So I can’t believe that yet another year has literally whizzed by; maybe it’s something to do with the fast pace of the IT industry, working in the academic team or maybe I’m just getting older…. Last year ended with the usual frenetic array of activities including our first Gen ’05 campus event at Glasgow Caledonian University in December which attracted over 500 students from local schools and other universities passionate about technology as well as some of our Scottish-based MSPs – David Richardson, John Cumbers and Paul O’Neill from Edinburgh and Michael Paccione from Strathclyde and afforded the Academic Team the opportunity of sampling all of the delights of Glasgow courtesy of our resident Glaswegian host, Chris.
In December we also hosted Joe Wilson and Ash Javeri aka the matching polo neck wearers from the Academic Team from Microsoft Corp which of course included a night out on the town and a visit to Floridita, the fabulous, new Cuban-style bar and restaurant from Conran which is a modern day replica of Ernest Hemmingway’s favourite haunt in Havana.
And so on to the New Year and following the stresses of a pre Christmas house move out of London to Marlow (not for the faint hearted) and before returning to work I headed off to the stunning Medieval city of Prague on a four night short break courtesy of a great deal with lastminute.com.With some six hundred years of architecture virtually untouched by natural disaster or any of the world wars, few other cities, anywhere in Europe, look as good. It straddles the River Vltava, with a steep wooded hill to one side, it retains much of its medieval layout and the street facades remain smothered in a rich mix of Baroque, Rococo and Art Nouveau. While the Iron Curtain was in place, Prague was seldom visited by westerners but since the 1990s all that has changed and Prague is now one of the most popular city break destinations in Europe so probably best not to visit in the peak Spring or Summer months.
We stayed at Andel’s Hotel which is a great new designer hotel just a couple of tram stops from the city centre and managed to see most of the sites on foot and just some of the highlights were:
Strolling across the Karluv most (Charles Bridge) the wonderful medieval stone bridge, peppered with amazing Baroque statues
Taking a trip around the Prazský hrad (Prague Castle) one of the city's most spectacular landmarks, and home to the cathedral, royal palace and a host of museums and galleries.
Visiting the Staromestské námestí (Old Town Square) which is Prague's busy showpiece square, best known for its astronomical clock and the Christmas Market stalls.
Walking up to Vysehrad, the leafy, riverside zig-zag red brick fortress which houses the country's most exclusive cemetery, and is the resting place of Dvorák and Smetana.
And of course sampling the local delicacies; well what can I say except that you can eat and drink very cheaply in Prague: the food is filling and the Pilsner Urquell or U Flecku beer is apparently divine; but I'm not a beer drinker;) The bad news though is that the pork, gravy, dumplings and pickled cabbage are very hearty. So instead plump for any of the Kampapark group of restaurants but especially Bazaar situated in the castle district in a vaulted red brick 17th Century cellar, it serves amazing Mediterranean cuisine and even has a rooftop winter garden restaurant with spectacular views over the city which apparently doubles up as open top nightclub complete with sandy beach in the summer!
The lowdown on Prague is that it is a very beautiful city and deservedly “one of those unforgettable places that you have to see before you die”. So now I just need to decide on the next place to visit from Steve Davey’s essential wanderlust tome….