Prague to Perfection

I had the best time. I can honestly say I loved ALL of it. We had the most AMAZING weather, nonstop sunshine. It got cold overnight, with no cloud cover, so we had chilly mornings leading into increasingly warm afternoons - so much so that on Sunday afternoon, people claimed it to be 24°C in the sun! You couldn't have asked for better. The sights were varied, diverse, and plentiful. The people were friendly. The food was great, the beer was varied and lovely, and the prices remain seriously reasonable when compared to other city destinations.

Best tip? Make sure to look up - everywhere! There are gargoyles, fab facades, wrought-iron statues - all not to be missed.

It was a great trip, one of the best. It is probably unrepeatable, but that doesn't mean that I'm not going to try.

Quick Tips:

Buy a Prague card, but don't bother with the additional transport option unless you really can't stand walking. I prefer to be on foot. This card, 590 CK, not including the transport option, allows you free entry into 40 attractions. It turned out to be well worth it - we probably got double the value out of it and also visited some places we might have not bothered with otherwise if we were paying. It is available in PIS branches.

Best Way To Get Around:

On foot, though there are trams, a metro, etc. The funicular is probably the best way to get up Petrin Hill, if it's open, that is.

My hotel arranged an airport transfer, which was slightly more expensive than the going taxi rate, but it was so easy that it made it worthwhile.

The hotel is a little off the beaten track in a fairly recently restored building. The lobby is welcoming, with two lounges and a little bar. There's a lift, and our rooms were on the fourth floor.
I had a single room and my parents a double that almost formed a little suite. Both rooms were clean, spacious, and well equipped, with tea-making facilities, TV, shower, etc. The bed was comfortable, and there was heating or A/C, as the large windows keep the room light and airy.
There was no street noise, and the only way we knew there were other guests is when we met them in the breakfast room. Service was helpful and efficient, for the most part. A very quiet, very nice hotel.

The hotel has a very informative website here, and while you're there, Internet access is available for residents, charged at 1CZK per minute.

We ate dinner at Rybarsky klub - the Old Fisherman's guild on on Kampa island - on the Friday night. We'd booked earlier, which is just as well, as there are only a few tables, and they were all full - people were actually turned away whilst we were there.

I started with salmon tartare, then grilled catfish in a lovely red pepper sauce with a mixed salad, followed by warm strawberries with vodka and vanilla ice cream. We had a bottle of the local Frankovka wine, served at the perfect temperature. Lovely food at reasonable prices.

NB: Specializes in fish, so if you don't like fish, it may not be for you.

We had Saturday night dinner here. We all dressed up a little and wandered there in a leisurely fashion. The receptionist's booking had been confused with the night before, but they put us in the bar, served us free fizz, and quietly and efficiently sorted it out.

It's a beautiful room: chandeliers, mood lighting, linen, and crystal. I was glad we'd dressed for dinner - all the locals had - it was only tourists that hadn't bothered, so at least we fitted in rather than standing out.

My meal was the "roast scallops served with Chinese radish, pomegranate, and tiger prawns," "chicken breast served with roasted baby carrots, walnuts, and wine Grapes," and a good local red wine, all topped off with "chocolate sorbet with fresh strawberries," fizz, coffee, and chocolates.

It was all done immaculately, with professional service, and all still reasonable compared to U.K. prices for the same standard.

St Nicholas Cafe is downstairs in a low-vaulted cellar-type room that was dimly lit and decorated in the Moroccan style. It was lovely once the eyes adapted from the bright sunlight outside, and as people like to eat outside when it's sunny, this place was pretty quiet, which was nice. I had a salad with anchovies and feta, Mum had a bowl of olives, and Dad had a killer marinara pizza I had a little of. We had a couple of beers and relaxed for a while. Amazingly, the bill for all this came to about £12, not per head - that's total! Truly amazing.

I have to say that we didn't eat here; we just drank, as this place brews its own range of beers, from the standard to the banana! You walk into the smell of brewing beer--yum. There's even a CAMRA certificate from their trip there last year, which was amusing. They make several different beers--I tried the sour-cherry beer and the banana beer; the best was their dark beer, which my parents had.

There's two sections to this place--the front bar, into which you enter, and a back room, which seems to have space when the front bar is full... but then you're a little out of the main atmosphere and away from all the brewing gear. So next time, I think I'd try and stay in the front bar.

We had lunch here on Saturday. It's another cellared bar. It has exhibitions of local art on the wall - weird photos and sculptures in this instance.

I had a fab Thai Beef salad, followed by poached pears. We all had two courses, with beer, and I had a coffee. Lunch was twice as expensive as the day before - all of £20 for us all! The service was good, and even though cheap, the food was beautifully presented, on coordinating art pottery obviously made for the place, with their logo - a nice touch.

The restaurant is up on the Petrin Hill and usually the second stop on the Funicular railway. Well, when we got to the railway, it turned out that it's closed for a month. A hill may not phase me, but it sure did to my Mum. Not having been prepared for it, she found it pretty hard going. Still, when we got to the top, the views were fantastic, and we had a window table, which we had been told wasn't possible, so they'd obviously rearranged due to a cancellation or something.

