know this is rather last-minute, but anyone interested in hooking up with me for coffee in prague on any of the above dates?
am staying at the hilton prague. has anyone stayed there? know it is a bit out of the way, so i plan to do a lot of walking.
i would love to visit one of the nearby spas. any tips?

I'll be with you in spirit at the cafes! (I'm trying to go to Prague in Nov or Dec.) The Hilton is a bit "out", but don't be afraid to take public trans. It's actually very easy, cheap & fun! All of the spas I know of are out of the city - but you can hop a train or bus & do a day trip. Kutna Hora is 45 miles out, Karlovy Vary (most famous) is 85 miles away. You can ask the hotel for help. Have a great time.

thank you for being with me in spirit at the cafes ... AND for the spa references. will try to fit kutna hora in.

Darn! We'll just miss you . . . we'll be in Prague Nov 8, 9, 10, 11. We'll then have 4-5 days to visit other cities and right now, we're leaning towards Cesky Krumlov and Ceske Budejovice.

Have a great time . . . I was in Prague (and Kutna Hora) 9 years ago and am so glad I'm getting a chance to go back.

Sandy (in Denton)

hi sandy b (in denton), ohhh, too bad our dates do not coincide!
please tell me about your Kutna Hora visit. what services did you use and what were the approx charges? would you return? thanks much!

mvjing :

Think I messed up!

Kutna Hora is a day trip type of place, but I don't know if they have spas there...! Karlovy Vary is the most famous, along with Marianske Lazne, for spa towns. I dug up this link I saved on spa vacations, so you can decide for yourself on where to go. In the fall, I would expect these places to be absolutely beautiful.

www.czechspavacations.com

Mvjing,

Yes, I would definitely return and may do so! Now remember, it was 9 years ago so these prices are probably off. We took the train from the main train station, we bought the ticket the night before. The 9:12 a.m. express train took 50 min and cost 44 kc round trip (the kc was 28-$1 in '94). From the train station, we took a bus into town (bus 1 or 4), took about 20-30 minutes including waiting time. We got off right at St. Barbara Church.

We spent the day piddling around the town. Be sure to pay attention to the train schedule . . . the non-express trains take 2 1/2-3 hrs to get back to Prague.

We were there in mid-October and it was really cold . . . I don't know if that was usual or if they were having an early winter. Most everything in KH closed up between noon and 2:30 so be sure to time your arrival early enough to visit sites before lunch.

This is a nice/easy day, as is Karlstein. It's also about a hour on the non-express train (16 kc round trip). The express train only takes 30 min. We took the English tour of the castle, lasted about an hour (90 kc). It's a grand castle, don't miss it.

Both of these places are easy to do on your own and then you have the option of staying as long as you want.

Have a great trip!
Sandy

to: sandy b
thank you very much for all your most helpful tips. i will try to take those train trips you recommended.