You have probably guessed by now that Prague might just be my favourite place in the world. The gothic architecture that makes your bones go all funny, the hearty dishes that make you need an afternoon nap even after a little snack and the immense amount of things to do from the moment you wake up until the moment you go to sleep. Prague is bloody ace!
What people don't usually realise is that Prague does not equal the Czech Republic. There's so much more to see! What I'd love to do one day (given I had a hefty amount of cash on my hands - scroll to the bottom for a cheeky tip) is to take a month or two off and travel around the whole country. Czech Republic (or Czechia as it's now called) has so many hidden gems you wouldn't even dream of!
Note: Please don't let let the title of this post fool you - you definitely don't need millions in your bank account to visit Prague. It's in fact incredibly affordable! I'm talking all expenses paid for travel across the country for a couple of months kind of holiday here, one where you throw money at people because you WANT IT ALL.
WHAT TO SEE WHEN VISITING CZECHIA
🇨🇿 Macocha Abyss & Moravian Karst
Moravia (the Eastern part of Czechia) is full of beautiful hidden places that tourists are not aware of. One of them is definitely the Moravian Karst. You will find this vast complex of underground caverns and gorges in the very South of Moravia, not far from the local capital Brno. You can take a boat down the underground river Punkva and admire all the strange stalactites and stalagmites around you. The Macocha Abyss is a sinkhole in the very same complex and it's absolutely magical with fog floating above it pretty much most days.🇨🇿 Sedlec Ossuary
This Roman Catholic chapel is in Kutna Hora, not too far from Prague - you can easily make a day trip out of it. Now I wouldn't recommend this to everyone, particularly not to those faint hearted. The chapel dates back to 1278 when one of the crusaders brought back a handful of soil from Jerusalem. This made the area incredibly popular for burial purposes. The cemetery was growing and growing - suffering from large amount of bodies being buried in mass graves during the plague. Eventually they started excavating some of the graves and extending the cemetery. But because it would be unholy to just chuck the bones in the skip so to say, they decided to decorate the chapel with it. Now one of the most popular tourist destinations in Czech Republic, Sedlec Ossuary is completely decorated with bones of many of the 70,000 people buried there. It's definitely a macabre sight but an incredibly unique one nonetheless.
🇨🇿 Forest Kingdom Dam
🇨🇿 Forest Kingdom Dam
One place that's not all that old (was built only some 100 years ago) is the Forest Kingdom Dam which arches over the largest Czech river Elbe. It lies in the North-East part of Bohemia and it's essentially the most picturesque dam you've ever seen. It has castle-like watchtowers and a little Disney-esque castle is hidden in a forest just a few minutes away. It's not a tourist hot spot as such but it's definitely worth catching a glimpse of!
🇨🇿 The Sumava Mountains
Sumava is a region on the border between Czech Republic, Germany and Austria. The summers there are gorgeous - you can spot a deer and even a lynx there! You can climb up the mountains and find the exact border of the three countries where you can experience what it's like to be in 3 countries at the same time (mind-boggling or what). Or you can explore the wild brooks where the longest river in Czech Republic originates - amongst warm humid swamps and large velvety boulders covered with the greenest moss.
🇨🇿 South Moravia's vineyards
You didn't know did you? Czech people actually make a damn good wine! And about 94% of all our vineyards are in the South Moravian region. Together with the stunning karst and an abyss I mentioned earlier the region is dotted with hundreds and hundreds of wine cellars luring you in on every step. And it doesn't help that Moravians are ever so hospitable - I'm pretty sure it's been proven impossible to meet a Moravian with a wine cellar without actually visiting it.
🇨🇿 Bohemian Paradise
Bohemian Paradise is the very first nature reserve that has ever been established in the country. That wouldn't be all that interesting - if it didn't have a mind-blowing Rock Town in it! The area is very popular with mountain climbers and apart from hiking, climbing and cycling you can also see two fairy-tale castles there - Kost & Trosky.
