Hi all,
I'm back to Europe in a few months here (hurrah!) and this time I will be staying a bit longer, for about 5-6 weeks in total, with one month of that time spent in Prague doing a TEFL program.
My plan is to fly into London a week before my program starts and spend time there and do some day trips to places in England I've always wanted to see, and then fly to Prague from London a couple days before my program starts.

I'll have an apartment in Prague so will be living like a semi-local for my month. I would like to take trips on my weekends to other amazing places in the Czech Republic or nearby countries.

Has anyone in this community spent a fair amount of time in this part of Europe? What would be your suggestions for day trips (I love train travel) or a couple weekend trips? And even just places in Prague that can't be missed or that are little known but wonderful

My interests are in picturesque cities with interesting architecture ( I love old castles and things of this nature), outdoor activity, etc. I prefer small to mid sized cities or towns to huge cities but also love places like Edinburgh where I feel like the big city still maintains it's quaintness.

I typically take trips that mix up physical activity/historic sights/food and/or wine and meeting locals in the area. I'm friendly and tend to meet people everywhere, and I might end up coming back to Prague for a more extended period of time to work in the very near future so this is also a bit of a research trip for me (checking out job market, quality of life, etc)

Cheers

Brooke .

C. Krumlov deserves at least one night. Especially the wonderful baroque theater in the castle. Get tickets early!

Obviously, Terezin is a worth while daytrip.

tabor is a lovely little town about 1.5 hours from Prague by train ,a former Hussite town it has a facinating history and a very unusual layout.Benesov is on the same rail line and where arch duke ferdinand had a huntining lodge (Konopiste castle) the town is not that interesting but worth visiting.
you could go to Brno for a weekend by train or bus. Plzen the home of Pilsner Urquell the famous beer is an interesting place and loads to do there in a day.
Kutna Hora about a hour away from Prague by Train is really interesting. Mlada Boleslav home of Skoda cars in a reasonable place for a trip.
Karlsjein castle is only a 40 minute train ride away and if you like walking you can walk from there over the hills to Beroun (takes about 4 hours) and get the train back from there.
loads of other options too.bus and train travel in the CR is very cheap and very good.

joannyc I read about this Baroque theater in another post it sounds Fabulous! And So does Terezin These are on my list now

unclegus: Tabor and Karlsjein sound just up my alley and I'm glad to hear the transportation is plentiful!

it is Karlstejnm sorru my spelling was wrong. i can try and find a loink to the walk from there to Beroun.it goes via a place called St John's under the rock which is an interesting church which was undergoing restoration last time I was there (3 years ago)thee is a small hotel there too which is a good stop off point for lunch or a beer and beroun in about a 90 minute walk from there, great micro brewery near the train station for food and refreshment.
http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/members/unclegus
if you go to my profile on trip Advisor there are numerous reviews and photos of different places that i have visted and on the forums several trip reports of what i have got up to mentioning several of the places i have already listed.
I visit Prague twice a year and am back there in May for the czech beer festival and the World ice Hockey championships.

karlstejn. i will get the spelling right yet.

http://www.praguepost.com/travel2/38...tejn-to-beroun
this is the link, get a good day and it really is a lovely walk

For day trips, I've done Cesky Krumlov and Kutna Hora and liked both. If you have plenty of time, you could certainly spend a day or two in Cesky Krumlov, I just didn't.

I'd suggest Olomouc, it's not that far from Prague by direct train, good for a few days, which is what I spent there. It's also in Moravia, so a bit of a different area. I really liked it a lot. http://www.czechtourism.com/t/olomouc/

Now I'm not sure the best way for you to get here (I took a day bus tour company from Prague), but Hluboka castle is really nice, also, in the south.
http://www.czechtourism.com/c/hlubok...tavou-chateau/

That was combined with a visit to Holasovice, which is a UNESCO heritage site. It was very interesting and really different from anything I saw elsewhere in terms of the planning and architectural style. http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/861

I visited Ceske Budejovice, also, which is a nice enough town. I think you might have to go through there if you take the train to Cesky Krumlov, anyway, so you could spend a couple days in each.

unclegus: I will check out your reports thank you. I will just miss you, I'm arriving in late June

Christina- thanks for the links! I was wanting to visit Moravia so this is good info. I also am a sucker for castles I think I'm going to have to narrow it down to maybe 3 for my trip otherwise I'll come back only having seen castles! Heh.

