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becker is a self proclaimed computer and camera geek from mission viejo, ca. his electric personality and photographic talent have helped him become one of the most sought after wedding photographers in the nation. feel free to leave a comment or send him an email any time. thebecker@mac.com
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Published On: Feb 19, 2007 12:01 AM
Total entries in this category:
Published On: Feb 19, 2007 12:01 AM
Honeymoon Review - The Czech Republic/Prague
A while back I thought it would be a
good idea to ask my friends and clients to submit stories and pictures from
their honeymoons in order to serve as a little review of their trip that may
help other couples as they plan for their
honeymoons.
My friend Trevor and his wife Katie went to Europe for their honeymoon back in November and here's what he wrote (he's quite an expressive writer):
The last thing I recall was saying the words “I do” because when I mentally came-to the next day I was on a plane to the Czech Republic. I looked to my right and there was this really unfortunate looking women oozing over into my seat and I thought to myself, “My God man, what have you done?” Luckily I looked to my left and there was my beautiful, way out of my league, wife fast asleep on my shoulder. Getting married is a paradox of time; let me explain. The whole planning portion of the wedding…well it’s a relentless life-sucking monster from Dante’s seventh ring of hell that you hope to soon forget. The ceremony and receptions aspect of a wedding is saturated with celebration, dancing, toasts, drinking, which perpetuates more toasts, dancing, cake cutting, cigars, more drinking and lastly, the traditional pelting of the couple with handfuls of rice…or so I’ve heard. Apparently Katie and I had all of this, except for the barbaric rice fiasco, at our wedding. Like most couples, we remember virtually nothing from the reception; we were on sensory overload. There in lies the paradox. What you want to remember you can’t and what you want to forget still haunts your dreams. Because of this quark in time, honeymoons came to be.
The honeymoon is a time to decompress, to get away from all of the crazy relatives that came in town and to spend time with that you have missed so much, room service. Katie and I choose destinations that matched our personality and a place that we would really never take kids. We honeymooned in Prague and Budapest.
We spent the first part of our honeymoon in Prague. Prague is absolutely amazing. We stayed at the 5-star Boscolo Hotel Carlo IV, which is about a 5-minute walk from Old Town Square, the heart of Prague. Most of the higher end hotels in the area have underground pools associated with some sort of Spa. For food though, you need to get out of the hotels. It is way over priced. The restaurants in and around Old Town Square are brilliant, most only having 10-15 tables and the better ones requiring reservations. All the food there is outstanding. Italian food seems to be the main theme throughout the town. STAY AWAY from the local wines, unless you prefer wine in a box quality spirits. Stick with the wines from Italy and France. Beer is dirt-cheap and it alcohol content is double that of the beers in the US. We founds a small pub near the hotel and ended each of our days their with a pint and some foreign guy that wanted to be best friends…esss-scuzzy, I sorry. Because the Czech Republic is so close to England and other English speaking countries, there really is no language barrier.
As far as the main attractions go, see all of the churches and art museums that you can. The works there are unbelievable; fine art is a mainstay of the Czech life. We went to the State Opera House and watched William Shakespeare’s, “A Mid-Summer Nights Dream”. It was an amazing experience to be in such an extravagant setting witnessing the national ballet performing. Once again, art is ensconced in their lives, culture and heritage. After indulging in 5-days of art, food and wine, we were on a train headed to Budapest.
If you are going to travel by train in Europe, go first class. It is not the same first class service that you have on a plan, rather in ensures that you get your own seat, access to the dining car and that person sitting across from you has showered with in the last couple of months. Trains are a big part of Budapest because it is much larger and spread over a larger area than Prague. In Prague you walk; in Budapest you take the train/subway.
We stayed at the Corinthea Grand Royal Hotel, Budapest. It was another 5-star hotel, but it was not as warm or inviting as the Boscolo Hotel Carlo IV, Prague. We had that same feeling in regards to Budapest as a whole, it was much more modern and not a charming or quaint as Prague. Regardless, it is still an incredible place to honeymoon or vacation. The big draw of the city, other than the greatest sport on earth (water polo), are the thermal bathes. These are found throughout the city and are comprised of natural hot springs that have been around for hundreds of thousands of years. The most captivating part of the city can be found on the Pest side of the Danube River. It is referred to as the castle district and is filled with amazing modern art museums, 200 year old churches and the Royal Palace, which mammoth size and opulence can only be truly appreciated when experienced in person. The view of the city from the castle heights at night is unimaginable. Our 4-night stay in Budapest ended with Katie and I walking across the Elizabeth Bridge from the Pest side of the Danube to the Buda side of the river with towers of the Palace reaching towards the heavens. Words cannot express the grandeur of the moment nor the magnitude of our honeymoon together.
Katie and I feel in love with Prague, and regrettably I do not think I did Budapest justice with my writing. Put it this way, Katie and I looked into buying a flat in Prague because we felt so at home their. We enjoyed both cities, but if we had to choose one over the other, Prague wins hands down. Stealing a line from Ferris Bueller, “It is so choice. If you have the means, I highly recommend you visit.”
