Arrived back from a great vacation last week. My husband, 13 year old daughter and I went to Prague for 7 days, Paris 4 days, and one day in Vienna. Planned the whole trip on line with much help from Fodorites. Thanks to all who wrote in over the years! Here goes my trip report:
Flew Czech Air to Prague- Czech Air was the flight from hell. No air in our part of the plane and no air vents above. My husband and I got sick from the heat and the food- others around us also had to be given cold towels during the flight. The attendants were apathetic and also left the food on the trays for over 1/2 hour. Never had such lousy service on a plane ride. Things did get much better after we arrived!
Prague: Stayed at Pension Dienztenhoffer. They picked us up at the airport. Had a two bedroom suite which was perfect for us. This place is excellent- clean, attentive, and the breakfast was wonderful. It is in a quiet and beautiful area of Mala Strana. The people who work there are lovely, too. I highly recommend it.
Day 1: Arrived at 7:30 and needed to take a few hours nap to recuperate from the flight. Slept from 11 to 2:30 then hit it. Walked to the castle. Great weather. Walked to old town and had a great salad at an Italian Cafe on the square. (We are vegetarians and were really impressed by how great and substantial all of our salads were). Walked around some more then went to Friday night services at the Spanish Synagogue. Arranged it ahead of time with Beit Praha. Security was tight so you must do this in advance if interested. It was wonderful to celebrate the Sabbath in this beautiful Synagogue.
Day 2: Great weather. Went to The Prague Castle, Toured the castle, Cathedral, and grounds, sat in the square, took in the amazing view at the cafe just outside the Castle. Then walked to the Loredo monestary and toured. Then ventured to Petrin hill. Sat there and rested and enjoyed another amazing view of Prague. Had dinner at Kmotra Pizzeria- so, so pizza, great salad, excellent price and good atmosphere and service. We went to the National Theatre and saw Giselle. The ballet was enjoyable and the building was gorgeous. Great day.
Day 3: Walked over the Charles brighde early on Sunday morning- beautiful experience. We were headed to meet our bus for a tour to Terezin through Wittman Tours. Started out with great weather but by the time we reached Terezin the sky turned grey. Very appropriate. As others have said on this sight this was a very intense experience. Terezin was used as a propoganda camp and deportation camp- the children's and adults' artwork was moving beyond words. People actually live in the town...it is eerie. This was an important tour for our family to experience. The tour guide was excellent. Returned to Prague in the later part of the day. Rested a while then had a very wonderful dinner at Don Giovanni. Service and food were great. One of our favorite restaurants of the trip.
Day 4: Toured the Jewish Quarter with a guide through Wittman tours- also excellent. Again, had an amazing experience visiting the synagogues and cememtary and learning about the history of the Jewish people of Prague and the Czech Republic. Afterwards had coffee at the Kafka Cafe...service was not great. Spent the afternoon walking around Prague admiring every work of art on each building- Prague is one of the most beautiful places I have been to...each building is a work of art. Had dinner at Diwan that evening- great middle eastern food. We walked back to the hotel admiring the view of the castle and the bridges at nigt (we admired this each night and we walked all day and night!)
Day 5: Slept a bit late. A rainy day but we walked all along the river to past the Emmaus Convent and then to the Cubist Houses (which we thought was overrated). Then walked back towards Wenclensas Square (not our favorite area) and onto the Mucha Museum. We loved the Mucha Museum. The film on Edward Mucha was very interesting and shed a lot of insight on his life and art. Decided to do Black light theatre near the old square before dinner. Can't remember which theatre- the performance was called Genesis (I think)- it was pretty bad. We all had a good laugh. We then went to dinner at a restaurant right around the corner form the Old Town Hall. Can't remember the name but they advertise "vegetarian specialties" in addition to Czech dishes. The food and service was great. Couldn't believe the excellent vegetarian choices. We also had the best apple strudel for dessert.
Day 6: Took a walk up the castle area in the early morning. Went to the National museum near the castle. Art work was unimpressive and the guards kept following us around. It was not an enjoyable experience. That night we went to dinner at an Italian restaurant near our pension(again, can't remember the name but it is next to the water wheel on Kampa Island). Food was acceptable. Then we went to the Prague Symphony at the Municipal House. The concert was excellent and the building was just beautiful. We went to the cafe adjacent to the Municipal House but the service was rather gruff so we headed instead to Cafe Louvre for an evening dessert. Reasonable prices and fairly good dessert.
Day 7: Slept late and then headed out for a long walk. Walked to the Wallenstein Palace and ventured through the beautiful gardens. Then walked back up to the castle via another route. Then towards Letna Park back through Josefov. Had coffee and pastry at Dolce Vita. Then continued to Dlouha street to explore more areas and streets that we hadn't seen. Did some clothing and souvenier shopping. Went back to the Pension to pack. Then headed to Kampa Park for our last night dinner. Atmosphere and service was excellent- but the food was a major disappointment. Our appetizers were very good but our entrees were all too salty. My daughters risotto was so poorly prepared. The waiter even agreed that the food was over salted. Only compensation was free dessert- but, we still enjoyed our time.
We all loved Prague. We thought it was beautiful and very relaxing. (We are from NYC) My daughter did not want to leave. The accomodations were the best and added to the trip. We did notice that there customer service in some of the stores and restaurants could be improved but overall we felt that the people were warm and eager to accomodate us. The language was hard for all of us to learn even simple phrases but most people speak English.
