig on a diving board. No, it's not real. I hope.

I had a good stay in Prague, but was looking forward to heading onwards to meet my friends back in Austria, something I had been looking forward to for a long time!