Prague Take Two

Day two in Prague started very early in the morning- 4:30 am early. Not because we wanted to see the Charles Bridge before it filled with tourists, see the sun come up over the castle, or visit any early morning fish market, but rather because we had the worst hostel roommates ever. I know people are going to stay up later or wake-up earlier than us in every place we go and do some strange things, but there are some common rules of hostel etiquette and they broke every single on of them.

Rising for the second time just past 8, we headed out to explore the architecture of Prague. Having become enamored with Art Nouveau architecture last week in Brussels, I was excited to see countless Art Nouveau buildings in Prague. The Municipal Building and Hotel Paris are two wonderful, classic examples of Art Nouveau; everything in the buildings was designed to be practical, beautiful, and harmonious. The stained-glass windows are definitely one of my favorite features. I imagine the €150 a night stay in the Hotel Paris would be worth the splurge just to stay in the glamor of the building.Next we went to visit a building of the extreme opposite, a cubist building. Gone where the curved lines, metal & glass structures, and floral motifs - the building was an example of geometry and minimalism.

Prague has done a wonderful job of blending their immensely varied architecture, so that no building seems out of place or draws attention to itself. After that, it was over the river and down the street to the wonderful lunch spot we found the day before.