If We Don’t Go to a Casino, Where Should We Go?

We have said that one of the biggest advantages of playing at Everygame Casino is that you can use the money you don’t spend going to a land based casino on a real vacation.  One of our gamers took our advice and wrote us a letter extolling Prague.  We would like to print it for you so you get the idea that of taking real vacations.

We Took a Real Vacation

I love blackjack and my wife loves the exciting atmosphere in land based casinos at places like Atlantic City and Las Vegas.  We decided to see about registering on Everygame Casino’s mobile platform and, as you say it, “take the casino with us”.  By the way, Everygame Casino is the first online casino we have joined and we are very happy with the games, service, promotions, and advice!

We had never been to Europe at all.  We had always gone to casinos for a couple of days and then to some touristy area near the city the casino was in.  We never went to an isolated casino such as have popped up on the landscape in droves in recent years.

Truth be told, we always enjoyed our casino-based weekends and short vacations but we said maybe it’s time to take a real vacation.

Prague and Vienna

I have always considered myself something of a cold war buff so I suggested we go to Prague and then to Vienna to get a taste of one city that was under communist rule for about forty years and another city that was free of communist rule at the same time.

In this letter, we’ll talk about our fantastic five days in Prague.

Prague is a Vast Yet Centralized Tourist Attraction

In New York City, there are things to see and do throughout the length and breadth of Manhattan.  Prague is much more concentrated in the Old City, the New City, and the Lesser City.  These three areas are relatively small, that is, small enough that you can walk anywhere within them and they are contiguous, meaning the Old City becomes the New City as you cross a street and they become the Lesser City when you cross the river.

Stay in the Old City

The best place to stay is in the Old City.  You’ll be just around the corner from almost everything you want to do in Prague.  So, what do you want to do in Prague?

Great Beautiful Buildings

The people of Czechia never really embraced communism.  It shows in the pride they take in all areas.  The city is remarkably clean given the number of tourists that come in all seasons but especially in the summer.

Do not go to Prague in the summer!

We went in the late spring and the weather was fine although it drizzled almost every day.  So, we carried compact umbrellas.

In addition to being so clean that you wish American cities could be like Prague, the buildings, some of which are many centuries old, are very well maintained.  We have friends who went to Venice and were disappointed simply because the outsides of so many buildings look neglected.  They warned us that maybe European cities are all like that.

The pride the people of Prague take in their city shows up in every possible way.

Churches

There are perhaps hundreds of churches in Prague.  Ironically, Czechia is one of the least religious countries in the world.  So, most churches are either museums or concert halls.  We went to at least one concert every day we were there - all in churches - and we could have gone to at least one more concert every day.

As you walk around Prague, you see signs for concerts.  We bought tickets online before we went but it really wasn’t necessary.  None of the concerts we attended was sold out and the “halls” held only about 200 people tops.

The churches are simply breathtaking both inside and outside.  Prague has many small plazas and we often sat in a plaza and just looked at the buildings.  In almost every plaza there is one or more churches and the “other“ buildings are old as well.

Walking in Prague

As we said, if you stay in the Old City, you’ll be centrally located for everything you’ll want to see.  But we have one very important piece of advice: women should never try to walk in Prague in high heels!  The streets are often cobblestone.  The sidewalks are also often cobblestone.

But you should be prepared to walk.  You will walk from itinerary stop to itinerary stop.  We also recommend taking a free walking tour which is not really free since you give the guide a “tip”.  In many cases, the guide pays the company per head and needs your tip to make a living.

We took a three-hour walking tour with a guide who grew up in Minnesota.  It was exhausting to say the least.  When the tour ended it was time to sit and rest over lunch and beer.

Beer

The Czech people drink a lot of beer.  Where Americans might take a coffee break, Czechs will take a beer break.  There are many local and regional beers and your waitperson can help you choose an appropriate beer until you get the hang of it.

English

This is a bit of a problem in Czechia.  Because it was under communist rule for so many years, the people who are adults today learned Russian in school.  You might think that the younger generation would speak English better but sadly they don’t.  When we really needed someone to help us in English we simply asked everyone we saw until we found someone with more than the most rudimentary English.

Food

The national fast food is pork knuckles!  You see them spinning on a spit in almost every plaza.  Another national food of sorts is an ice cream cone that cooks while turning on a spit.  This is fun just to watch and they taste good too.  In the warmer months, you can see dozens of people sampling the local ice cream and the national ice cream cone.

Many restaurants have a sign outside “authentic Czech food”.  We researched restaurants before we went and had very good experiences.  One restaurant, which ironically is located several miles south of the Old City, also has a folklore show with music, song, and dance.  The restaurant picked us up at the hotel and took us back as well.  They were extremely helpful, the food was excellent, and the show was outstanding.

In addition, we sat with a Chinese family at our long table and there was a Lebanese family at the next table!  The audience was international at its best!

Parks and Gardens

We tried to plan visits to public gardens.  We discovered that there are many such green public areas.  So we suggest that as you walk, pay attention to all the green around you and stop to rest in a garden when you get tired.

Five Days are not Enough

Our parochial friends said that four days in Prague is enough.  We feel now that five days was not nearly enough.  But we have taken to heart the advice we read here at Everygame Casino Red and are planning more real vacations!

Thank you Everygame Casino for setting us straight on the value of taking real vacations!  And of course, as you've suggested, we took Everygame with us on our phones. Some relaxing slots play or blackjack play before turning in at night was a little bit of home and just the bit of relax we needed before dozing off.