Prague Trip Report - VERY LONG
Nov 1st, 2007 | 09:49 AM
#1
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Prague Trip Report - VERY LONG
We recently returned from Europe. We started in Amsterdam for a week, and then flew to Prague. My Amsterdam trip report can be found here: http://fodors.com/forums/threadselec...p;tid=35085599
Before I start. Let me tell anyone considering a trip to Prague that your first step should be to buy Rick Steve's book on Prague. We used it as our bible, and it never steered us wrong.
Six of us flew from Amsterdam to Prague via SkyEurope. The tickets were extremely cheap, under $60.00 per person. We purchased them online at www.SkyEurope.com. Their list of destinations is short, but we found the service to be quite good. It kinda felt like Southwest here in the States. Not a lot of frills, but the plane was clean and the staff was very friendly. You do have to watch the tight luggage restrictions. But we were forewarned, and packed accordingly.
We rented apartments through a rental agency: www.prague-city-apartments.cz. They came with a free transfer in. This was a very good thing, because we arrived at 11:00 PM. We do not speak Czech, and really had no idea where our apartments were from the airport. Details regarding the airport pickup were sketchy, and my emails were not responded to in the last couple of days prior to our flight. So it was a relief to see the guy at the almost deserted airport holding a sign with my name on it. We piled into his nice clean Mercedes van, and it was off to our apartments. Once there, we met up with another couple who had flown in from the States earlier in the day.
"Old town" is the area that you always hear about in Prague. We rented four apartments in the "New town" section of Prague. This turned out to be a perfect choice. Old town is the tourist section of the city, and can be very crowded. All of the bars and restaurants in Old town cater to the tourist trade and are more expensive.
We found better prices on food and drink in New town, and enjoyed the more local crowd. It was only a short walk to Old town when we wanted to do the tourist thing. We also found that our section of town (more below) turned out to have quite a lively weekend scene. Several of the small bars nearby had live music on Friday and Saturday nights, and there were some excellent restaurants in the neighborhood as well. New town was the site of widespread demolition of ancient buildings in the 1900s. Sad as that sounds, they were replaced by art deco buildings. Some of these are magnificent buildings, and every single one seems to have great statuary or bas relief, or some kind of elaborate decoration. One of our group members loves to photograph architectural details. He had a huge camera lens, and was a little overwhelmed by the sheer volume of subjects.
Our studio apartments were all more or less the same, and cost us about $100 per night for each. Each came with a bath, full kitchen, and living room / bedroom combo. They were not luxurious, but very clean. My only real complaint was the thin threadbare towels. We only got two of them, and they were changed out twice during our week. But all in all, the apartments were very livable and were the perfect homebase for our stay. The four couples that went are all close friends and frequent travel companions. So it quickly developed into an almost dorm like atmosphere. Lots of popping up and down the stairs for morning cups of coffee, or evening drinks. These were the Opatovicka apartments, on Opatovicka Street. Very close to the National Theater (http://www.prague-city-apartments.cz...PARTMENTS.html). I would stay there again.
Our first real night, we stopped for "one beer" at local pub. What a mistake that was, but in a good way (I guess). We stopped at the Styl, a small bar and restaurant up the street and around the corner from our apartments. We got to know the waitress and chef working there. Delightful young people in their twenties. We quickly developed a very friendly rapport with them. We told the chef (Peppa) to just feed us, and feed us he did. We had a wonderful meal and too many drinks, including real absinthe. I won't bore you with details of our evening here. But suffice to say that Peppa was serving flaming drinks, and occasionally would spill one to light the whole bar on fire. He was also good at cartwheels across the restaurant floor. Our behavior was bad too, but I ain't tellin! Hmmm, maybe there is a reason that absinthe is illegal.
But our meal was awesome. We returned later in the week for another meal, and was served some of the best duck I have ever tasted. If anyone wishes to visit the Styl, be aware that the name is not on the front of the bar. Just a Budweiser sign. It is located on Opatovicke St., just after the street makes a bend towards the river. Free Wifi (wee-fee) here too.
