It's quite easy to get caught up in just how incredibly beautiful Prague is. Hidden from Western eyes for so long, Golden Prague casts its charm on visitors-a spell so strong that many of them stay for years. Prague has been the premier destination for tourists, expatriates and adventurous wanderers for the past 10 years. All fall under the spell of Prague, and the old prophecy predicts the return of any and everyone who has visited Prague once. Once is all it takes; once you are under the spell, you may want to join the tens of thousands of people from outside Prague who now live here. And even after a few years here, just a stroll across the old familiar Charles Bridge to the winding cobbled paths up the hill to the Castle courtyard will still take your breath away.

There is certainly no shortage of fledgling Capitalists-both foreign and domestic-who are willing to polish the surface of Golden Prague to the highest sheen possible in order to attract tourists and foreign investors. In their wide-eyed optimism they are molding modern Prague in myriad ways. Some rather interesting combinations of the ancient and the modern can be found in every nook of every alley in Prague. A gothic cellar bar boasts "the oldest disco in Prague." It's a little unclear whether they mean a disco in the oldest space in Prague, or the space where the first medieval dj rocked the house. The cellar does appear to be a thousand years old. Maybe Lenin or Stalin slammed vodkas and did that wacky Russian dance with all the flailing legs and folded arms. Or perhaps King Charles IV himself shook his royal booty on the dance floor in 1400. Anything is possible.

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