Prague road trip

It was a pretty simple equation. Renting a car in Germany works out cheaper than taking a train, you can go as fast as you like on (most sections of) the autobahns, and Prague is just a five-hour hop from Berlin. Solution - road trip!

Caning down the autobahn in our hatchback while being overtaken at 180km/h by enormous Audis and BMWs was exhilirating. But the thrill soon wore off and we discovered it was much more interesting and to cruise the back roads that wound their way through the lush green countryside and through gorgeous little hamlets clustered with immaculately tended gingerbread houses. Fortunately we had a Sat Nav that told us where to go, saving us from getting lost and countless potential arguments!

On the way to Prague we stopped overnight in the town of Gorlitz, which sits on a river that forms part of Germany's eastern border with Poland. From the river bank you can sit in a tranquil courtyard cafe and gaze across at Poland. There is a stark contrast between the beautifully painted, perfectly presented homes of Gorlitz and the run-down grey soviet megastructures in the Polish town of Zgorzelec on the other side.

Landskron, the local Gorlitz brew

Gorlitz is one of the few towns in former East Germany that wasn't heavily bombed in the Second World War. The majority of its beautiful medieval and baroque buildings are intact and wonderfully preserved. It seemed like quite a prosperous town as well, despite only emerging from communism 20 years ago. Several large companies, including Siemens, are based in the surrounding region.

Continuing to Prague, we drove over the border to Poland (I think being Australian you get a thrill out of crossing land borders just for the fun of it), just to see what it was like. The condition of the roads deteriorated immediately, as did the quality of the breakfast and coffee on offer - lukewarm sauerkraut roll and machine-made espresso). I can't really give you an objective report on Poland given that we spent a sum total of a couple of hours there, and then made a beeline for the Czech Republic.

The roads, buildings and countryside all seemed to improve the minute we emerged from the forest separating Poland from northern Czech. Czech farmhouses are all boxy two-storey dwellings, and look remarkably large. We did drive through one unfortunate valley where a big brown haze settled over the area, thanks to a bunch of smog-belching brown coal power stations that are used to power Prague. Life expectancy in this region is well below other parts of the country, and its no surprise that many people have moved away and the remaining residents are plagued with health problems.

Prague's captivating Old Town Square

The first thing that struck me about Prague, other than how similar it looks to Florence, is how medieval it is. So many of its buildings, towers and churches were built in the 1400s or even earlier. The cityscape is lined with ramparts displaying the emblems of family crests, with Prague castle perched on a hill overlooking the river. Prague's oldest bar (or so they claim) is still standing, a dank dimly-lit establishment smelling of straw where you can drink Pilsener out of big ceramic mugs.

It's easy to see why Prague is so often described as an outdoor museum - its historic centre, clustered around Old Town Square, is mesmerising. The buildings are in immaculate condition - their facades beautifully restored and masterfully decorated with intricate period features and lots of gold leaf paint. Many have Russian-style spires on their roof, a gentle reminder that you are in Eastern Europe and not Italy.

Absintherie

Prague has definitely been discovered. Its tourism industry is on steroids, and when we visited in late September it was crowded with big tour groups, but strangely it retains a quirky, old-world charm (although accommodation wasn't that cheap as prices are rapidly rising). It is a hit with middle-aged museum afficionados and obnoxious youths alike - thanks to the arrival of cheap Easy Jet flights it is now a popular stag weekend destination English lads.

Its universal appeal may be because Prague has something for everyone. You can spend your stay gazing at medieval artefacts in Prague Castle, you can have booze-fuelled benders at strip clubs or absinthe bars (the Czech republic being the home of the magic green fairy) or you can simply wander around the city's maze of back alleys and gaze at the magnificent view of the river from one of the many bridges, soaking up the atmosphere.

Stalin shows off his iron fist

As this road trip was a last-minute addition to our stay in Berlin, we only had two days in Prague so we didn't get around to that many sights. As has been the case in other cities, we found the main event - Prague Castle - a little stuffy and a bit of a chore to get through, and enjoyed some of the more kooky sights more. The Museum of Communism was an absolute standout - fascinating, hilarious and downright terrifying all at once. As expected, it had lots of Commie propaganda (including some great anti-US anti-capitalism posters) and lots of info about all the idiotic programs the party ran, including collectivised agriculture, rationing and polluting heavy industry.

More surprising was a collection of relics on display - from military uniforms to pictures of gymnasts and old telephones to my personal favourite, a statue of Stalin with his classic "iron fist" raised. The museum chartered the rise of communism in the post-war period (amazingly the US bailed out Czechoslovakia in WWII but was then quickly turned into an enemy, hence the anti-US propaganda) and gave graphic detail on the hardline regime. Phones were bugged, conversations eavesdropped on, and anyone trying to leave the country was shot on sight.

Czech cuisine is famously hearty, so we weren't exactly gunning for goulash at every meal, but sadly we found the food in Prague a bit hit and miss. It's probably better if you dine in a nice restaurant, although I've heard the quality doesn't vary too much with the price. There are lots of nice-looking neighbourhood joints dotted about the place. The goulash is a lot cheaper than other dishes such as duck, pork knuckle or (Adam's favourite) steak tartare, and the one I had was pretty grisly and served only barely lukewarm. We had more success with the wine - there was only Czech wine at this place, and to our delight it turned out to be a beautifully smooth Pinot Noir - who would have thought?

We managed to strike a fabulous compromise between budget hostel and comfortable guesthouse accommodation with the Czech Inn. A beautifully restored 19th century building with a big downstairs bar, it is technically a hostel but you can rent apartments (which look like they were renovated yesterday) on the top couple of floors. The apartments are self-contained with stainless steel kitchens and a loft-style living space. The only catch is that they have two bedrooms - great for two couples but if it is just the two of you, the living space and bathroom is shared with another couple, which feels a little odd.