Another benefit to our location was close proximity to a major tram stop and the Tesco department store. Tesco was pretty handy. There is a grocery store in the basement, and just about anything else you need on the other three floors. Here is a secret that I learned from Rick Steve's excellent guidebook. There are two "tourist" trams that leave from here. They take a loop past most of the things that you wish to see in Prague. They go past the National Theater, across the Vltava River to the Little Quarter and Prague castle. You can buy a 90 minute ticket with unlimited transfers for about a buck, and just take a ride. Then make your stops at the castle, the funicular up Petrin hill to the tower, the Church of St. Nicholas, The Monument to the Victims of Communism Who Survived, etc. There are lots of reviews of these sites elsewhere, and this is getting long. So I will let you do your own research. But all are worth looking at. It would be hard to pick a favorite. You want to ride on tram #22 or #23. For some reason, #23 was always less crowded.
Our only bad experience was that one member of our group was pickpocketed while taking pictures of the changing of the guard at Prague Castle. We all knew this was possible, and took precautions. Be careful ya'll. These guys are good. But Prague Castle and the St. Vitus cathedral were the highlights of our trip, and not to be missed.
We enjoyed Old town as well. Lots of little cobblestone lanes, the famous Astronomical Clock, interesting shops, and fun restaurants. But this is the priciest place in the city to eat or drink. We met up with our group to watch the clock perform. The sidewalk cafe served us what we dubbed "the most expensive beer in Prague." I think it was about $6.00. Triple the price you would pay elsewhere in New town, and about four times what we paid at our local pubs. We shopped hard for crystal, and found the best prices at Crystalex, just off the Old Town Square on Male Namesti.
We attended a classical concert at the Rudolfinum. This is where the National Symphony plays. This night, there was a twelve piece string orchestra. It was expensive, and the music was "top forty" classical. By that I mean the most popular pieces, like Bizet, Pachobel, Vivaldi, etc. But the musicians were from the National orchestra and very professional. It was extremely well played and the concert hall was a jewel. So it was worth the price.
We also hired a van for a day trip to Kunta Hora, about two hours from Prague. What a wonderful and strange day this was. There is an Ossuary there that contains the bones of 40,000 people. These are victims of plague and war, dating back to the 1300s. They have used the bones for decorating! Chandeliers, wall hangings, pyramids, etc. Very macabre and fascinating. We had another fabulous and inexpensive meal at a little local restaurant here, that our driver knew of. We also found the cheapest beer of our trip here. While waiting for our driver, we ducked into a pub to avoid the chill. Eight pints of beer, for six bucks. Not bad! Good beer too.
Overall we found the young people to be open and very friendly. We enjoyed all of our interaction with them. The older folks were friendly too, once they loosened up. But you could see the effect that growing up under communism had. We found that the older (60s) folks working in the lower service jobs where the worst. Very abrupt, and impatient if you did not speak Czech.
But we did not let these few encounters color our opinion of the locals. We found them interesting, bright, and well educated. They have a quirky dark sense if humor too, which we enjoyed. People watching was great. Someone told me that all Czech's consider themselves philosophers. I can see that. You could spot the intense young men hurrying along the sidewalk, in their beat up blazers and wild hair perfectly askew. Kinda like beatniks. My wife thought they were extremely cute. A thought that I am sure would offend them greatly.
It is a developing economy, and you could almost smell the money. The nouveau riche status symbol seems to be a new Corvette, and we saw several on the street. I hope capitalism doesn't screw them up too much.
They are also still learning to do business. I experienced a couple of miscues as I tried to reserve our apartments. But Prague City Apartments was mostly professional. We were also stood up TWICE for our day trip, with no real explanation or apology. This was very frustrating for someone that works in the travel biz. But I am sure that they will eventually get the hang of it.
The architecture was amazing, outstanding, and overwhelming. Very dirty. I am guessing that the previous administration didn't bother with maintaining anything. So there are some beautiful statues and buildings that are just black from pollution. But we noticed that there was scaffolding everywhere for the cleaning crews. The city has a lot of tourist dollars pouring in, and they are using some of it to clean up their beautiful surrounding. They haven't got a handle on the air pollution yet. The air was noticeably smoggy.
All in all? One of the most fascinating places I have ever been, and I hope to return someday. It has only been eighteen years since the fall of communism. It is going to be very interesting to see how the change affects these thoughtful and witty people. I can only wish them well.
Thanks for reading this super long report. I hope this helps anyone considering a trip there.
Warm Regards,
Pat Hewitt
(Travel Professional)
Before I start. Let me tell anyone considering a trip to Prague that your first step should be to buy Rick Steve's book on Prague. We used it as our bible, and it never steered us wrong.
