From the moment I stepped foot in Venice for Carnivale, I was amazed. Why hadnt I come here to study abroad? Why didnt I look into more programs in Italy? The water, although reliably dirty, had a majestic beauty about it, and it was everywhere! Water, sun, beautiful buildings, and gelato! Seriously what was I thinking?
When I had first told my family that I had wanted to study abroad in Prague most of them couldn’t even place it on a map, let alone understand why I would want to study abroad there. To them it seemed like a random, out of the way city that wasnt a top study abroad destination. My family reminded me that all my friends and other college students were studying abroad in cities like Rome, Madrid, London or Paris. Why wouldnt I want to study abroad there?
Well for one, although I still claim Venice as the most stunning city I have ever been to, it is not cheap. For one bowl of authentic Italian pasta cost me upwards of 15 euros, thats almost 20 American dollars. When roaming around the streets looking for a Carnivale mask, the cheap Chinese manufactured ones were no less than 5 euros and forget about the quality Venetian masks, unless you were prepared to break some bank. After feeling the money sucking machine that Venice is I longed for the reasonable streets of Prague, where one can find 1 dollar hotdogs or grocery store trips that totaled 5 bucks. Prague is not only an underrated European city, it is affordable; something very important to consider when preparing for a semester full of European adventures.
Another reason I soon became disillusioned with Venice was the tourists. Every corner we turned was smashed with hoards of them trying to find the ‘authentic’ Venetian experience, there was no escaping it. In all of its glory Venice has truly been poached by the tourism industry, something I do not have to contend with in Prague. Although Prague is becoming more and more popular among Americans, it is still a real city. When you walk away from Wenceclaus Square and follow the winding streets into a neighborhood, you find an escape that is just not offered in major study abroad destinations. Prague has a special quality that stems from its proud Czech residents and the thousands of multiethnic immigrants who keep the neighborhoods moving; contributing to the fact I have found Prague has amazing Asian food.
Prague may be off the beaten path for some but for anyone who really wants to travel Europe while studying abroad Prague has a great location. Unlike Venice or London; which are stuck on islands, or Madrid and Rome; pushed off to the southern half of Europe, Prague is centrally located between 5 countries. It is so easy to just hop on a train and go anywhere in central and almost anywhere of Western Europe. Not to mention flying to and from Prague, within Europe, is pretty cheap; airfares on average are100 Euro.
So yes, while I may stalk the photos of my friends abroad in London or Rome, I am perfectly happy I stumbled upon the little treasure that Prague is.