The Czech Republic is an amazingly diverse country. It has numerous UNESCO World Heritage sites, lovely parks, historic towns, castle that look like they just stepped out of a fairy tale, bustling night life and beer. And, we’re not going to downplay the importance of beer. The Czech Republic has one of the oldest beer cultures in history. Beer is actually cheaper than water here. It’s a food group. But even if you don’t drink beer, the Czech Republic and its capital, Prague, are a fabulous vacation spot. If the Czech Republic is one of your upcoming vacation spots, GetAway Travel is ready to help plan your adventure.
Fun facts, beer and wine
Landlocked with Austria to the South, Germany to the West, Poland to the Northeast and Slovakia to the Southeast, the Czech Republic has some of the cleanest air in Europe! It is considered one of the most livable cities in Europe. It is one of the most visited cities in Europe because of its cultural and historical sites. The country has a bewildering mix of architectural styles including: romanesque, gothic, renaissance, baroque, classicist, art nouveau, cubism and functionalism.
St Vitus Cathedral – Prague
With all that splendid architecture, the second ugliest building in the world is located in Prague. The 700-foot high Žižkov Television Tower can’t be missed when you look at the city skyline. A holdover from the communist reign in the city, there’s an observation platform at 300 feet which offers great views of the city. Artist David Cerny created 10 faceless fiberglass infants which can be seen climbing the tower.
Žižkov Television Tower – Prague
There are unique and interesting parks in Europe, but none fit that bill better than Bohemian Paradise in the north of Czech Republic. It has sandstone rock labyrinths, hiking trails, castle ruins and the Bozkov dolomite caves where you can see Czechia’s largest underground lakes.
Bohemian Paradise Park
The Czech Republic produces more than 20 million liters of beer each year. Germany is the only other country that has more breweries than the Czech Republic. But, Czechs drink more beer per capita than any other country. The first pilsner (a lager beer with strong hop flavor) in the world was produced in the Czech Republic and is still sold under the brand Pilsner Urquell.
Original Czech Pilsner – still the best
There are lively beer gardens all over the city with live music and many offer beer flights so you can taste a few beers and decide which you like. You can also try beer spas, beer shampoo and even beer cosmetics.
Bernard Beer Spa – promotional image
Even though it’s known as beer country, there are some fine wines produced in the Moravian region of the Czech Republic. The warm climate in that area coupled with lots of sun creates lush vineyards and flowery, earthy wines. Znojmo, is a little more than two hours from Prague as is Mikulov. They both have an impressive number of wine-tasting cellars.
Architectural wonders and oddities
Schönborn Palace in Prague was built by Maria Theresa for her husband, Francis II after he became emperor of Austria-Hungary in 1765. The palace has beautiful rooms with fabulous artwork including paintings by Ruben and VanDyk.
Troja Palace
Prague Castle is in the Guinness Book of Records as the biggest castle. The castle and property is more than 753,000 square feet. There are lovely winding streets and buildings that are architectural delights. The “palace” is actually multiple sections including the old Royal Palace and St. Vitus Cathedral. The cathedral is the most important church in the Czech Republic. It is a classic example of gothic architecture. With its quirky gargoyles, soaring stained glass windows, gilded statues inside and the crowned jewels, its a must-see. Continue reading