Day 8: Train to Bratislava (Made reservations through Cedok a few days before we headed out- great service). Did first class and train was very nice. From Bratislava we flew Sky Europe to Paris. The Bratislava airport is tiny. Sky Europe was excellent. The plane is small and was cramped for my tall husband but it was only a two hour flight so we managed. Arrived at Orly airport and taxied to Hotel California St. Germain. Booked this at the last minute because our itineray changed due to business that my husband had in Paris. Read mixed reviews about this hotel but since they had a two room set up (travellling with a teenager) I chose to book there.
Got the hotel and were told that our room wouldn't be ready til the morning but we could have two seperate rooms for the night or one large room across the street. Wanted to be together so we opted for across the street..can't remember the name of the hotel but the room was large and pretty but not all the lights worked and the bathroom was tacky- paint chipping and the tub had paint splattered in it. Went to dinner with husband's business associate to Thai restaurant nearby, Cheng Mai. Great food. Then in the morning while showering realized that the water was not going down in the tub so no one else could shower. Complained but they were so blase and didn't offer any compensation just said that we should have stayed at there sight instead...I had read about this happening.
Day 9: Got into our room at the Hotel California- very small but worked out okay for us. Enough room to unpack and store our clothes and suit cases. Renovated room and bathroom. The hotel staff is aloof. A real difference from our experience in Prague.
Went to breakfast then headed to the Pantheon, Luxembourg Gardens, and Musee d'Orsay. The weather was sunny and warm. Paris was beautiful. It was my first time there. I had to get use to the fast pace again (although I found it a lot more relaxed than New York- but it was also Easter weekend). The Orsay Museum was excellent. Strolled around Paris- window shopped, admired the little streets, got lost. It was great. Had dinner in a small french restaurant near our hotel- great atmosphere and excellent world music selections- Shared a delicious cheese platter but our entrees were just so-so- including my vegetable quiche.
Day 10: Slept a little late then headed to a nearby cafe for brunch. ANother sunny day. We walked to the Invalid, then to the Eifel Tower (big crowds so we didn't go up)but sat in the park and admired the tower- it was awesome. Walked to the Arc de Triomphe then had a great walk down the Champs Elysee. My daughter got a huge kick out of the Louis Vuitton Store. We sat at a cafe and had a glad of wine and some dessert and people wathched. Then we headed for the Louvre. It was a great but exhausting walk so we were pooped by the time we got there. We were all overwhelmed by the size of the Louvre. We did walk through the Italian Wing and went to see Mona Lisa. Would have done more but we were all too exhausted. Had reservations for dinner at Ponte Vecchio. It was a great Italian restaurant- very small, a lot of locals, and reservations were a must. Great view of Notre Dame. Walked after dinner then passed out.
Day 11: Yet another perfect weather day. Walked to the Marais- we loved this area- and went to the Picasso Museum. Great collection- great building. Did some shopping, had some wonderful chocolate, then headed back to the hotel to prepare for dinner and pack. Went out with acquaintances to a Morroccon restaurant called on Rue Montmarte and Rennes (I think)- we had great couscous. Again, a local hang out. Got to see a view of the Eiffel tower from friends apartment. Walked back to our hotel, again exhausted. (Must add that we also liked the St. Germain/Latin Quarter and felt that the hotel was in a great location).
Day 12: Our last day in Paris. Took a cab to the Sacre Coeur. Lovely basilica and fabulous view of Paris. Then we walked through Montmarte- my daughter wanted to see Moulin Rouge but as we ventured in that direction the area became so seedy and the sex shops were too graphic so she bought a Moulin rouge poster instead. We walked towards the Opera and Houssman. Decided against venturing in large department stores. Hung out in front of the Louvre for a while then headed back to Marias. We had a lovely lunch in a small cafe. Then toured Notre Dame. Bought some chocolates and then headed back to our hotel head out for Orly airport. Off again on Sky Europe to Bratislava. Then onto Vienna via the Sky Europe shuttle. Impressions of Paris...must return because there is so much to see. We loved the city- we thought it was clean and beautiful. We were facinated by the fact that converse sneakers were what seemed to be really in vogue-for teens as well as older women.
Arrived in Vienna at 12:30 AM. A very nice Viennese man we met at the airport was kind enough to call us a cab since the shuttle left us off at a remote location.
We stayed at Pension Pertschy (recommended on this site). We had a large triple room. We thought it was just great- gbeautiful room, clean, and great service and breakfast.
Day 13: Vienna. Got up early and hit the road. Walked around "the ring" and took in all of the sights of the building. The pension is located right off the Graben. We loved the area and thought that the Graben was just lovely. I thought the stores in Vienna were really elegant and was impressed by how nice all of the window displays were. Paris reminded me more of New York- Vienna's stores reminde me more of Italy (although the fashion was more conservative than both). We visited St. Stephan's Cathedral, Hoffburg imperial apartments, saw a great Kandinsky exhibit, and then went to the Jewish Musuem and saw a fun exhibit called the Kosher Nostra- all about Jewish Mobsters. Great fun. We took some time in the afternoon to enjoy the sunshine and have coffee and strudel on the Graben. Walked some more and did some shopping- of course we bought Mozart Balls. We had a great dinner at Cantinetta Antinori. Excellent service and the food was just amazing. A perfect way to conclude our last night of vacation. Found Vienna to be lovely and the people very nice. Wish we could have done another day there.
The next morning headed back to US- this time Air France to De Gaul Airport then changed to a Delta Carrier back to JFK. No Czech Air...the flight was great. We all loved this vacation...my daughter kept saying that she couldn't believe it was over and kept thanking us for the opportunity...she was anxious to see her friends but she really loved all of the cities we visited. This was a long report. Thanks for hanging in.

