Prague - A report (SUMMER 2004)
 

Our original plan for Prague was to spend 4 days. After talking to a good friend who visited Prague last summer, he suggested we enjoy ourselves and stay the week. Since he's given us good info before, we took his advice.

After running around Japan and Thailand last summer, we really wanted to do Prague the right way.

Prague in 4 or 5 days?

Well, if I could do it all over again, knowing what I know after the trip... :o

Overview

Day 1

Arrive at the Hilton around 3:00 and relax.

Headed into town around 5, for a get-aquainted look-see.

We took the subway to the Charles Bridge area. This bridge was built around 1300. It's a stone bridge. No vehicles. Only people. Prague is a very walkable city. Prague is a haven for cheap beer. Anywhere from US$1-$3. And I'm not talking about a 'short pour'. ;)

Bu the way, Prague is also known as Praha .

After we walked around a bit, it was time for dinner. Most of the places to eat have outdoor seating. Little or no air conditioning is provided for us spoiled Americans. Inside, it can be extremely hot. We opted for the less smokey outside. In Prague, you can share tables with others. We enjoyed our first meal, goulash, with a lady from Australia.

After dinner, we continued walking around what can only be classified as a Hollywood set. It's so beautiful!

When everything is lit up at night, it even looks better than the daytime.

Day 2

We took the subway to Wenceslas Sq. for our first full day.

On exiting the subway, the street before us looked like Paris. A very wide, tree lined street with loads of stores. Behind us was the museum. In front of us was a full day of walking and touring. We walked along cobblestone streets as we headed to Old Town.

The streets are very narrow in this historic part of town. You see 700 year old buildings and churches everywhere. My wife remarked that it looked like Epcot at Disneyworld. This was the real thing. Even better. ^

There's a famous clock in Old Town that chimes on the hour. Loads and loads of tourist hang around waiting to hear it. There are cafes everywhere in this part of town. I did have the pleasure of a US$4 coke. Not to mention that some restaurants charge you for the bread they put on the table. :mad: Remember to ask. If they said yes, we moved on. Choices everywhere. You won't go hungry.

We then walked back to Charles Bridge in the daytime. Once we crossed the bridge, we walked down the steps on the left towards Lennon's Wall. No. Not that Lennon. John Lennon of Beatle fame.

After he was killed, scores of people decended on this wall and started spray painting various messages to John. It still stands today. Folks can still put any type of message on the wall. We got some great pictures.

SInce we were still jetlagged, we headed back to the Hilton. We noshed in the lounge around 6. Our first real night, after a day of touring, found us in bed by 8:00 (2200).

Day 3

Jewish Quarter

Unlike the Marais in Paris, there are little if any Jews living in Prague. Unlike the Marais in Paris, you'd be hard pressed to find any Kosher restaurants (just one); or stores selling Jewish related merchandise (gift shops don't count). :D

We purchased a synagogue pass that allows entry into the 5 shuls. The Maiselova Synagogue , on a cobblestoned side street, was beautiful and simple inside. Depending on your interest (Jewish or non-Jew, museum oriented or non-museum oriented), you can spend 10-30 minutes here. from here, we headed to the Spanish Synagogue.

This synagogue had more than a passing interest to us. Our late Rabbi went to Prague twice a year to be the Rabbi at this shul. None of the 5 shuls in town have a Rabbi. The Spanish syn considered our Rabbi, their Rabbi. We were made to feel at home here. Anyway, I digress. The chandlier here, when you look up at it, looks like a Star of David. There's also a stained glass ceiling. Upstairs is a Holocaust exhibit.

On to the Pinchas

This shul has the names of 77,000 dead handwritten on the walls. After the floods of 2002, those names had to be re-written. The names represent those that were killed during the Holocaust. There is an exhibit of the children of Terezin , a concentration camp, (more to come later in the report). The children's drawings are on display. Drawings of everyday life, before the were sent to the camps.

The old Jewish cemetery holds 12,000 graves.

From here we headed to the Old-New Synagogue . That was built in 1270.

Overall, we spent 3 hours in the Jewish Quarter.

We had lunch at the Franz Kafka Cafe.

After lunch we went to the Mucha Museum It was a short walkthrough. ;)

More to follow.

