Let's Go Europe 2019. Harvard Student Agencies

Dvořák was no exception. Given that Dvořák was one of the most celebrated late-romantic composers of the nineteenth century, it’s no coincidence that the park is one of the most romantic spots in the city. The ornate Neo-Renaissance Park Colonnade forms the southern perimeter, inside which are lush lawns, vibrant flowerbeds, cherry blossoms, and perhaps most romantic of all, a statue of Dvořák himself. The colonnade often hosts concerts during the summer, but you really don’t need an excuse to sprawl yourself in the shade of these 200-year-old trees.

       i Free; wheelchair accessible

       FOOD

       DOBRA CAJOVNA TEA HOUSE ($)

      Bulharská 2; 608 822 827; www.tea.cz/obsah/27_dc-karlovy-vary; open daily 2pm-11pm

      Whether it’s an actor-singer-dancer like Gene Kelly or a talking animal-comedian-corporate spokesperson like the Geico Gecko, we love a triple threat. That’s why this vegetarian restaurant-tea house-hookah bar is near the top of our list for places to eat in Karlovy Vary. Inconspicuously located in a basement on Zeyerova street, Dobra Cajovna is conspicuously adorned in Middle Eastern and Himalayan décor, with Nepalese prayer flags draped along the ceiling, Islamic geometric patterns covering the walls, and rugs and cushions on the floor. The food menu dabbles in hummus, falafel, and cheese and the drinks menu makes it possible to go around the world in 80 teas.

       i Entrées from 98Kč; vegetarian options available; no wheelchair accessibility

       PANOPTIKUM ($)

      Bělehradská 1004/3; 728 520 822; open M-Th 11am-2am, F-Sa 11am-3am, Su 11am-midnight

      If you’re near the bottom of town and desperate for some authentic Czech goulash/soup/schnitzel/whatever, you better tie yourself to the mast of your ship and resist the siren song of the touristy, restaurant-lined Zeyerova street as you make your way to Panoptikum. Just a three minute-walk away from the city center, this pub has portions fit for a future Weight Watcher and drafts on tap fit for a beer connoisseur or current alcoholic. The wooden walls are decorated with old-timey photos that document Czech history, and although there’s no outdoor seating, for those of the nicotine-persuasion, there’s a smoking area where you can indulge yourself as well as a non-smoking area where you can irritate the nerds who won’t shut up about their precious lungs.

       i Entrées from 93Kč; vegetarian options available; limited wheelchair accessibility

       REPUBLICA COFFEE ($$)

      T. G. Masaryka 894/28; 720 347 166; www.e-restaurace.cz/u-krizovniku; open M-F 7am-7pm, Sa-Su 8am-7pm

      Republica Coffee is a contender for the best café in town, especially if this accolade went to the café with the most tables covered in comic book panels or the comfiest leather armchairs. The coffee is drip, both in the brewing sense and in the-shaking-the-cup-above-your-mouth-to-make-sure-every-last-delicious-drop-drips-into-your-mouth-sense, and the hot chocolate is just the right mixture of creamy and thick. Once you collect your drink, sandwich, or pastry, chillax in the courtyard, or head upstairs and luxuriate in the aforementioned leather chairs.

       i Coffee from 45Kč; vegetarian options available; wheelchair accessible

       RESTAURACE U KRIZOVNIKU ($)

      Moravská 2093/2a; 353 169 500; www.e-restaurace.cz/u-krizovniku; open daily 11am-11pm

      Flannery O’Connor might’ve thought that a good man is hard to find, but finding a tasty, well-priced restaurant south of the colonnades might be even harder. While most places aren’t bad per se, they’ll leave your wallet at least 250-300Kc lighter. Luckily, this traditional Czech cuisine pub serves good meals and will save you some money. Its paintings on the walls and medieval torches hanging from the ceilings give it an authentic feel, and its location—just to the east of the Spring Colonnade—means it’s nearby tourist spots but not crawling with them.

       i Food from 105Kč; vegetarian options available; limited wheelchair accessibility

       NIGHTLIFE

       BARRACUDA CARIBBEAN COCKTAIL BAR

      Jaltská 7; 608 100 640; www.barracuda-bar.cz; open M-Th 7pm-1am, F-Sa 7pm-3am

      After waiting half an hour for the friends you met at the sauna earlier in the day to return from the bathroom downstairs, you might assume you’ve been abandoned—a feeling that you’re all too accustomed to. Seeing as things can’t get any worse, you might use the five straws sticking out of the Cuba Libre bucket in front of you to make a giant straw and finish the whole drink in one giant slurp. But don’t do that! Your friends haven’t abandoned you. They’ve just discovered the small club hidden downstairs, which, replete with tiki masks and fishnets, echoes the above bar’s beachy aesthetic. It’s a cozy and slightly cheesy space that can be a ton of fun. But if you’re less of a dancer and more of a drinker, the bar’s 14-page cocktail menu will make you forget all about your abandonment issues.

       i Cocktails from 80Kč, beer from 25Kč; cash only

       KLUB PEKLO

      Ivana Petrovice Pavlova 2001/11; 728 496 978; open M-Sa 9pm-6am

      Occupying the basement of the brutalist high-rise Hotel Thermal, Klub Peklo is a monument to Western garishness—a tourist-filled, EDM-blasting space where your level of enjoyment is directly proportional to the number of shots consumed. The club is one large, low-ceilinged room. The bar bananas around a third of the club’s perimeter while the center is cluttered with sleek rolling leather chairs and glowing green prisms. A multigenerational melting pot of land dads, and their female equivalents, populate the dance floor, which is presided over by a DJ backlit by an LED screen of someone doing the worm. I

       i Cover up to 50Kč; cash only

PRAGUE

      Coverage by Nicholas Grundlingh

      So you want to experience the beauty of Paris, but don’t think buying a cappuccino should require taking out a bank loan? You love the edginess of Berlin, but wish that—by virtue of you being a tourist—you weren’t immediately excluded from it? You dream of a city that is basically a “Now That’s What I Call Music!”-esque compilation of the best architecture from the last thousand years. Where culture and history flood every street, bridge, fortress, and castle, yet despite this, never takes itself too seriously, while also being one of the best places to party in Europe? Why, that sounds an awful lot like Prague! Of course, if you’re planning on traveling to Prague, you already know this. You know that the Old Town looks like an illustration from a fairytale, but you’ll soon find out that it’s one of those fairytales full of tourists. You know that the Charles Bridge and the Prague Castle are indisputable must-sees, but you’ll soon find out, with everything else the city has to offer, they certainly won’t be your highlights. Get lost amongst the bars, beer gardens, and galleries of the young and grungy Holesovice and Zizkov areas, bask in the unmatched tranquility of the Vysehrad fortress and park, and discover hidden gems in the heart of the city like the underworld bar Vzorkovna, the majestic Wallenstein Gardens, or the magical Karel Zeman Museum.

       ORIENTATION

      Just like the skull of some punk who got into a fight with the star of Stand by Me, Prague is split by a river, which, in this case, is the Vltava River rather than the late River Phoenix. Josefov (Jewish Quarter), Stare Mesto (Old Town), and Nove Mesto