Over the weekend I travelled to Prague for a friend’s birthday. The surprise party was by the river where we could play beach volleyball and enjoy some sangria.

The next day my boyfriend and I walked around the city in search of fancy coffee and the best ice cream. The Vltava river was full of people on boats, trying to find an escape from the heat wave we’ve been having and my eyes were constantly drawn to the flowing water. Growing up in Sofia, one of the few European capitals that wasn’t built on a river, I am not used to this river life. Even in Vienna, if you don’t live on the Danube, you only see it when you go to the Danube. But in Prague (amongst others) you can’t escape the river. It cuts through the center and the rest of the city. It’s relaxing (when it isn’t flooding) and pretty nice to look at.

And in the evening we walked on the side of the castle and enjoyed the view from higher up. We walked past a place called Stalin where people gather and have parties. On this spot until 1962 the biggest statue of Stalin had been looming over the city. Now the space has been re-purposed. Take that, Stalin.