DHammer53,
Keep up your story. It's wonderful. I was toying with the idea of going to Prague this winter on the heels of a few days in Madrid. Right now it's on hold, so I'm going to live vicariously through you.
Rita

Day 3 evening had us doing more walking around. We headed back to the Charles bridge. From the bridge, you can see the castle.

We did the castle on our last day in town. If we would have done it earlier, it would have provided us a view of Praha from high above the city.

Day 4

We took a bus to the Terezin Concentration Camp .

There are plenty of tours provided by lots of companies in town. You were always paying a premium, so we decided to do this on or own.

A bus ticket was the equalivent of US $2.65. It was a one hour trip on a 4 lane highway. When you get off the bus, you have a choice. We went to the Museum first. Cost 180 Crowns (about US $7.)

The building ran a 10 minute film. We saw more drawings of the Children of Terezin. These were drawings of everyday life before the children were in the Concentration camp. Very sad. :(

History

This camp was set up as a propaganda camp; so that the Red Cross could see how well the Nazi's were treating everyone. It was an artists camp for musicans and others. The Nazi's wanted the RC to see how normal things were.

From the Museum, we walked about 15 minutes to the crematoria
We saw the railroad tracks that took the Jews to their deaths. It was unnerving.

As we walked through the peaceful looking grounds, we saw graves . All the writing was in Cz, and impossible to read. We saw a small, churchlike building on the far left side of the grounds. We headed towards it, knowing what were were about to expect. A regular entrance door to an old white building. This was a nothing special building. You would never have guessed what was inside, even though we knew what we were about to see.

4 furnaces. Looked like something you'd have in your basement, just 5x's bigger. Hard to believe that thousands were burned here every day.

Two older people sold candles on a side table. Cost was about 20 cents. Jews traditionally light a candle to honor the dead. It was a moving experience. My wife cried. :(

We were surprised by how many non-Jews were visiting the camp. While walking around, I was wearing my kippa (head covering). A sign of respect when you go to a cemetery. We were amazed by how many people came up to us and either touched us (our arm); or said how sorry they were. This was very meaningful, in more ways than you could imagine. One woman (non-Jewish) told us that the Nazi's murdered her family.
You read lots of these stories; but when you're face to face with this, we realized first hand, how the Nazi's touched and affected so many lives. Jew and non-Jew.

It was nice to see that the world really cares. Maybe there is hope afterall.

We were emotionally and physically drained.

We walked back to town and enjoyed 23 cent (US) ice cream and donuts; not to mention 33 cent cold water. It was sunny and hot.

From here, we walked down to the river; where the ashes of 22,000 dead were thrown.
Then, onto the prison camp. Glad we did that at the end.

We took a 4:40 bus back to town. We were beat.

Day 5. The Castle

We took the subway 2 stops to town. Walked on Havelska Market . It's a narrow lane with booths and booths of food, fruit, flowers, and toys. ;)

Then, we took the 22 Tram to the castle. You could have taken the subway, or even walked (uphill); but I wanted to go on a tram. The tram was not the same xperience as flying in SQ Raffles, but a joyride just the same. :D

From the top of the castle, you're able to walk downhill back to town. Remember, it's hot in the summer. From atop the castle, you get to view picturesque Prague. Wow! You acn see the river, the Charles Bridge, even Old Town church spires.

We saw the changing of the guard, Always a nifty thing to see.
The Castle is very pretty inside (boring editorial comments left blank so that you'll continue reading). There's a nice garden area too.

That night, we attended a concert at the Museum. All over town, you'll see people passing out flyers about a variety of concerts. These concerts are held everywhere, everyday, and multiple times throughout the day. :rolleyes: :D

Eventually we went to see a concert. How could we not. Prague is known for their music. Our concert was held in the National Museum at 6:00pm. Many others are held in churches.

Since Europeans don't believe in air-conditioning the way Americans do :p it was just about unbearable inside. It was hot out, and in. No air movement.
It made Thailand in the summer feel comfortable. It was so hot. Couldn't wait to leave. We did enjoy the concert otherwise. Rough cost about US $18 per person.

Last day.

After reading and reading, we (I) decided to go to Kunta Hora . It's about 1 hour by train. Don't bother. We (I) was looking for a 1 day trip.
The guide books liked this town. It's another cute town with old churches. By this time, we were starting to get churched out.