Six of us flew from Amsterdam to Prague via SkyEurope. The tickets were extremely cheap, under $60.00 per person. We purchased them online at www.SkyEurope.com. Their list of destinations is short, but we found the service to be quite good. It kinda felt like Southwest here in the States. Not a lot of frills, but the plane was clean and the staff was very friendly. You do have to watch the tight luggage restrictions. But we were forewarned, and packed accordingly.
We rented apartments through a rental agency: www.prague-city-apartments.cz. They came with a free transfer in. This was a very good thing, because we arrived at 11:00 PM. We do not speak Czech, and really had no idea where our apartments were from the airport. Details regarding the airport pickup were sketchy, and my emails were not responded to in the last couple of days prior to our flight. So it was a relief to see the guy at the almost deserted airport holding a sign with my name on it. We piled into his nice clean Mercedes van, and it was off to our apartments. Once there, we met up with another couple who had flown in from the States earlier in the day.
"Old town" is the area that you always hear about in Prague. We rented four apartments in the "New town" section of Prague. This turned out to be a perfect choice. Old town is the tourist section of the city, and can be very crowded. All of the bars and restaurants in Old town cater to the tourist trade and are more expensive.
We found better prices on food and drink in New town, and enjoyed the more local crowd. It was only a short walk to Old town when we wanted to do the tourist thing. We also found that our section of town (more below) turned out to have quite a lively weekend scene. Several of the small bars nearby had live music on Friday and Saturday nights, and there were some excellent restaurants in the neighborhood as well. New town was the site of widespread demolition of ancient buildings in the 1900s. Sad as that sounds, they were replaced by art deco buildings. Some of these are magnificent buildings, and every single one seems to have great statuary or bas relief, or some kind of elaborate decoration. One of our group members loves to photograph architectural details. He had a huge camera lens, and was a little overwhelmed by the sheer volume of subjects.
Our studio apartments were all more or less the same, and cost us about $100 per night for each. Each came with a bath, full kitchen, and living room / bedroom combo. They were not luxurious, but very clean. My only real complaint was the thin threadbare towels. We only got two of them, and they were changed out twice during our week. But all in all, the apartments were very livable and were the perfect homebase for our stay. The four couples that went are all close friends and frequent travel companions. So it quickly developed into an almost dorm like atmosphere. Lots of popping up and down the stairs for morning cups of coffee, or evening drinks. These were the Opatovicka apartments, on Opatovicka Street. Very close to the National Theater (http://www.prague-city-apartments.cz...PARTMENTS.html). I would stay there again.
Our first real night, we stopped for "one beer" at local pub. What a mistake that was, but in a good way (I guess). We stopped at the Styl, a small bar and restaurant up the street and around the corner from our apartments. We got to know the waitress and chef working there. Delightful young people in their twenties. We quickly developed a very friendly rapport with them. We told the chef (Peppa) to just feed us, and feed us he did. We had a wonderful meal and too many drinks, including real absinthe. I won't bore you with details of our evening here. But suffice to say that Peppa was serving flaming drinks, and occasionally would spill one to light the whole bar on fire. He was also good at cartwheels across the restaurant floor. Our behavior was bad too, but I ain't tellin! Hmmm, maybe there is a reason that absinthe is illegal.
But our meal was awesome. We returned later in the week for another meal, and was served some of the best duck I have ever tasted. If anyone wishes to visit the Styl, be aware that the name is not on the front of the bar. Just a Budweiser sign. It is located on Opatovicke St., just after the street makes a bend towards the river. Free Wifi (wee-fee) here too.
Another benefit to our location was close proximity to a major tram stop and the Tesco department store. Tesco was pretty handy. There is a grocery store in the basement, and just about anything else you need on the other three floors. Here is a secret that I learned from Rick Steve's excellent guidebook. There are two "tourist" trams that leave from here. They take a loop past most of the things that you wish to see in Prague. They go past the National Theater, across the Vltava River to the Little Quarter and Prague castle. You can buy a 90 minute ticket with unlimited transfers for about a buck, and just take a ride. Then make your stops at the castle, the funicular up Petrin hill to the tower, the Church of St. Nicholas, The Monument to the Victims of Communism Who Survived, etc. There are lots of reviews of these sites elsewhere, and this is getting long. So I will let you do your own research. But all are worth looking at. It would be hard to pick a favorite. You want to ride on tram #22 or #23. For some reason, #23 was always less crowded.
