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great trip report. Thanks Markus.

topping for Toni

topping for Jack....

A funny thing happened to us on our way to the Cerny Kohout (Black Rooster) on Xmas Eve….. I asked the girl at the front desk (Cloister Inn) to request a taxi. I told her the name of the Restaurant and she looked it up in the phone book then called a taxi. At the appointed time the taxi driver shows up.. So we’re off to the restaurant. As we drove to the other side of the Vltava I was getting a little nervous. We made a right when I had thought that we would make a left. After 15 minutes we arrived in front of an establishment that was obviously closed for the duration. I knew right off that this was not the correct place. No turning down a dirt path on this ride. The place was boarded up good and tight. I explained to the taxi driver that this was not the correct place. After all, the name was the same and it was the address that the hotel had given him. “Of coarse this is the place’ he says (or something to to that effect, because I really don't know because he was speaking Czech)ignoring the fact that the place was closed and dark. After arguing over this fact he takes us back to the hotel and I pay him 600 Kc (round trip, plus tip) for a trip to nowhere. I go back to the hotel room get the phone # (which I should have had but who would have known that others restaurants to use the same Cerny Kohout name). I go to the lobby and the girl calls the same taxi driver. Off we go to the correct location for which he charges me 400 Kc (plus tip-again not my idea). By the way, on the way back a different taxi driver charged me the 300 Kc (similar to the fare that you had quoted). Once there we did enjoy the evening. The traditional Czech Christmas dinner is not exactly vegetarian friendly though (cod is not a vegetable nor is anything else that was swimming in that soup). I also purchased 2 bottles of the local red wine but must question the alcohol content. I don’t remember drinking 2 bottles by myself at least since not since my college days. The bill totaled about $115 (plus taxi fares).

Mark. Thanks for your reports. wish others would provide such helpful detail. Follow-up questions: How can we contact Sabina? Where in Letna Park is the Hanovsky Pavilion, and how would we best get there, say walking from the Intercontinental Hotel? Is there another recommended look out point in Letrna Park not part of a restaurant?

Hey Crusty - welcome back - looking forward to reading your trip report to Prague. I'm interested in hearing what was on the Christmas Eve dinner menu.

Dan - I'll dig up Sabina's email for you and post it to this thread. As for Hanavsky Pavilon - you can't miss it - it's the only structure in Letna Park. There are plenty of other vantage points in Letna Park that overlook the Vltava. If staying at the Intercontinental Hotel, just walk across the art nouveau bridge that spans the Vltava and follow one of paths up the hill. There's a huge "metronome" in Letna PArk - once again, you can't miss it. If your interested in seeing what the view from Letna Park looks like - I have pictures posted at virtualtourist.com - check under the restuarant category in the Prague section - look for marktynernyc. You should be able to click to my Prague pages from there.

Dan - Here's Sabina email: [email protected] A personal guide is a great way to see Prague - far more personal than those group tours.

Mark, Here you go: Cerny Kohout Christmas Eve Dinner Choice of appetizers Galantine made of carp with smoked eel served with black sauce with almonds, decorated with slice of lemon applet OR Fried deboned carp served on home made potato salad Soup Christmas fish soup OR stark poultry bouillon with herb noodles and liver gnocchi Main course roaste turkey hen with christmas stuffing served wirg "black Huba" made of mushrooms and caked chestnt puree, decorated with a basket of spicy vegetable salad Sweet Applet caked with hazel nut fondant with raiins and frozen vanilla cream Fruits, Sweets and cheeses

topping for Purplefish....

would recommend an independent travel guide,....Dana Chaloupka. She is fantastic. Very knowledgeable....excellent. I have used her 3 times. Her email: [email protected] all the best Lorri

Hi Mark, I've just read your epic of your journey to Prague. You mentioned walking around sniffing the smell of firewood. Did you ever find a pub or bistro with an open fireplace? I've spent the winter looking for one without sucess. I've found a couple of restaurants with fireplaces and logs stacked nearby, but they haven't lit them for years according to the staff.

Harold, I found a pub with an open fireplace! (actually, more of a bar really) Its called U Husa, and is in Nove Mesto, on the riverbank, maybe about a 5 minute walk south of Cafe Slavia. You're right, there aren't many and you'd think there would be wouldn't you?

libuse, I walked down the river from Cafe Slavia to where the cast iron train bridge crosses the river. I'd guess a 10 minute walk and no luck. I've just reread your message and you say on the riverbank, so maybe I should have been looking to the right and not the left, although there isn't much on the right and I should have noticed. Can you remember if it was before or after the iron train bridge? Is there another landmark I should look for?

Harold, We had been to the St Cyril and Methodius Church (I took my parents so did some sights) and at the river turned right. After U Husa we ended up in Slavia. U Husa was a little set back off the road, (maybe a green or some parking spaces in front of it, don't remember exactly) but on the main embankment, so if you're walking from Slavia south, it is on the left. I can't remember where it was in relation to the rail bridge, but its somewhere between Resslova and Narodni. (I hope the fire is lit after all this!!! let me know, and have fun!!)

Harold - I never found a pub with a fireplace - I'm guessing it was maybe a fireplace in someone's home - that would have been nice to stuimble into a pub on Novey Svet - next time.

Well, I finally found U Husa. I don't know how a tourist ever found it in the first place. Most tourist walk down the pavement next to the river. This was obscured by a village type green. It reminded me of a sports bar with several monitors all tuned to the same ice hockey match, but no audio. There were a fair number of customers sitting at the raised tables eating dinner (about 7:30 pm). No luck with the fire, but as there was lots of firewood stacked in the dining room behind the bar, I inquired whether they lit the fire on any kind of schedule. The bartender found a fellow that I guess was the manager and he said there was a problem with the flu and the fire would not be lit until it was repaired. I inquired if the repairs had been scheduled and he said no, but they would be before next winter. I find that to be ironic, as I sit here on Sunday morning watching what I hope are the last snow flurries in Prague this season.

glad you found it Harold, and that I didn't imagine its existence! Hope it was worth the search despite the lack of fire....perhaps I should give up on the recommendations!!