カロライン：カルドブリッジの3ベッドルーム2バスビューティーの旧世界の魅力

Mark Grein is originally from the U.S., but on a chance trip to Europe back in the nineties, he was enchanted by the magical allure of Prague and decided to set up shop here, right in the middle of central Europe not long after the Velvet Revolution. He and his wife Mirka are filmmakers, but decided to try their hand at renovation when they bought this beauty in the heart of the Old Town last year. They did much of the renovation work themselves, especially in restoring the original ceiling stucco decoration, spending many hours up on a ladder covered in wet plaster and paint, and with Mirka handmaking much of the decor, like the floral patterns on the fireplace mantle and cabinets.

We knew we had something special when we first set eyes on this diamond-in-the-rough. All of the doors in this residential building have wooden entrance doors or portals that are decorative pieces unto themselves. One inside the flat, we saw that the elaborate but faded ceiling decorations were just screaming to be restored, and the original owner had left many of the original details in this old place, such as doors, door handles, parquet floors, windows(including original glass in some of the windows-- look closely and you'll see the tell-tale 'waviness' in some of the panes). The layout was perfect--- three connected rooms, but all with their own entrances/exits, a large and separate kitchen, along with a small balcony. Located on the 1st floor of a neo-gothic buliding just around the corner from the famous Charles Bridge in the heart of the Old Town, but on a side pedestrian street, it just felt like the right place. We think you'll agree :)

As with all properties, 'genus loci' is the most important thing, and this flat has got it in large amounts. It is the perfect place to begin and end a walking tour of the beautiful city, and the quaint street has many great cafes, fantastic wine bars and restaurants, and even though it's close to the famous bridge, it's managed to hang to a lot of its local character.