Our only bad experience was that one member of our group was pickpocketed while taking pictures of the changing of the guard at Prague Castle. We all knew this was possible, and took precautions. Be careful ya'll. These guys are good. But Prague Castle and the St. Vitus cathedral were the highlights of our trip, and not to be missed.
We enjoyed Old town as well. Lots of little cobblestone lanes, the famous Astronomical Clock, interesting shops, and fun restaurants. But this is the priciest place in the city to eat or drink. We met up with our group to watch the clock perform. The sidewalk cafe served us what we dubbed "the most expensive beer in Prague." I think it was about $6.00. Triple the price you would pay elsewhere in New town, and about four times what we paid at our local pubs. We shopped hard for crystal, and found the best prices at Crystalex, just off the Old Town Square on Male Namesti.
We attended a classical concert at the Rudolfinum. This is where the National Symphony plays. This night, there was a twelve piece string orchestra. It was expensive, and the music was "top forty" classical. By that I mean the most popular pieces, like Bizet, Pachobel, Vivaldi, etc. But the musicians were from the National orchestra and very professional. It was extremely well played and the concert hall was a jewel. So it was worth the price.
We also hired a van for a day trip to Kunta Hora, about two hours from Prague. What a wonderful and strange day this was. There is an Ossuary there that contains the bones of 40,000 people. These are victims of plague and war, dating back to the 1300s. They have used the bones for decorating! Chandeliers, wall hangings, pyramids, etc. Very macabre and fascinating. We had another fabulous and inexpensive meal at a little local restaurant here, that our driver knew of. We also found the cheapest beer of our trip here. While waiting for our driver, we ducked into a pub to avoid the chill. Eight pints of beer, for six bucks. Not bad! Good beer too.
Overall we found the young people to be open and very friendly. We enjoyed all of our interaction with them. The older folks were friendly too, once they loosened up. But you could see the effect that growing up under communism had. We found that the older (60s) folks working in the lower service jobs where the worst. Very abrupt, and impatient if you did not speak Czech.
But we did not let these few encounters color our opinion of the locals. We found them interesting, bright, and well educated. They have a quirky dark sense if humor too, which we enjoyed. People watching was great. Someone told me that all Czech's consider themselves philosophers. I can see that. You could spot the intense young men hurrying along the sidewalk, in their beat up blazers and wild hair perfectly askew. Kinda like beatniks. My wife thought they were extremely cute. A thought that I am sure would offend them greatly.
It is a developing economy, and you could almost smell the money. The nouveau riche status symbol seems to be a new Corvette, and we saw several on the street. I hope capitalism doesn't screw them up too much.
They are also still learning to do business. I experienced a couple of miscues as I tried to reserve our apartments. But Prague City Apartments was mostly professional. We were also stood up TWICE for our day trip, with no real explanation or apology. This was very frustrating for someone that works in the travel biz. But I am sure that they will eventually get the hang of it.
The architecture was amazing, outstanding, and overwhelming. Very dirty. I am guessing that the previous administration didn't bother with maintaining anything. So there are some beautiful statues and buildings that are just black from pollution. But we noticed that there was scaffolding everywhere for the cleaning crews. The city has a lot of tourist dollars pouring in, and they are using some of it to clean up their beautiful surrounding. They haven't got a handle on the air pollution yet. The air was noticeably smoggy.
All in all? One of the most fascinating places I have ever been, and I hope to return someday. It has only been eighteen years since the fall of communism. It is going to be very interesting to see how the change affects these thoughtful and witty people. I can only wish them well.
Thanks for reading this super long report. I hope this helps anyone considering a trip there.
Warm Regards,
Pat Hewitt
(Travel Professional)
Nov 1st, 2007 | 11:12 AM
#5
Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 1,569
Likes: 0
Well, thank you very much, Pat Hewitt. I am Thingorjus, the author of the famous trip report entitled "Pancaky Papers: Thingorjus in Praha." I am constantly lambasted on this forum because I recommend the Wenceslas Sq. area of Prague. I am told that only hookers and drug dealers are found in the New Town, that the Old Town is the ONLY place to stay in Prague.
Thanks for helping to set the record straight.
PS I am quoted 4 times in the Fodor's Prague 2nd Edition.
Thingorjus
Thanks for helping to set the record straight.
PS I am quoted 4 times in the Fodor's Prague 2nd Edition.
