Prague has been a popular place to visit since the fall of the Iron Curtain and the implementation of the Velvet Revolution in the late 20th century. The city has become as iconic as Rome, Paris, and or London when considering a visit to Europe, especially when touring Central Europe, acting as a stalwart of transformation from Communist state to regional liberal idol. 

Art galleries, Gothic masterpieces, and labyrinths of cobblestone streets give you plenty to enjoy during your Czech Republic Workation. Your representative will meet you at the airport and take you to your accommodation pre-screened for the amenities you need to succeed. Depending on your arrival time, you can spend the remainder of the day getting acquainted with your accommodation or the city as you find the comforting sounds of urban life mixing with the smells of sweet paprika or yeasty dough. 

Focus: Take time to appreciate your new environment and observe your surroundings by practicing mindfulness. Stay focused and in the present moment by focusing on the details of your new accommodation. What stands out to you and why?

Suggestion: For your introduction to the city, visit Cafe Slavia, which opened in the 19th century and has a history of serving artists, writers, and dissidents. It also has a great view of the city’s famous monuments. 

With a full day to explore Prague, you can quickly see why it was nicknamed the “Golden City of 100 Spires.” The collection of church towers spread across the skyline creating an exciting view framing the edge of the Vltava River.

You can enjoy touring the city with a guide who can give you a better context to the history and culture of the city in relation to the iconic sites leading to Charles Bridge. The recognizable pedestrian-only bridge crosses the water in perfect alignment with the tomb of St. Vitus and has decorative statues lining the edge referencing the city’s most important saints. 

In the historic center at Old Town Square, you can view the 15th-century Astronomical Clock as it chimes on the hour. The clock comes to life with parading apostles across the clock face and ringing bells echoing across the plaza. 

Focus: Pay attention to how your surroundings affect your thoughts, feelings, and sensations but do your best to avoid judgment.

Suggestion: Wenceslas Square has great shopping opportunities for shoes, books, crystal, and more making it a great place to find souvenirs for yourself or others. 

With another full day to explore and enjoy the beauty of Prague and its surroundings, you can travel to the medieval town of Kutna Horah. The streets wind along an 800-year-old history with a slower pace than what you may have experienced in Prague. The buildings grew out of the medieval silver rush with adorning features found in the likes of Saint Barbara’s Church. 

Built over five centuries ago, the dramatic spires on the outside and stunning stained-glass windows lead to Gothic frescoes decorating the interior. You can also visit the infamous Sedlec Ossuary, known as the “Bone Church.” The mass grave dates back to the 15th century inside a small Catholic chapel where upwards of 70,000 people’s bones have been used to decorate the interior. Skulls create garlands, bones turn into coats of arms, and the macabre decor becomes enchanting.  

Focus: Listen to the history of Sedlec Abbey but then create your own story. Is it different or similar to the one you heard? 

Suggestion: If you’re interested in history, spend time at the Czech Museum of Silver and Medieval Silver Mine, which can take you nearly 110 feet below ground.

With your first full day of work, you can create a ritual to connect your focus to your ongoing projects. Use a technique to kickstart your workday and bring a close to the day. Once you have completed your work, you can spend time exploring Prague once again, perhaps walking along the river or visiting the distinctive art space of Kampa Island as it rises out of the Vltava River. 

In the evening, the sun can set a dusty orange over the skyline creating a unique atmosphere as sculptures by famous Czech artists decorate the landscape among the mill and shoreline. You can see the famous Giant Crawling Babies as they wander aimlessly around the island representing the struggle for independence. 

Focus: Create a ritual around setting milestones for yourself and tracking your progress during your Workation. This will help you stay motivated and focused on the task at hand, both for your work projects and Workation exploration.

Suggestion: Instead of visiting Kampa Island, you could spend time roaming the cobblestone alleyways of the Prague Jewish Museum and Old Jewish Cemetery.

You have the chance to implement your ritual once again during your Czech Republic Workation to help you ease into and out of work. The ritual could be an action, like lighting a candle, or a movement, like stretching. The purpose is to help you delineate between work and life outside of work. 

Once you have completed your projects for the day, your Workation representative will meet you at your accommodation and guide you to Brno, the capital of Moravia. Find the amenities you need inside your new home for the remainder of your trip before strolling through the beautiful streets winding beneath the shadow of the 13th-century Spilberk Castle. 

