Our trip to Prague was long overdue but the perfect opportunity came when I was tasked with organising our secret 15th anniversary celebration trip. I thought Gill would guess the destination easily but fortunately she's not the inquisitive type. She did chat with her friends the week before going and they all guessed Prague but I had to put on my best poker face when told and let out an incredulous laugh.
We couldn't have been any luckier with the weather. I mean it should have been a gloomy start to early autumn but it was one of the hottest weekends on record and it made wandering the streets and sitting out on terraces having food and drink a real pleasure.
Given the occasion we splashed out a bit and loved Prague all the more for it. The hotel was fantastic (the unexpected upgrade a real treat), the Friday night meal was everything we wanted it to be (although it has put me off tasting menus for a while ... it was special but we didn't come away with that contented celebratory feast feeling that you might want) and the classical concert was a sensory overload. Before meeting Gill I only cried when Steps broke up, but over the last fifteen years she has unlocked some of my emotional side. Suffice it to say that after only three minutes of Dvorak inspired genius (Cello Concert in B minor Op. 104 performed by the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra) we were both welling up in a mix of awe, respect and a genuine intrigue over what the hell we'd been doing with our past weekends when this kind of entertainment was on offer.
Overall we loved Prague and it was a great location for a special long weekend. Genuinely classy, nice people, good experiences and a must see for romantics, city hounds and shopaholics.
By Darrell Grundy - visited on 21 September 2011