I will be renting a room in an apt located at this address: U Milosrdnych 14, Praha 1, 110 00. I tried looking up through mappy.com of the location and it appears that it's pretty close to St. Mesto/Old Town Square ... but I am still pretty confused because mappy says that it couldnt locate the street address... is this a good base location for my trip?

There is a pretty-well-known pub on that street at #12. Name is the same as the street, U Milosrdnych. Try looking for #12 and presumably the flat is a door or two away.

I stayed in a hotel not far from that street, it's a great location. I really like that area. That street it not too far south of the Vltava river, basically in the Josefov section. It runs approx. eat of the Inter-Continental hotel to Hastalske square. It's a nice area with nice buildings, pubs and small restaurants.

It is a short walk to Old Town Square, maybe 6 blocks or so.

Elaine, where did you get #12 from? My mappy didn't have any numbers - just a bunch of location symbols.

Christina, could you give me an approximation of what 6 blocks would be in mile-wise? I will be arriving late, around 7PM, and I was thinking to catch the Charles Bridge at night before/after dinner. But I'll probably save it for the next night, if it's a long hike from the apt.

HI
I didn't get #12 from anywhere.
When you said you couldn't find #14, I just googled the name of the street.
The pub, came up as being at #14, which must be next door approx. Odd and even numbers don't run opposite each other on the same blocks, they are numbered separately, but #14 must be adjacent, or almost, to #12.

Christina can estimate the distance in feet or miles if she wants to, but I'd guess 10 minutes or so.

sorry, the pub came up as being at #12.

Thanks Elaine, I guess 10 mins isn't too bad of a walk It seems like this is a great location.

now that I've visited Prague a couple of times, I think Josefov (part of Old Town) could be a great area to stay in. Not the hustle and bustle of Old Town Square or Wenceslas Square, and yet so close to OTS.
Great shopping, and the Jewish Quarter is there if you want to take a tour of it.

They aren't long blocks -- it's probably around 500-600 meters, which is between 1/3 to 1/2 mile.

h2babe, how about maporama.com ?

http://www.maporama.com/share/Map.asp?SESSIONID={D7696292-FA89-4145-AB6E-A4F20577937D}&ZoomSet=2

U milosrdnych 14 is blue circled. Down under you can find Stare Mesto (Old Town). It seems one third - half a mile as Christina told.
http://www.pragueexperience.com/places.asp?PlaceID=594

Thanks Elaine and Christina! I agree, I think this is a great location for me to stay. I booked an apt from Happy HouseRentals and got an excellent rate!

Thank you framboise for the map, now looking at the map from maporama, it looks like my location is actually a lot closer to Josevof, nearby the St Agnes Convent. This makes it easier for me to locate restaurants etc, now that I have an idea of where I will be staying. You guys are the best!!!

If it's near the St Agnes Convent, I'd guess that the walk to Old Town Square is closer to 15 minutes than 10.

Hi Elaine, thank you for your reply. I did get a conformation from my landlord contact person yesterday, that my location is actually just around the block from the St Agnes convent so it's probably a good walk to the Old Town (15 mins) and about 6 blocks to the Charles Bridge. How far is this from the famous Restaurant David that you praised in your trip report? I definitely would like to go at least once to David.

Hi
David is in Mala Strana, Lesser Quarter, on the other side of the river from Old Town.
Crossing the bridge itself takes 5-10 minutes, the restaurant is another 15 minutes or so, after you've crossed the bridge. Allow a few extra minutes because it is a small side street and not so easy to find the first time.
If you'll be alone, I'd call a taxi for the way home, only because the side street is quiet and deserted at night.
But very pleasant.

I have a file on Prague; if you'd like to see it, email me at
[email protected]

Hi Elaine - I actually did request and receive your Prague file so I have that already, thank you!

Would it be smarter for me to go to dinner earlier, like 5:30-6PM, and by the time I am finished, there will still be light outside so I can walk back to my apt? I can't remember what is David's hours.

Does David, or any other restaurants in Prague, offer cheaper lunch menu? Here at home, when I see a new place opening up in my neighbourhood, I'll go for lunch first to check it out, and then come back during dinner when I enjoy the first trip. Is this unthinkable in Prague?

You know, I have no idea if David is open for lunch. Check their website.
They may also mention their dinner hours. If not, email them and inquire, they were very responsive when I emailed them about reservations.

http://www.restaurant-david.cz/index_en.php3 includes how to email them

Hi Elaine - I sent David an email last night, so I'll give it at least a few days to see if they reply. If I could ask you a question off the subject from the location, how did you like Mucha Museum when you went?

I read something like in one of my guide books: why would you want to pay to get in and see Mucha's work if you can view double amount of his work for fre at the National Museum (I cant remember if this is the correct location)?

Hi
I haven't been to the National Museum, unfortunately, have been to the Mucha Museum twice.
All I can say is that it's a small, airy, easy museum. They also every hour or perhaps more often, show a 20 minute film on Mucha's life which I found informative. The museum doesn't have a huge collection, but some great photographs (who knew he took some racy photos?) and some of his original posters and illustrations. I enjoyed it, an hour well spent.

However, if time were short, and I had to pick and choose, the Mucha-decorated room in the Municipal House is a glorious example of his art and vision.
If pressed, I'd recommend the MH tour over the museum, but the MH tour has many gorgeous rooms. Reservations required for the tours and they are infrequent.

It could have been the Municipal House, not the National Museum. I need to do some more reading on these places, so that I have a background understanding of what they are. I have 5 days in Prague and plan on spending the 4 exploring the city, and take a day trip to CK. I am going to post my itinerary for Prague as soon as I have it done and ask for critique.