After a recovery period, we settled down for a lovely meal. I had a duck liver salad with toast and sauce, Czech-style rabbit (wrapped with pancetta), and gnocchi. We shared two bottles of varying Frankovka (not as nice as the night before), and my dessert was toffee orange with pistachio ice cream. The pianist played, we had coffee and calvados, and I arranged for him to play "As Time Goes By" as a surprise for my Dad - it's practically his theme tune. Predictably, the walk back down the hill was much easier - though hairpins and streetlights meant you had to be a tad careful. We even startled a hare and met him again a corner or two down, which was unusual.

Novomestsky Pivovar is another brewery - our third - and again, obviously designed for the massed hordes. The beer was okay, but the room we were in was empty and chilly. The odd coach party arrived to be swallowed into the void - the place is like a rabbit warren. Had we had a group, warmth, atmosphere, then maybe it would have been different. As it was, lunch was ham, a warm chicken salad, and nut cake. The second course followed on the heels of the first, yet still wasn't hot - which Mum's was supposed to be. There was only a delay for dessert, as we had to order it - then it arrived PDQ. However, after all that, the bill took forever and had to be chased as we all sat there irritated, a little gloomy to be going home shortly, and chilly... not good.

I have to admit to not being that impressed - it's a tad touristy and like a mass market. The beer was welcomed, though, and the shots of Bekarovka served with them seemed like a good idea, but looking back, a little less might have been better!

Still, it was busy, the staff was up to coping with the numbers, and there was definitely an atmosphere to the place - right down to the oompa duo.

U Fleku has been there a very long time, and does what it does well.

This is the typical Prague tourist attraction - you've seen it on TV every time you've seen Prague. And it's pretty impressive. Sort of. It depends. The street stalls down the sides are actually better quality than you'd expect. But the sheer number of people at some times can make the bridge impassable and frankly unpleasant. However, early of a morning or evening, with Prague spread out above you (up to the castle) and behind you... it's a nice place to be.

The Astronomical Clock is actually fairly impressive. We happened to be there at the right time a couple of times and found space in the inevitable gathered hordes to watch it go. It's almost nice, though, when they've all gone, and the sun shines off the gilding...

The Old Town Square itself is lovely - full of cafes - and when we were there, had an Easter market with egg-decorated trees and everything. We spent the odd happy hour eating and drinking in the sun here - chilly but lovely. Prices vary around the square - the Italian on the corner is actually cheaper for beer than the typical Pilsner places.

The castle complex covers a multitude of sights - most of which are covered by the Prague card. It's hard to get a feeling for it as a castle as a whole - it feels more like the sum of many parts. Very impressive, though - and the hourly changing of the guard is fun too.

We did St Vitus's cathedral, the Old Royal Palace (Stary Kralosky Palac), The Basilica of St. George (Bazilika Sv Jiri), the Powder Tower (Prasna Vez), and so on. We went around St George's abbey (Klaster Sv Jiri)- which I wouldn't recommend - lots of very average old Renassaince paintings which completely hide the interior of the builiding which used to be a nunnery. Ah well....t'was free.... Golden Lane (Zlata Ulicka) is the bit full of little shops to trap the tourist - bit of a cheek to charge entry to it really, but hey again, it was covered. I wouldn't recommend it though.

Read the guidebooks for the historical facts. But it is impressive. The Mucha window is worth seeing too. The best bit, however, is the 287-step climb to the top of the tower. Now - the climb can be a pai - crowded, spiral, and so on... but the views at the top more than make up for that.

This place is FABULOUS! It's literally breathtaking if you happen to like art nouveau. The glass, the design, the symmetry - everything. Oh, and the cafe does lovely cakes and coffee in the most beautiful of surroundings. The main hall is not open for random visiting - you can arrange it or go to one of the concerts there. It's just my kind of place and really blew me away. Probably my favourite Prague sight.

This was top of my list of places to visit when I was planning my trip. It's a smallish collection of works from the Mucha foundation. But the best bit was the 20-minute film about him and his life. I love his work, and there wasn't actually enough of it there. The video, however, was well done and very informational. Unlike Madame, the till-meistress who threw a minor paddy at having to change a note for my ticket--aw diddums, like that's not her job!

We visited Kinsky Palace (Palac Kinskych) - which had an expo of Czech landscapes from the National Gallery, I believe. There was a whole range from old to modern - right up to an installation piece with video playing on the floor that the attendant actually recommended we sit in and take photos! When was the last time you were asked to take photos in a museum? Much fun--almost as much fun as the gruff guard who kept following me around the gallery into the various rooms. I tend to be nippy - nip in - and then, on my way out, I'd meet him coming in and he'd then have to pretend he'd just been going in randomly, not following me at all--very funny. So much so that I did it at least three times. *grin*

This holds a selection of jewellery and costumes from the Museum of Decorative Arts. It's all beautifully displayed in a two small and well-spaced exhibitions spread over two floors. Very lovely, but very warm - and humid (presumably for the costumes also shown there) - so we didn't stay too long. Good for girls who like sparkly things!

This park is lovely--perfect for a quiet early morning wander. The sun shone, and Prague lay below us. There were birds in abundance - jays, blackbirds, blue tits, and even the sound of a woodpecker. Up at the top, taking a tactful rest stop, there from our bench, we even saw red squirrels - which nigh on made my day. They're so small and delicate - comparing them to grey squirrels is like comparing porcelain to pottery.

We wandered along, following the contours of the hill, and were able to join up with the castle complex again.