You can imagine my surprise that after I left the plane, grabbed my luggage and headed to meet my pre-arranged ride. No customs and no passport check.
I stopped to change some currency though I knew better. Banks and ATM’s are always best but I wanted some local currency for tips and did they gouge me.
The driver was there as promised holding a sign that had my name. It was still relatively light outside (8:30ish pm) so I was able to see Prague’s impressive scenery. Generous stretches of gardens are everywhere. It is Green and Clean. The roads
So we drove along and entered the Mala Strana area where I was staying. We turn onto my street, reached a stop sign and were greeted by armed guards holding a mirror under the car and looking for bombs. I though my driver had very good English until his explanation was “They know me but they always look.”
My hotel was a block or two up the slight hill. We passed a few more armed guards. I was looking at them not to my right or I would have noticed the US Embassy, which would have explained the security. Since 2001 there are bomb checks on all cars entering the area. Supposedly they carefully check each vehicle. They look under the car, under their hood and in the trunk. But for our vehicle they briefly scanned the car with a mirror. No trunk or hood check. After all…they knew the driver.