Getting excited this is a part of Europe I've never spent time in and very much looking forward to the different culture/language/scenery/foods

Hluboka isn't too far from Ceske Budejovice, either. You can take buses from there to it,

<<Transportation
Visitors can easily get to the chateau of Hluboká by public transport – especially buses. On weekdays, buses leave the bus station in České Budějovice for Hluboká nad Vltavou almost every thirty minutes. In Hluboká, buses stop at the bus stop below the church, from which Hluboká nad Vltavou is not even 500 metres. On Saturdays and Sundays the bus service is considerably poorer.
There are two train stations in Hluboká nad Vltavou, the first being on the route České Budějovice – Prague, and in the distance of 3 km, and the other on the route České Budějovice – Plzeň, in the distance of 5 km.>>

We live in an hour-ish from the Czech border, in Vienna, and often take day and overnight trips to our wonderful neighbor to the north. Lucky you to have a month in Prague! Everyone responding has offered great suggestions, some of which we'll be co-opting for our future outings!

Even if you are not interested in architecture, the tour of Villa Tugendhat in Brno is still fascinating. The villa was the site of the "Velvet Divorce" of Czechoslovakia. Advance reservations are essential. Brno itself is worth at least a day trip.

Ostrava is interesting, too. The city is noted for having "built the Iron Curtain," and touring the old steel factories is an experience.

fourfortravel- I am definitely interested in architecture! I have always preferred getting caught up in the architecture different period buildings, vs being inside looking at paintings...
I will be in classes M-F for my 4 weeks in Prague, but I may extend my trip to be another month if I can sublet my apt here for while I'm gone

Brno sounds worth researching merci!

Brno is a lovely Place, a big university town but very different from Prague. some lovely architeture it is also where Gregor Mendel lived and worked on his genetics experiments and where writer Milan Kundera was born and worked till he moved to france in the 70's(Unbearable lightness of being, plus many other).
For outdoors you can head out to the dam area abiut 30 minutes from the town it is a fantastic area to spend a day including taking a boat trip to Veveri Castle but the whole area is a real joy.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brno_Reservoir
I have friends that live in the city and they love it, loads of good resturants and some fantastic bars

Terezin. Research it. Its historical importance is the draw. It doesn't meet your criteria, but with a month in Prague, you'll have time to go.

Never really thought of Edinburgh as a big city . . .

Brno is where the famous Czech composer, Janacek, lived and worked most of his adult life. I love his music and have always wanted to go there, maybe I'll get there this year. There is a memorial there to him.

http://www.mzm.cz/en/leos-janacek-memorial/

I don't think Edinburgh as a big city either and I live there, but it does has some simlilarites to Prague in that both have an old and new town of which both are roughly the same size one is split with a river the other split by what used to be a loch.Prague is a far bigger city with a far greater population.
an unusual similarity is that St vitus cathedral tower in Prague has 287 steps to the top and the Scott monument in Edinburgh has also got 287 steps to the top.
yeah i know i am full of useless information

You could go to Brno for a weekend by bus or train. Brno is a lovely Place, a big university town but very different from Prague, and if you have enough time, you could certainly spend a day or two in Cesky Krumlov. You can taking a boat trip to Veveri Castle.

You have to visit Bristol! It's such an underrated Uk city, I feel like everyone goes to London and forgets about it. I have been a few times and I'm returning for my honeymoon soon. Plenty of stuff to do, incredible atmosphere, and hotels aren't too expensive (I stayed at The Clifton http://www.cliftonhotels.com/bristol...l-city-centre/) which was in a grogeous area. You can also visit Bath which is about 10 mins away (but more pricey to stay in).

Bristol is very nice I was there to watch my niece take part in the GB Special Olympics about 18 months ago.many of my reviews here.
http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/members...clegus/g186220
and while I am at it you will see many of my reviews for Prague, Beroun , Karlstejn ,Kutna Hora, Karlova Vary and many other places in the Czech Republic here.
http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/members...gus#CITY_TILES

JuanMesQueUnClub great suggestion thanks! have always wanted to see Bath actually but Bristol sounds pretty interesting. I've also always wanted to visit Oxford and Stratford upon Avon but I feel like I should probably limit myself... and give myself at least 3 full days to see London. That should give me 3 full days to go elsewhere.

unclegus- thanks again. Lots of good info here. Have you ever done the Dickens museum?