I had skipped a trip to Venice in early July, but briefly after my birthday my wanderlust led me to one of the most famous cities of Central
Europe for the first time. This time I got a relatively inexpensive place to park my car, and took a Germanwings flight to the golden city.
Accomodation
I had booked the hotel U Tri Korunek via HRS, at a rate of roughly € 50 B&B. The hotel's location might not be the best - it is a bit
out of the center, in the district of Zizkov, which does have nice flair though. However, it is quite a long walk to the old town, not to
mention the Hracin castle - on this hot weekend in July, I soaked numerous shirts. So if you are not the sports type of person, I'd suggest
to take the tram at nearby Seifertova street. Another minor nuisance was the noise, because just across the street there was a pub,
where people sang loudly until way after midnight. But that's enough criticism, because apart of these two points, the U Tri Korunek deserves
excellent marks. Room and bath, including a separate toilet, left nothing to be desired, except of course I would have preferred a
shower over the bath tub. Breakfast was very diverse and comprehensive, and the dining room - which also serves as restaurant - was
spacious and comfortable. And the very friendly and helpful staff deserves notice too, so that I consider the U Tri Korunek very
recommendable indeed.
Sites
Prague is a fantastic city - from my point of view, one of the most beautiful cities in the world. Seldom have I seen so many lovely places
in such a short time. The old town with the town hall square, the Charles alley, and also the side areas (e.g. St.Gallus) is a
marvellous place. But then you
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cross the Karlovi most to the other side of the river, where... Stop! If you hurry too much, you miss
the island of Kampa, one of the most picturesque parts of town. Right, then you get to the district of Mala Strana accross from
the old town, where among other attractions you will find the gorgeous Wallenstein palais. The garden of that place alone is worth a trip to
Prague.
And then you walk uphill to the city's castle, the Hracin. This part of town is much bigger than I had expected. And what
sites! the St.Vitus cathedral, the old royal palace, Loreto, the Strahov monastery, the palais of Schwarzenberg and Sternberg, etc. Most cities
would be most happy to have one of these sites - Prague has dozens of them, and you can just watch in amazement.
Then of course there is
the Josefstadt quarter next to the old town, with its synagogues. Or the district of Zizkov, where my hotel was located - that
district has a lot of flair. I would have liked to stay longer, and certainly I will visit Prague again.
A few tips
The Czech price level is extremely favourable for western tourists. In some side streets, I saw half a litre of beer being sold for just
70 cents. You can get a very good meal for € 10 to € 12, including a drink, starter and dessert. Talking about food, there are two restaurants
I'd like to recommend. On Saturday night, I had an excellent duck with dumplings and cabbage at the Restaurant Puskin (Husova 14, in
the old town) - at a reasonable price and good service. On Sunday, unfortunately the restaurant in my hotel was closed, so that instead I
discovered the restaurant of the nearby Hotel Amadeus (Zizkov, Dalimilova 12). This place has a more international cuisine, and the
meal was very convincing.
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