Upon exiting the plane in Prague, Czech Republic, I could feel I was in for something special. The first thing I noticed was their recycling system, which seemed more progressive and logical than any airport I’ve been through in the United States.

Luckily, we had several days to explore the city and recover from jet lag before we had to pick up our music equipment and rental car. Having used VRBO for seven years, I rented us (my husband/bandmate and I) a flat in the Malá Strana neighborhood. I chose it based on the location and it seemed to have everything we needed – kitchen, washing machine, bathroom, bed. For the first time in my experience with VRBO, I rented a place in which the owner opted out of reviews. Big mistake. The apartment seemed fine when we arrived, bleary eyed from the transcontinental flight, but unfortunately the bed was one of the worst I’ve ever slept on.

VRBO recently merged with Home Away and added additional insurance, available for purchase. With so many positive VRBO experiences under our belts, we did not purchase the additional insurance and we paid for the balance of our rental in cash when we arrived. I only lasted a few nights on that bed, with very little sleep, before looking for an alternative. Financially, this was frustrating, but Prague was so lovely, we just felt lucky to be there and did our best to find a solution. We found an amazing boutique hotel that felt like a 1960s art gallery. They were kind enough to let us test out the bed. I was sore and we had weeks of gigs coming up, so I threw down the credit card.

The Czech Republic is quite affordable when compared to Western Europe and in the states, this hotel would have cost three times as much. It was a great treat. I finally slept well and we had a fantastic room to entertain our French friends in after our Prague performance, since they had driven all the way from Paris to see us play.

We had one of the larger rooms in the hotel since that was all they had left. There was a nice sitting area, mini bar, and desk with laptop provided. The shower and toilet were in two different spaces, separated by a hallway with a small balcony. Each bathroom featured Mickey Mouse pop art on the walls.

We took breakfast on the rooftop patio one morning and enjoyed a great view of Petrin Hill featuring Lookout Tower, Prague’s Eiffel Tower.

Design Hotel Sax features a great collection of vintage toys by designer Libuše Niklová, two Picasso drawings, incredible furniture from the 1950s-1970s, and a plethora of Cécka.

This is a window treatment using Cécka.

The C’s ended up in dumps until discovered by children. Young people then began collecting Cécka and wore them as necklaces or bracelets and even played games with them. Some children used them as currency to trade for the more desirable, or more rare C’s. Cécka played an important role in the lives of many children who were the last generation to experience the communist regime. In 2008, musician Michal David released an homage to the plastic phenomenon in the form of an electronic pop song.