🇨🇿 Clementinum Library
🇨🇿 The Sumava Mountains
Sumava is a region on the border between Czech Republic, Germany and Austria. The summers there are gorgeous - you can spot a deer and even a lynx there! You can climb up the mountains and find the exact border of the three countries where you can experience what it's like to be in 3 countries at the same time (mind-boggling or what). Or you can explore the wild brooks where the longest river in Czech Republic originates - amongst warm humid swamps and large velvety boulders covered with the greenest moss.
🇨🇿 South Moravia's vineyards
You didn't know did you? Czech people actually make a damn good wine! And about 94% of all our vineyards are in the South Moravian region. Together with the stunning karst and an abyss I mentioned earlier the region is dotted with hundreds and hundreds of wine cellars luring you in on every step. And it doesn't help that Moravians are ever so hospitable - I'm pretty sure it's been proven impossible to meet a Moravian with a wine cellar without actually visiting it.
🇨🇿 Bohemian Paradise
Bohemian Paradise is the very first nature reserve that has ever been established in the country. That wouldn't be all that interesting - if it didn't have a mind-blowing Rock Town in it! The area is very popular with mountain climbers and apart from hiking, climbing and cycling you can also see two fairy-tale castles there - Kost & Trosky.
🇨🇿 Clementinum Library
The National Library in Prague is located at the very same spot where there used to be a chapel that dates back in the 11th century - as the years went on the chapel was re-built into a monastery, then into a college and the library itself was built in the 1700s. It's definitely one of the most breath-taking buildings in Czech Republic for the whole decor has a strong decadent Baroque vibe to it. The heavenly ceiling paintings, the squllions of books - and some of them as world renowned as Tycho de Brahe's scripts!
🇨🇿 The Giant Mountains
I remember being a kid and being incredibly annoyed that there were piles upon piles of snow outside and I wasn't able to go to school. Not seeing that very same snow for just short of 10 years has made me long for the crisp air that makes your legs go super itchy, huge fir trees swaying under the weight of that white blanket and feet so wet and cold you're absolutely positive they will be frozen black when you take your shoes off. I'd love to see all this again - go cross country skiing, drink mulled wine and eat mash with absolutely everything.
🇨🇿 Prague
🇨🇿 Prague
Obviously, I can't leave Prague out! Beautiful Prague. If I had some spare cash I'd love to stay in one of the fancier hotels - we're talking grand boutique places with painted ceilings resembling the Sixtine Chapel! We're talking Alchymist Grand Hotel & Spa (see it here) kind of luxury. With a side of beer spa for good measure of course. Like this one - where you can chill in a huge barrel of beer, like a real boss!
💰 AND HOW TO GET YOURSELF THE CASH TO SEE ALL THIS BEAUTY?
You can save up (oh yeah. you're already saving for a mortgage deposit), you can blog your way through life (which you might already be doing - well done!), side-hustling through your free time (perhaps re-selling or setting up an Etsy store?) or you can try your luck with Lottoland. Lottoland is essentially a 21st century way of betting on the lottery. You don't buy a lottery ticket - you just bet on numbers and win cash or prizes depending on the numbers drawn (you can read more here). Because Lottoland is based on an insurance model and is separate from lottery operators you can bet on many different lotteries across the world - from EuroMillions (see it here) to the Irish Lottery (right here) and US Powerball (click here) which essentially gives you a better chance to win!
Have you got your own pipe dream bucket list for travels?
How much would you need to be able to make your dreams come true?
Image sources: South Moravia (here), Sedlec Ossuary (here), Macocha Abyss (here), Moravian Karst (here), The Giant Mountains (here), Forest Kingdom Dam (here), Forest Kingdom Dam (here), Sumava (here), Bohemian Paradise (here), The National Library (here)💠In collaboration with Lottoland however my dreamy travel list across the Czech lands and my memoir-esque writing inspired by my Bohemian childhood is my very own.
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