If I planned this trip the right way, we would have travelled from Prague to Vienna via Train to Cesky Krumlov . You need 1 to 2 days here. I wish we went, but that's the way it was. Next time.

Anyway, the day started out poorly. Seemed that the bus tix I bought were actually train tickets. :eek: Reminder to self, learn to speak CZ. So now, with time a wasting, we walk/run from the bus to the train station. We now had to take the subway to the train. Seems that our ticket is good on either train or bus. It was hard to get info in English. We finally board a train. As we passed through a car with compartments (first time I ever saw that), all I could think of was Nazi soldiers asking passengers for your papers. How many times have we heard that in a movie.

Cost was US $4.80 roundtrip, or return as some of you say. We get to town, get a ride from a person who was near the station, and head to town. We did St. Barbara's Cathedral. He was the patron saint of miners.

From here we walked at leasts 30 minutes (yes, it was still hot) to the Bones church. It had 40,000 bones displayed beautifully. Pretty cool, especially if you have kids.

It was a wasted day.

So out 5 days in Prague could have been done in 4.

On a humorous end, if you've met me; or know me from my writing, you know I'm a bit of a jokester.

On our last eveing in Old Town, sitting down, watching the crowds go by, we were talking to people. There was a Korean group on our left. The husband just came back with ice cream cones for everyone. In a joking gesture, I motioned how my wife would sure like some ice cream. I'm such a typical New Yorker. Always looking to cause trouble. :o

So don't you know that the man gives my wife his cone. We gestured back no; but by that time.... :D

Dan

Wow. Same experience.
 

dhammer53: to the best of my knowledge I have not joined in one of your threads or posts. But I experienced almost the same exact trip in Prague as you did. Reading your post brought back some memorable times for me. I truly enjoyed prague (praha), as it seems you did.

Though I did not enjoy someone else's purchased ice cream ;) there was one part of my week in prague that was more enkoyable than in other cities: the train system.

It was cheap, fast, efficient. And it allowed me to enjoy other areas of prague. And, yes, going to Terezin was a sad yet enlightening experience.

Dan-

thanks for a great report! My husband and I will be there in 2 weeks (also staying at the Hilton) and there was a lot of information here. And I know what you mean about getting "all churched out"- we're Christians and it happens to us, too!

Great report, sorry I missed you... I was there the following weekend. Yes it was still hot, and still crowded! I didn't get to go out to the concentration camp--but cried all the same reading your comments. I too found the train system fast, cheap and relatively easy to use. I stayed at the Aria hotel my first night (in the Old Town -- just to the left after you cross the Charles Bridge), but then moved to the FS for my final night-- just to the left on the other side of the bridge. One thing, while the beer was incredibly cheap--sometimes less than 50 cents US-- most other drinks were pretty expensive. I had been to Poland a couple of times and somehow expected prices to be fairly similar--wrong... Poland is much cheaper for everything. You are right about the 'Picture Postcard' view from just about everywhere though in Prague. I did walk up the hill past the Castle & St. Vitas, it is almost like a 'living Disneyworld' ;) While there were lots & lots of other tourists around--it seemed eveyone had a guidebook & camera in hand, I also found many of the locals did not speak english, so it would be good to at least know a little czech or german or polish, at least to be able to say 'please, thank you, and 'where is___??'... Also interestingly enough (to me at least) despite my previous comment.. the common language in tourist areas/hotels/restaurants etc was english.. not german or czech. While dining I noticed tables of chattering japanese,germans, french, italians etc--turn to the waiter and universally talk in english to the waiters and receive responses back in english.
All in all I had a wonderful time in Praha and can't wait to return.

Dan - I f I remember correctly there was a Kosher Morrocan restaurant just off the Municipal Opera House - in Praha-1

Thanks, Dan, for the fine report. Hubby and I will be in Prague in about a week and a half, and your report will be very helpful! I wish we had 4 days but, alas, not on this trip. We will just have to cram as much as possible into our 2 days -- and plan on a return visit later when we can take more time to do the city right. Thanks again, your report has me very much looking forward to our trip.

