My daughter and I visited Terezin last year and attended a visual presentation at the camp about the place. Athough it was primarily a transit camp, many Czechs and other Eastern Europeans died there, according to resources... Many were cremated in the 4 crematoria ovens that we saw during our tour of the camp. Since the Crematorium is a Jewish Hallowed Place, and even though we are not of the Jewish Faith, we were issued yamulkas by an attendant and wore them within the crematoria walls as a sign of respect for those murdered in the camp and cremated there...
http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/...t/terezin.html

One thing we found especially appalling was that even up to the day that Terezin was abandoned by the Nazi guards, they were lining up people and executing them by firing squad... What inhumanity!

I'm the first to admit that I still haven't been there, but we visited the US Holocaust Museum in Washington, DC last weekend and I paid particular attention to any reference to Terezin plus we purchased a one hour DVD about Terezin. Previously, I had read the book "Nesarim" with its accounts by survivors. Certainly, many inmates died - executed by rifle for minor/trumped up infractions...many more died by disease and starvation. But it still appears the ovens were not activated there by the end of the war. The active crematoriums were all in Poland, I think (by that point in the Holocaust Museum, I was worn out and may not have had full command of the facts.) Regardless, it is unfathomable that 6 million people - including children and not just Jews - were exterminated by the Nazis and much of the rest of the world let it happen. I remain in awe of the Danish and what they did to try to protect "their" Jews. On the hero's wall in the museum, under Denmark, the first entry is "the people of Denmark"!!! ALL the people. Amazing. Great book on this: Darkness over Denmark.

Recently back from Prague - wonderful but very cold this time of year. Managed to survive without a guidebook thanks to this writeup and the always helpful laminated citymap. We were headed to the olympics and short on time, and basically had to compact days 2, 3, and 5 (above) into 1 day! I wouldn't recommend it but it can be done. Some thoughts:

(1) We arrived at Prague airport and were happy to have a car waiting courtesy of the Intercontinental Hotel. While the price (25E) was a bit steep compared with the alternatives discussed elsewhere (e.g. CEDAZ minibus), it was nice to have a trusted ride waiting to whisk us to the hotel after 21+ hours in transit, complete with free water, checkin paperwork, etc.

(2) The IC hotel was wonderful, perhaps a 10 min walk upriver from the Charles bridge but very close to the old Jewish quarter (see above). The Marriott and Renaissance are a bit farther away but perhaps more convenient to the train station. All can sometimes be had on priceline for $100/nt (though we booked directly). The first night we ate at Pravda just down the street. A bit pricey for Prague but a very nice upscale experience and good food. I'll have to update this when I fish out the name of our other dinner that was quite a deal.

(3) There is no need to change money before you arrive as there are several ATMs at the airport, and hundreds more throughout the city. Prague is not a super cheap destination, but it is relatively inexpensive compared with most of the capitals in Western Europe.

(4) If you start early you can see quite a bit in 1 day, but you'll really be happier spending a few days or even a week. If we had more time, we would have spent some time hanging out in cafes and pubs, though the smoke can be pretty oppressive for us spoiled Californians.

(5) The main train station is a pit - one of the worst in the EC. Not dangerous but very cold and very dirty. Plan to spend as little time as possible here. The trains themselves are much nicer than under the prior (communist) regime, but nothing to write home about. We had the concierge pre-order our tickets, well worth the $10 fee. We took the 6 hour train to Munich (v. $300 for the flight) - the ride was pleasant enough but required an annoying change of trains at the border. Bring your own food and beverages.

(6) Things we would skip:

(a) ripoff Museum of Communism - hard to find, too.

(b) tour of Prague Castle @ $5 pp - maybe it was just our guide, but he really didn't add much insight and was hard to understand. Just buy your ticket and do the self tour.

(7) Prague is a city best discovered by walking. Alas, it is very very cold in Prague in February unless you hail from Stockholm or Minneeapolis. So if you have a choice of travel seasons, I would recommend March - October.

To end on a positive note, no trip to Prague is complete without a visit to E Fleku, a brewpub operating since the 1400s. Just don't mimic the Japanese tourists snapping their fingers for wait service (which didn't materialize any faster...)

Hoping to return someday soon.

Great report. Thanks

N.B. Stockholm is much warmer than Minneapolis and the winters there are not nearly as bad as the winters in Boston, New York or even DC. Prague, being continental, has been significantly colder than Stockholm in the past few months, but cannot compete with MSP.

A little bump for this thread. And I just found it. Shame on me. I took a trip to PRG w/ my gf in November of '04. It was cold, but being from Philly, the temperature was about the same as back home. We pricelined our hotel at the Marriott, and it was in a decent location. We took the 90CZ ride on Cedaz to nameski Republicky, which was a block away from the hotel. I won't bore w/ the details of our trip to Praha. But, we took an overnight train to KRK. I was constantly woken up. Though, KRK is also another beautiful place to visit. I can't wait to get back to Europe - period.

Great info, I'll be in Prague for 5 days next week (first trip) and this is very helpful.

FWIW, Cond� Nast Traveler Magazine (May 2007) listed Olive as a top restaurant in Prague. Located at 4 Plaveka.

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The IC hotel is a great location and a good hotel. I never use the limousine transfer, because the bus and the metro brings you direct to the hotel. But If you arrive from a longhaul flight, I would do the same.

Yes, Prague is a very beautiful city and worth to travel !!

I am heading (back to Prague) in a couple weeks and was doing some check. I had not seen this post last time I went and thought it would be a help to others.

Take the advice of others on here and get out of the city center if you have time. If you are doing what most Americans do where you go to a city to see it as fast as you possibly can, you can get away with that is other Eastern European towns, but there is so much to do here, it will really do you an injustice to just do 2-3 nights here. Some of what I enjoyed the most was taking local transportation out to the suburbs and enjoying the better prices and very kind people. I even got a nice pair of Ecco shoes for $30 US last year at an outlet mall at the end of the metro line.