The Slavs have always held an awkward position in Europe. They have been consistently picked on, subjugated and disrespected. Vampires were invented to fuel anti-Slavic sentiment among belligerent nations. The Slavs were the primary cause of the First World War and gained widespread independence thereafter. Hitler saw them as an inferior race and pursued a policy of Lebensraum to restore the “living space” to its rightful, Aryan rulers. Afterwards, their territories became a major theatre for the Cold War.

This history suggests the Czech Republic to be some rickety country ravaged by centuries of oppression, hanging on to life on a thread. This preconception leaves travellers in splendid awe of Prague. It is wealthy from its essential role in the Holy Roman Empire (it was the seat of Emperor Charles IV, after whom the famous bridge is named) and its importance in the wealthy Austrian empire. The city was reasonably unaffected 20th century wars (as Berlin was). The First World War made it stronger with the dissolution of Austria-Hungary. A small Czechoslovak Legion lost to history held off the Germans as well as the Bolsheviks after Russia withdrew from the war in 1918 (treaty of Brest-Litovsk), a contribution that directly assisted with the Czech plea for independence, received in 1920. In the Second World War, allied nations in the name of appeasement betrayed Czechoslovakia. Hitler’s annexation of the Sudetenland is appropriate by linguistic similarity but the takeover of Czechoslovakia proper was simply aggression. But because of its early ‘surrender’ and since Hitler didn’t bomb it on the way out (apparently, the only major city with this distinction), Prague remains pristine. The city is probably best known for the “Prague Spring”, a counter-communist movement that inspired Russia and its puppets to occupy the city until liberation in 1991. Soon after, the Czechs left behind its poorer brothers in Slovakia to form the country we know today.

These distinctions make Prague look way back in history when other Eastern cities seem fixated in recent history. It also makes Prague the most underrated city to most undiscerning travellers. From the many viewing platforms, a panorama of slanting earthy-red roofs fit perfectly into each other. Between them, the odd clock tower or church reaches up for the skies. A gushing river spanned by the most beautiful bridges runs through this landscape.

One hilly focal point east of the river is at the Prague Castle, centered by the St. Vitus Cathedral. Nearby, an Eiffel tower look-alike is stationed on Petrin Hill. It is 300 steps to climb with a view worth the effort. Pass the Lennon Wall (no, it is not named after Lenin) to get to picturesque Kampa island before loading onto the Charles Bridge to get back to Prague-centre.

In city centre, touristy attractions like the Astronomical Clock, Dancing House, Old Jewish Cemetery and Museum of Communism are all close-by and easy to visit. A little further away, the Zizkov Television Tower is a communist-style eye-sore with giant crawling babies as decoration, the DOX centre has offensive contemporary art, and Vysehrad castle is where the first king ruled from. All of this can conceivably be done in one day.

Czech food culture revolves around beer, which is always good and cheap (average 40 CZK ~ $2 for a pint). Such staples like beef “dumplings,” schnitzel and goulash need work. But at U Medvidku, there is a perfectly cooked duck breast for 250 CZK ($13). They also have the “world’s strongest beer,” X-33, which is a sugar and malt explosion worth trying and regretting. (“33” represents the “degrees” of the beer and is equivalent to 7/4 times the ABV percentage.)

As often as Prague has been brought down it has ascended with irrevocable fervor. The interwoven history and architectural prowess make Prague an essential city in Europe. It has the distinction of naïve beauty, made more beautiful by virtue of it not realizing itself as having.