The final stop of this Eurotrip takes place in Prague, Czech Republic. Prague is a city I kept hearing about through friends and artists. It’s one that boasts a strong arts scene as well as its own long political and cultural history.

Felt like home

I stayed in the Old Town of Prague, right in the thick of the action. Tucked away on a quiet street is an unassuming hotel called Bed&Books Art Hotel. It’s where I spent my first night. The vintage-chic decor and the Czech books made me feel right at home, a good environment to get work done.

The next place I stayed was at Art Hole Hostel. If you’re looking for a quirky, lively place to stay in Prague without it getting too crazy, then Art Hole is for you. The hostel is friendly and welcoming, plus the staff make you feel right at home. It caters to a younger crowd (age 35-ish and younger), but they seem to welcome anyone. This place is also introvert-friendly; the energy is mellow. The murals also make the space feel more like a home away from home, especially in the lounge.

The Wi-Fi is strong, and there’s free breakfast. Art Hole also hosts nightly dinners. There’s a kitchen that anyone can use, including an oven to bake vegan pizzas in! Free hot drinks are available all day, everyday. There’s a small bookstore/exchange library as well.

Exploring some of Old Town

Many times, I have to use Google Maps to help me navigate through a city or find my way back to a hostel. Prague is one of those cities where I barely did that. The city felt intuitive and easy to navigate, like I knew where I was going.

There was the Christmas market in Old Town Square, which features the Astronomical Clock.

There were also many alleyways with little shops and mini-museums around Old Town as well.

Prague Castle (close enough to Old Town, but isn’t part of it) was one of those places I almost skipped, until someone insisted that seeing it is a must. The sheer size of the Gothic 9th-century castle was astonishing. I could stand there all day and survey all of the pointed arches, flying buttresses, stained glass windows, and mosaics. Calling this “incredible” or “amazing” doesn’t quite cut it. A castle this grand feels like time has stopped.

A good day for a run

Prague was a wonderful place to go running. It’s a great way to see the city, especially Letna Park. It was also snowing! Here is a beautiful restaurant I accidentally found during a run. That’s the beauty of running in a city; you never know what you might find.

Prague Vegan

Eating vegan is exceptionally easy in Prague. Like Amsterdam, many things are clearly labeled as such, and there are plenty of places to eat. Loving Hut, an international vegan restaurant chain, seems to be very popular in Prague. There are several locations in close proximity. Although much of this food is fried or seems to have loads of sugar, it felt oddly nourishing. Below the Loving Hut restaurant is a vegan health store called World Vegan. Can I stay in Prague forever?

Art with Czech Roots

In Old Town, there is the Gallery of Art Prague showing the Art Nouveau illustrator/designer, Alphonse Mucha and Andy Warhol’s work. This exhibition also dedicates an entire floor to Warhol’s Czechoslovak roots and family history. It’s the kind of stuff we don’t hear in art history classes.

Pushing reset

Honestly, it has been a tough year. Before I left for this Eurotrip, a friend quipped, “traveling isn’t going to solve your problems.”

On the surface, he had a point. I think what he meant was that you can’t just run away forever. However, what he seemed to miss was that traveling comes up with all sorts of problem-solving opportunities that can spur growth in one’s mental health. Leaving the country for a little bit also helps to clear up my fogged-up head, since I’m constantly making sense of new information and surroundings. Encountering new languages, people, sounds, smells, and settings makes me more alert, so it’s hard to stay on auto-pilot. To answer my friend’s point, in the short-term, traveling might not solve anyone’s problems immediately. But in the long run, the lasting changes in the mind are sustainable and beneficial to anyone traveling and to those around them as well.