Focus: Brno is the coffee capital of the country. As you walk through the streets, look for the smell of coffee. What do you notice? Can you find any hints of roasted beans or notes of chocolate in the air? Where do you find it?  

Suggestion: Listen to the lively atmosphere in the historic Zelny trh square where cafes, restaurants, boutique shops, and locals converge throughout the day.

When you start work, you may notice how your ritual helps you dive into your projects easily even though you have moved to a new space. The purpose of the ritual is to provide you with a consistent trigger, so even if you change locations, you can quickly get into the right mindset. After your workday, you can have a guided tour of Brno for a more immersive time visiting the monuments, cafes, and people. 

You may start at the Cathedral of St. Peter and Paul, with its narrow twin towers hovering above the surrounding city. The original city walls hide beneath the cathedral foundation and the Mendel Museum offers exhibits dedicated to the father of genetics, Abbot Gregor Mendel, who experimented with peas to learn about character traits. 

Focus: Pay attention to the details of the cathedral as you explore. What do you hear, see, smell, feel, and taste? Focus on the small details for two minutes and see how it affects the way you view the larger picture. 

Suggestion: If you visit the Dietrichstein Palace, you can choose between a variety of museum galleries including the Anthropos Pavilion, which looks at the earliest known human habitation in the area. 

When work is complete, you can visit the masterpiece of modernist architecture, Villa Tugendhat. The Unesco World Heritage site was designed in the 1920s with an open floor plan and wall-sized windows creating ample natural light. 

The historic design remains one of the finest examples of its kind in all of Europe, with curved windows adding an organic shape, marble providing cool properties and dramatic texture, and larger grounds equally as captivating as the architectural, and interior, design. The landscape nearly folds into the villa for a combination of modern and sleek technology meeting the joys of nature. 

Focus: When walking through Villa Tugendhat, what catches your eye? How does it catch your eye and why? 

Suggestion: If you have the time and inclination, you can also visit Stiassni Villa to view the architecture and gardens as a great accompaniment to Villa Tugendhat.

To celebrate the end of the workday and the work week during your Workation, you can visit the famous Moravian caves, home to the largest karst in Central Europe. Travel nearly 453 feet deep into the earth’s surface as you hear the myths and legends that have accompanied the cave for centuries. 

You may hear the echo of dripping water or the cacophonous sounds of shuffling feet against the rock as you smell the cold air filtering through the subterranean space. Stalagmites shine in the artificial light resembling sticks of bamboo or witches as they rise out of the cave floor standing up to 12 feet tall. Witness dripstones and wander the maze of passageways to find bones of prehistoric animals before you head back to Brno where the cafes and restaurants sing with joyful life. 

Focus: Pay attention to your senses when in the cave. How does the air feel on your skin? How does the cave sound? What does it smell like? Does the air have a taste? Then pay attention to your breath as you take three deep inhales and three slow exhales. 

Suggestion: Brno is a university town with a great connection to art-house cinemas, musical venues, and restaurants so you can experience the city your way during the weekend. 

The full day of wine tasting is not just about the wine and gives you a great introduction to the Czech countryside and traditional villages among the vines. A guided tour will give you a better understanding of the heritage of winemaking in the region and the customs of the preserved towns of Moravia. At your first vineyard, you may find a vineyard sprawling across more than 35 acres and overlooking the villages of Popice and Konice. 

The mineral-rich soil stems from the natural quartz and clay, giving particular personalities to the pinot blanc, pinot noir, and typical Rhine riesling grapes. You can find the smell of oak barrels in the cellar and may taste hints of orange, lemon, and honeydew with slight earthy notes. 

Focus: Wine Tasting is a great time to focus on your senses. Close your eyes and focus on the layers of aromas and flavors you can find with each glass of wine. Which characteristics do you like? Which do you not like?

Suggestion: If you have time, visit the historic town of Znojmo and its dramatic setting overlooking the sunken Dyje River.

You can spend the morning enjoying Brno’s coffee culture, sipping the Turkish-style creation with a sweet yeasty bun stuffed with plum jam, or relax for the remainder of your time in your accommodations. Your Workation representative will meet you when you are ready and take you back to Prague for your flight home. Instead of returning home, you could continue to another Workation destination for more time exploring, discovering, and working according to your preferred work-life balance. 

Focus: What details do you remember of your accommodation from when you first arrived in Brno? Do they still impact you in the same way now that you’re leaving? 

Suggestion: It will take at least 2.5 hours to return to Prague to reach the airport so give yourself plenty of time for your return journey.