Dream Destination & Celebrate Blog Hop

Thanks to Lexa Cain and her new release Soul Cutter & Julie Flanders and her new release Ghosts of Aquinnah for this Dream Destination Blog Hop. Please head over to their blogs and enter the Rafflecopter for plenty of remarkable prizes.

My Dream Destination is Prague, Czech Republic: 

Nearly 25 years ago, demonstrators in Prague staged the "velvet revolution," a series of peaceful protests that helped bring down the communist regime. Since emerging from the somber shadows of one-party rule, the City of a Thousand Spires has become one of Europe's hippest travel destinations — a cosmopolitan city where culture buffs and pleasure seekers mingle happily in chic cafés and Gothic cathedrals. Whether you're sleeping at a former monastery turned five-star hotel or dancing in a onetime nuclear bunker, you'll quickly realize that in Prague, the unconventional is conventional: after all, this is Bohemia. Here's how to make the most of your stay.

Charles Bridge

Commissioned by King Charles IV in 1357, Prague's most stunning bridge spans 16 arches and is lined with 30 Baroque statues of religious figures. The bridge's 1,700 ft. (520 m) of cobblestone are used for wholly temporal purposes, however. Each afternoon, painters and hot-dog vendors fight for space with — and custom from — the hordes of tourists who are themselves elbowing one another for the best views of the Vltava River. If you arrive at dawn, you'll beat the crowds and enjoy a glorious sunrise.

Serious beer drinkers should head straight to this 550-year-old institution to sample its infamous X-Beer 33. The dark, bittersweet lager ferments for six months in an oak barrel and has an alcohol content of 11.8%, making it the strongest brew in the Czech Republic. Be sure to line the stomach with hearty specialties like larded roast beef in sour cream with white bread dumplings — and remember to pace yourself.

U Medvidku Beer Hall and Restaurant

 Zizkov Prague, Czech Republic

When the sun sets, venture east to Zizkov, a former industrial suburb and the epicenter of Prague's rough-and-tumble nightlife. More than 300 bars dot the neighborhood's 2 square miles (5 sq km), which almost certainly represents the highest per capita concentration of drinking venues in any district in Europe. Leave your fancy dress at home. Zizkov is a place of convivial dives, replete with beer served in plastic cups.

Prague Castle, Hradcany, Prague, Czech Republic

Roughly the size of seven football fields, Prague Castle is the largest ancient castle in the world. Built and renovated during 13 centuries, the complex includes churches, gardens, alleyways and royal residences that would take days to appreciate. Don't miss the St. Vitus Cathedral. In addition to Art Nouveau stained-glass windows and a wooden depiction of the crucifixion, it houses treasures like the tomb of St. John of Nepomuk — a blinding two-metric-ton vault that is held up by an army of silver angels.

Old Town Square

Despite a number of foreign invaders, Prague's Old Town Square has remained virtually untouched since the 10th century. Today's marauders consist largely of tourists who congregate to eat alfresco while admiring a hodgepodge of architecture — including the Rococo Kinsky Palace, the Gothic Tyn Cathedral and the Baroque St. Nicholas Church, to name a few. An ever-changing cast of musicians, protesters, dance troupes, punks and vendors make the square as colorful as the buildings that surround it.

Well what do you think? The City of Prague was spared the blitzkrieg of World War II. I love the Old World and would dearly love to travel to the Czech Republic one day.

Today is also Celebrate the Small Things Hop thanks to Vikki at Scribblings of an Aspiring Author. Join in the fun!

I'm keeping this short: I'm Celebrating Life, My Family, and My Online Friends!!

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