Great report! I really enjoyed reading it. I was amused by your account of the black light theatre in Prague. I think we must have gone to the same one-I was expecting something so much better and we also had a good laugh about it.

Thanks for the trip report. I am leaving for Vienna and Prague next Wednesday and it was helpful to see how you spent your days.
We are also staying at the Dietzenhofer, but unfortunately only for 4 nights. I'm so glad you liked it.
Did you have reservations ahead of time for the symphony at the Municipal House?
How much were the tickets?

I ordered tickets to the symphony through an email reservation. They did not have to be paid until the day before. The total came to approx. $68 US for three tickets- excellent seats. Enjoy your trip.

HI

great report, it brought back memories of my own recent rip to Prague and Vienna. I too recommend Wittman tours, and the Mucha Museum if one likes Art Nouveau at all.

I missed seeing Municipal House--I hope to work that in on my next visit to Prague, and there will be a next time.

Which "national museum" near the Castle did you go to--what was the art collection concentrated on? When I was reading guidebooks for Prague it seemed to me that several venues had titles similar to "national museum" or "national gallery" and I wanted the one near the Castle that had the old masters (Rembrandt, Titian, etc) but I never got there.



I flew Czech Airlines from Prague to JFK and had no problems; I'm sorry to hear that you did. What concerns me is not only what went wrong on your flight, but the crew's attitude.

Hi risab,

Thanks for an interesting report (although my eyes kept unfocusing from lack of paragraphs).

Glad you had a good time, and that the poor performance of the Czech Air crew didn't destroy your vacation.

Have you written them about how badly they performed?

In response to Elaine: The museum we visited was the National Gallery/Sternberg Palace near the castle. IMO the quality of art was poor. I didn't visit the Castle picture gallery.
In reponse to both Elaine and Ira's comment re: Czech Air- yes, I do plan to write a letter to Delta Air and Czech Air. I booked through Delta and Czech Air is the carrier they use.

Sorry about the absence of paragraphs. Thanks for your comments.

and thanks for sharing.

I have never been to Prague and want to go so I was particularly interested in your trip report on that city.

I do want to say that my sister recently returned from Armenia. She and her husband flew Czech Airways from Amsterdam to Yerevan (via Prague) and had no complaints.

LaurenSK, I would love to hear an Armenia trip report.

And I should add, RisaB, I really enjoyed this trip report.

Thanks for your report. I will be visiting Prague and Vienna in July, and found your information helpful.

I have ltrip files on Vienna and Prague; if you'd like to see them, email me at
[email protected]