Thanks very much for the super trip report! :)

Even if it was a little bit tough to find! ;)

Sounds like a wonderful visit and this fine summary will doubtless prove to be extremely valuable to other FT'ers in the future.

On a sad note, however, I just can't bear to visit these camps. While they provide a wonderful history lesson and it is critical to remember the incredibly tragic pain and suffering, it is just too painful for me. :(

My last two attempts to observe such sights firsthand were both while in Germany in late 1990. As we started out from Munich to Dachau, my eyes just welled up with tears and it was exceedingly difficult to hold them back.

http://www.ushmm.org/research/librar...ght.htm#camps1


Although it admittedly took awhile, (after a dozen or so visits to DC after the Holocast Museum had opened), I did make it through - and it is so incredibly sad! :(

http://xroads.virginia.edu/~CAP/HOLO/exhibit.html


For whatever reason, as I grow older, it seems to hurt more and more to see what we, as human beings, have actually done to one another! :(

Thanks again.

-Mark

Thank you for an excellent trip report, dhammer53.

I will be in Prague for the day on November 16. The weather forecast calls for a 40% chance of showers, with temperatures ranging from 32°F to 42°F for the day.

What would be the best activities to do in Prague on a cold, rainy day? What would be the best way to maximize my day in Prague? What about transportation?

I never even knew about the Terezin Concentration Camp. Should I attempt a day trip there, or should I remain in Prague?

If I remain in Prague, are there any restaurant recommendations where one can get good food at a reasonable price? I am not looking for fancy and expensive nor mediocre and cheap. What about food recommendations? Are there any descriptions pertaining to such foods as goulash, roast goose or any other food that is a specialty of the Czech Republic?

All suggestions will be appreciated. Thank you in advance.

Carnarsie,

The above should really knock you out if you attempt this. Start the above as stated. You'll be walking in a 'somewhat' straight line. If you have the time, visit the synagogues in the Jewish Quarter.

This should give you a serious flavor (like an everything bagel) ;) :p
Of Prague.

Flatlands.

Thanks so much for the in-depth and interesting account of your visit. I couldn't even get myself to go into the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam a month ago.. something that really surprised me. Seeing it from the outside was enough. Maybe one's age has something to do with it.. I'm a War Baby. I wanted to visit one of the camps during my lifetime, but now I think it would be too emotional and I've seen enough on newsreels. I'm glad, however, that these places are still visited... people shouldn't forget.

We also took a bus to Terezin; it took some wandering to find the bus depot and the bus was standing room only. We decided not to wait for the next one and got on. My husband ended up standing in the aisle next to a sweet-faced, very well-dressed old lady. As we pulled into Terezin she said something in German to my husband, who indicated he didn't understand. The young lady next to her said in quiet English, "She wants you to know she was sent her as a child and is returning here for the first time". A man next to us questioned her in German- she'd been sent from there to Auschwitz but had somehow survived. The last we saw her, she was taking a leisurely walk, aided by a cane. Remarkable. I know some German but was totally at a loss for any words to say to her.

It was probably the most profound moment of the trip.

VAT Increase from 5% to 19&!
 

On 1 January 2005, the Czech Republic will increase VAT from 5% to 19%, which will affect the final total of one's hotel bill.I did it backwards, Flatlands.

If you are curious, I will tell more, but there is not much that is new that I can add, since I did it all in one day.

Thanks Dan for this report. We plan to go to Prauge in July 05.
Best Regards
Ron

Bumped for SAnger.

Here you go. ;)

Great report Dan - I will keep some of your items handy.

One question. What did you think of the Hilton location? It seems to me a little obnoxious looking and far away from the main attractions........

thanks again!

Agreed on both (we were there last October), but it's around the corner from one of the main train stations. We usually walked into town, but the subway was fast and cheap. Location was not a problem.

Dan, nice report and sound like a good trip.

Just a few added comments to some of the other questions.

You can walk from the Hilton to either Wasclavske nam (the main sq.) or namesti Republiky in about 10-15 mins. You could have walked to the train station too if it is not so convoluted since there is not a street / path on that side of the highway.

If you have only one day, then a long walk from Vaclavske namesti to Starometske namesti (old town sq) Jewish cemetary to Charles Bridge (and down to Kampa Park if you have time and weather is nice) to Mala Strana and up to the Castle and walk around the castle area is what I would suggest to get a flavour of Praha history and architecture.

