Just Go There: Prague

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A younger friend of mine is heading off on her first European adventure in a few months and she'll be spending her birthday in Prague - an incredible city I was lucky enough to spend a week in last summer with some good friends who used to live there. Check out photos here.

My first European experience was with my friend Hope when we were 18. A hot foreign exchange student named Phillipe from Belgium had hung with us in The OC for a bit, so we headed off to see his country and stay with his gracious family, who took us to eat chocolates on the canals of Bruges and drink raspberry beer on the plaza in Brussels. Then we were off to the land of windmills and tulips - biking through Amsterdam, Rotterdam and sweet little Dutch villages to a pancake house in the middle of the forest. Our final stop was Paris, where two local monsieurs who could only communicate with us via Michael Jackson songs, were hitting on us near the Eiffel Tower. Tragically, we were less than a mile away from the horrific car crash that took Princess Diana's life that very night. We heard the sirens but had no idea she had died until the next day when we were on a train and saw a British woman reading a newspaper.

My mission for that first European adventure was to find little storybook towns like the ones Walt Disney had drawn in all the fairy tales I read and watched growing up, and got to experience in person on the rides at Disneyland. I know its lame but I am still more than slightly obsessed with finding those picturesque little story book towns whenever I go to Europe, and when I got to Prague, I found what I'd been looking for. Complete with the castle on the hill where Cinderella could have arrived in her pumpkin stagecoach, Prague is literally one of the most beautiful cities ever created. A few of my favorite things to do in Prague:

1. Grab a Pilsner Urquel and sit on the gorgeous main plaza - fun little creatures come out of the clock tower every hour, just like on A Small World at D-Land.

2. Walk around and enjoy the amazing architecture, I've never seen anything like it.

3. Head up to any of the parks above the city - they all have beer gardens where you can sit and drink a pint or grab one to go. Why can't we do this in America??

4. Visit Hapu cocktail lounge for the best ice cream based alcoholic concoctions and strawberry daquaris ever.

5. Check out the Communism-era TV Tower complete with an art installation that includes a lot of black babies crawling on it. You can elevator to the bar/restaurant at the top to get a great view of the entire city.

6. Take a boat tour on the river - great way to see the city and learn some history. They also give you beer and ice cream for the ride. For it!

7. Walk across the Charles Bridge to find a random dixieland band (pictured above) and take in the incredible views all around - must be done in the day and at night.

8. Visit the castle and cathedral - a bit of a hike, but well worth it. I was in awe the entire time. On the way back down you can stop for a glass of vino and overlook the rooftops and the entire city.

9. Drink a few cocktails at FX Lounge - bohemian bar, lounge, art gallery & cafe. Jeff had been there 15 years ago so I had to check it out - it did not disappoint.

10. Day trip to Karlovy Vary (pictured above) - a pristine spa town about 3 hours west of Prague. You can soak in the healing waters, get a massage or just explore this magical little town of winding streets and houses that look like they're made of gingerbread in a Russian fairy tale.