Here are a few images from their trip:
If you'd like to tell us about your honeymoon, write up a little review and send me a few images.
My friend Trevor and his wife Katie went to Europe for their honeymoon back in November and here's what he wrote (he's quite an expressive writer):
The last thing I recall was saying the words “I do” because when I mentally came-to the next day I was on a plane to the Czech Republic. I looked to my right and there was this really unfortunate looking women oozing over into my seat and I thought to myself, “My God man, what have you done?” Luckily I looked to my left and there was my beautiful, way out of my league, wife fast asleep on my shoulder. Getting married is a paradox of time; let me explain. The whole planning portion of the wedding…well it’s a relentless life-sucking monster from Dante’s seventh ring of hell that you hope to soon forget. The ceremony and receptions aspect of a wedding is saturated with celebration, dancing, toasts, drinking, which perpetuates more toasts, dancing, cake cutting, cigars, more drinking and lastly, the traditional pelting of the couple with handfuls of rice…or so I’ve heard. Apparently Katie and I had all of this, except for the barbaric rice fiasco, at our wedding. Like most couples, we remember virtually nothing from the reception; we were on sensory overload. There in lies the paradox. What you want to remember you can’t and what you want to forget still haunts your dreams. Because of this quark in time, honeymoons came to be.
The honeymoon is a time to decompress, to get away from all of the crazy relatives that came in town and to spend time with that you have missed so much, room service. Katie and I choose destinations that matched our personality and a place that we would really never take kids. We honeymooned in Prague and Budapest.
We spent the first part of our honeymoon in Prague. Prague is absolutely amazing. We stayed at the 5-star Boscolo Hotel Carlo IV, which is about a 5-minute walk from Old Town Square, the heart of Prague. Most of the higher end hotels in the area have underground pools associated with some sort of Spa. For food though, you need to get out of the hotels. It is way over priced. The restaurants in and around Old Town Square are brilliant, most only having 10-15 tables and the better ones requiring reservations. All the food there is outstanding. Italian food seems to be the main theme throughout the town. STAY AWAY from the local wines, unless you prefer wine in a box quality spirits. Stick with the wines from Italy and France. Beer is dirt-cheap and it alcohol content is double that of the beers in the US. We founds a small pub near the hotel and ended each of our days their with a pint and some foreign guy that wanted to be best friends…esss-scuzzy, I sorry. Because the Czech Republic is so close to England and other English speaking countries, there really is no language barrier.
As far as the main attractions go, see all of the churches and art museums that you can. The works there are unbelievable; fine art is a mainstay of the Czech life. We went to the State Opera House and watched William Shakespeare’s, “A Mid-Summer Nights Dream”. It was an amazing experience to be in such an extravagant setting witnessing the national ballet performing. Once again, art is ensconced in their lives, culture and heritage. After indulging in 5-days of art, food and wine, we were on a train headed to Budapest.
If you are going to travel by train in Europe, go first class. It is not the same first class service that you have on a plan, rather in ensures that you get your own seat, access to the dining car and that person sitting across from you has showered with in the last couple of months. Trains are a big part of Budapest because it is much larger and spread over a larger area than Prague. In Prague you walk; in Budapest you take the train/subway.
We stayed at the Corinthea Grand Royal Hotel, Budapest. It was another 5-star hotel, but it was not as warm or inviting as the Boscolo Hotel Carlo IV, Prague. We had that same feeling in regards to Budapest as a whole, it was much more modern and not a charming or quaint as Prague. Regardless, it is still an incredible place to honeymoon or vacation. The big draw of the city, other than the greatest sport on earth (water polo), are the thermal bathes. These are found throughout the city and are comprised of natural hot springs that have been around for hundreds of thousands of years. The most captivating part of the city can be found on the Pest side of the Danube River. It is referred to as the castle district and is filled with amazing modern art museums, 200 year old churches and the Royal Palace, which mammoth size and opulence can only be truly appreciated when experienced in person. The view of the city from the castle heights at night is unimaginable. Our 4-night stay in Budapest ended with Katie and I walking across the Elizabeth Bridge from the Pest side of the Danube to the Buda side of the river with towers of the Palace reaching towards the heavens. Words cannot express the grandeur of the moment nor the magnitude of our honeymoon together.
Katie and I feel in love with Prague, and regrettably I do not think I did Budapest justice with my writing. Put it this way, Katie and I looked into buying a flat in Prague because we felt so at home their. We enjoyed both cities, but if we had to choose one over the other, Prague wins hands down. Stealing a line from Ferris Bueller, “It is so choice. If you have the means, I highly recommend you visit.”
Here are a few images from their trip:
If you'd like to tell us about your honeymoon, write up a little review and send me a few images.
.
Posted: Sun - February 18, 2007 at 10:38 PM