Thingorjus
Nov 1st, 2007 | 11:24 AM
#6
Original Poster
Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 470
Likes: 0
Well, we didn't see any hookers. Or drug dealers, that I know of. But it is a younger crowd, and a local scene. I know that the laws on cannabis are pretty relaxed. So I guess you could find that kind of thing, if you were looking for it.
I live in New Orleans. Being from a tourist town, I have a little different perspective than a lot of people. I don't hang out in the French Quarter, but go there occasionally.
Old Town is a must do. Fun, but it reminded me of the French Quarter here. Very picturesque, and fun to walk around. But also touristy and pricey.
When I was in New Town, it felt more like the kind of clubs and restaurants that I would go to as a local in New Orleans. Of course, we didn't ask everyone in every place, where they were from.
But New Town sure felt local, and we felt very safe there.
I hope this helps!
Warm Regards,
Pat Hewitt
(Travel Professional)
I live in New Orleans. Being from a tourist town, I have a little different perspective than a lot of people. I don't hang out in the French Quarter, but go there occasionally.
Old Town is a must do. Fun, but it reminded me of the French Quarter here. Very picturesque, and fun to walk around. But also touristy and pricey.
When I was in New Town, it felt more like the kind of clubs and restaurants that I would go to as a local in New Orleans. Of course, we didn't ask everyone in every place, where they were from.
But New Town sure felt local, and we felt very safe there.
I hope this helps!
Warm Regards,
Pat Hewitt
(Travel Professional)
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Nov 1st, 2007 | 02:35 PM
#8
Joined: Feb 2006
Posts: 57,091
Likes: 5
hi, Pat,
great report. although touristy, we like you found that there were still parts that remained very czech.
my fondest memory is of the very first bar we found on arrival, DH being desperate to have a czech beer. on the recommendation of our cab driver, we went into a typical czech bar - no eglish spoken at all. all eyes turned to us as we mimed and gestured our way to ordering two beers, and then paid them. this was obviously very strange tourist behaviour.
as we drank we took in the decor - vaslav Havel's portrait in one corner, Dubzeck in the middle, and a nice bust of stalin in the window.
we made our excuses and left. we never could find that bar again!
regards, ann
great report. although touristy, we like you found that there were still parts that remained very czech.
my fondest memory is of the very first bar we found on arrival, DH being desperate to have a czech beer. on the recommendation of our cab driver, we went into a typical czech bar - no eglish spoken at all. all eyes turned to us as we mimed and gestured our way to ordering two beers, and then paid them. this was obviously very strange tourist behaviour.
as we drank we took in the decor - vaslav Havel's portrait in one corner, Dubzeck in the middle, and a nice bust of stalin in the window.
we made our excuses and left. we never could find that bar again!
regards, ann
Mar 1st, 2008 | 11:09 AM
#11
Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 3,589
Likes: 0
Just adding my thanks for your report. Brings back memories of our stay in Prague several years ago. This is one of those cities that escaped a bombing and has retained its charm.
Not mentioned by you is Charles Bridge which of course every tourists walks over. Also we enjoyed Mala Strana area, Maisel Synagogue, and little Art Nouveau museum featuring works of Mucha, plus a chamber concert in St. Martin in the Wall church.
Side trips in the country to Nosalov village and also to Vysoka u Primari where Dvorak composed music (including summer house maintained by his grandson).
ozarksbill
Not mentioned by you is Charles Bridge which of course every tourists walks over. Also we enjoyed Mala Strana area, Maisel Synagogue, and little Art Nouveau museum featuring works of Mucha, plus a chamber concert in St. Martin in the Wall church.
Side trips in the country to Nosalov village and also to Vysoka u Primari where Dvorak composed music (including summer house maintained by his grandson).
ozarksbill
Apr 3rd, 2008 | 09:45 AM
#13
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 478
Likes: 0
betsym: If you have an interest in WWII, I'd suggest visiting the crypt at St. Cyrus & Methodius Church which is where the parachutists responsible for the assassination of Heydrich were hidden and ultimately cornered by the Nazis. Also, visit Terezin outside Prague. And I agree that Rick Steves book is excellent; we did use a private tour guide two days and found that very helpful.
May 20th, 2008 | 02:57 PM
#18
Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 273
Likes: 0
Just back from Prague last Thursday. Here is my "secret stop". Right across the street from the German Embassy on Vlasska St in Mala Strana is a small street with a little cafe called Fleurs. It was the best strudel we had in Prague - served with vanilla sauce - yum!
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