I worked in Praha from '92 and '98 and would suggest people go a little outside the city center if you have more time. I went back May '04 for a weekend and have found the prices have gone up significantly in the tourist center and I was seeing mostly tourists in the city center which does not give you the full picture of Czech life. There are some nice local pubs in areas just a couple of subways away such as Nam Miru or Namesti Jiriho z Podebrad where it is still more locals. They are called Pivnice usually and beers will be a dollar or less and you might strike up an interesting conversation with a local.

One "Pivnice" that we really enjoyed was discovered by accident during a visit to Prague last summer while out strolling a few blocks from the Charles Bridge one evening... We were walking along Skorepka Street in our Hotel's neighborhood, when we heard an obviously cheerful chorus singing "Happy Birthday" in German down the street. We peered into the PIVNICE SKOREPKA brewery/restaurant, from where the party noises were emanating. We walked to the back of the restaurant, to the rear outside garden and saw a colorful array of Pilsner Urquell umbrellas covering about 20 tables, mostly filled with obviously happy diners downing pints of brew and eating with gusto.

The "Birthday" table was comprised of about 6 German couples who were tucking into huge plates of roasted duck, chicken, sausages and gigantic roasted pork joints. Well, the evening was warm and the Pilsner Urquell looked refreshing, so we picked a table and joined the crowd. The roast duck I chose was perfect and my daughter loved the chicken cutlet she had ordered, which was stuffed with blue cheese and ham. The meals were served with the usual 3/4 kinds of cabbages and 3/4 different types of dumplings. As I recall, the entire meal, including cold beers for me and raspberry juice for my daughter, priced out at less than equiv. USD $15 and I left a $5 tip.

The PIVNICE SKOREPKA was clean, cheerful, and busy. It passed my "bathroom cleanliness" test. As someone who has owned a number of food manufacturing companies and restaurants over the years, I always make a "pit stop" before ordering food to check the loo. In my experience, a clean restroom in a busy restaurant usually is an indicator of how the kitchen will be. There was an attendant present outside the lavs and I was pleased to drop 100 Czech Crowns in the plate for her job well done! ^

My four grandparents were born in Praha and Kutna Hora (hate to admit it, but there are better places to visit than Kutna Hora, although I was moved).
My advice for one day is to simply wander around the city. Bundle up and enjoy the walk with an amazing new sight at every turn.

The national Czech dish is pork, dumplings and sauerkraut. When I first visited Prague with my wife and children, we checked all the menus outside the restaurants. It seemed too good to be true! But it was!!! I remember we had an excellent meal: soup, a main course, dessert, wine, coffee and beer, all served by waiters in tuxedos. I'm thinking to myself, what if we misinterpreted the menu? Will we be washing dishes? To my relief, the bill came to about $4 a person. I know prices are higher now, but still a great deal. I would suggest checking menus as you walk and go with your instinct. Even if it is isn't the best, my guess is that you will fall in love with Prague and plan a return in the near future!

Summer bump for a friend.

dh

Headed there in October
 

Thanks dhammer53:

We are going there in October and staying at the Hilton (Diamond). We enjoy the transportation ideas on Praha. We do not mind the cold weather possibility as we are from South Florida. I have heard the Hilton is not central, but in a quiet area as to enjoy at night. I have been reading your report and getting ideas for our journey there. We are also doing Budapest and Munich as we fly into Budapest and out of Munich. We have not pick which city to add an extra night. Right now we are two nights in each city with an overnight train. Any ideas it which City would provide a great benefit of an extra night.

Thanks again and look forward to get a trip upon returning.

SCA

I am bumping this so I can find it again because I lost my notes on Prague. The best writeup Ive seen here :)

Thanks for bumping I would have missed this, we are going to be in Prague for three nights starting 4/08

mike

This is a great trip report... Here's another thread from last year which may be of interest... I initiated it because of a pickpocket incident...
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showt...andom+thoughts

:o

Terezin
 

It is my understanding that there were not exterminations at Terezin. They were constructing gas chambers but the war ended before they were used.

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!

Gas chambers at Terezin
 

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

deleted

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 !!

Time for a bump of a great review
 

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.