This will be my fourth trip to Prague and first time with parents. I remember cheep beer and hearty food, as well as a lovely city. Even better the rest of this blog piece I would say that I look forward to going back some time.
Prague Public Transport and Tickets
First things first, the public transport is really cheap but if you get a ticket, you must remember to validate it or face a fine. Get it time stamped in one of the yellow machines by the entrances to the metro or on the bus. Unless you get a day pass or three day pass, then the tickets last 30 minutes or 90 minutes hence the need to time stamp them.
If you are doing single trips, then buy the returns at the same time to save trying to find a place to buy them at the destination. We saw a pair of Chinese ladies get done by inspectors and saw the same in Hungary as well.
Also something to note is that a day ticket lasts 24 hours from when you validate it and is not for the "day" to use it.
Royal Palace Hotel - Malostranská
Anyway, onto the holiday. Angela and I stayed for a couple of days first before the rest arrived. We booked into the Royal Palace Hotel, which is close to the next bridge North of Charles Bridge and underneath the Castle.
Walking around Prague is deceptively easy so the hotel was handy despite not being near the Old Town. There are enough bars and restaurants within short walking distance from the hotel to make it a good base if you get a good price.
We have a friend in Prague who used to live in Bournemouth for a few years and he met with us for a walk. We walked along the river to the next bridge up (Cechuv) and walked up the many many steps to the Pendulum at the top of the hill.
There is a big park at the top that his son could run around and coming out the other end we got to Queen Anne’s Summer Palace that lead us to the Castle. It is a gentle stroll along the top, although those steps from the river upwards could be a killer in the summer heat.
Prague Castle is such a lovely place and is a definite must for all visitors new and old. I never tire of it. And it’s free, well to walk around the grounds but I haven’t bought the tickets that give you access inside the palaces.
Airbnb - Fashion Loft Apartment
For the rest of the week the family would arrive and we got an apartment that fitted us ten adults and kids. Way cheaper than a hotel and able to cook for ourselves as well. Parents need their rice every day. We booked a place called Fashion Loft Apartment. I want to say a thank you to Romana as I was quite late to get there to pick up the keys, and being an Airbnb place she had other clients to see. They were able to get another person soon after I missed my agreed time of 11.30am otherwise I would have had to wait till 7pm.
Apartment is basic but value for money. There is a small lift to fit three adults that took us to the 4th floor and then an extra flight of stairs - but as long as you know, then it's perfectly acceptable.
Throughout the week they responded to maintenance issues very quickly. I couldn't fault them in that respect.
Whilst the place wasn’t in the centre of town, it is close to Mustek and Národní Třída metro stops, and trams plus it wasn’t too much of a walk to the Clock square.
Monday – the rest of the family arrived late so we cooked for them and then took a walk to the river and back for an initial view of the castle by night. With Tesco being a couple of minutes walk away was handy. I think we went there every day!
Prague Old Town Square
Tuesday – after breakfast we took a stroll into the main square. Once you get going it never feels far to get to the main spots. Got to the astronomical clock for 11.30am so did a mini tour around the block to watch the clock do its show on the hour. You just have to tick this off when you visit Prague.
We came back for lunch, via Tesco again. After lunch we took another walk and went past a Hooters and the Town Hall, then through a couple of small parks for the boys to play. Heading to the river we stopped to see the Dancing Hotel and onto the little island (Zofin Palace) for another play park and drink stop.
Bringing dad back through the side streets I spotted a pub with good beer prices chalked up on its outside blackboard. Made a mental note of it. Enough walking for the group for the day.
Prague Castle
Wednesday - got a bunch of tickets to make the trip up to the Castle. I tried to buy them from a machine but the counter only went up to 9 and I needed 10. Went for 9 and tried to use contactless payment, no luck. It was much easier to go to the tobacconist/convenience shop and got them there.
The tram took us direct from Národní Třída to the Castle, can’t get simpler than that. Did a little venture into the Royal Gardens, saw some birds of prey and an owl, before going into the Castle. Every time I go I find it so impressive and don't tire of spending time meandering around.
Took it easy on the walk as my dad is old and little slow on his feet but he managed to get down the steps to the bottom, Malostranská.
Took the side road and walked along to the Franz Kafka museum to see the urinating statues. Yes, that’s what they were.
Next it was through Kampa Park where we saw the big bronze babies. Won't be the first time we saw those around the city. I don’t know what they signify, but my little cousin seemed to think they got kicked in the face because of what they looked like.
Going further along, we visited the narrowest street in Prague that even has a traffic light system to determine when you can walk down to the restaurant at the bottom.
Managed to miss Charles Bridge and came back over the bridge near our apartment. Retrieved the mental note of that pub so dad could take a rest and take a sip on the fine Czech dark beer.
A lot of walking was done and a good night's sleep ensued.
Local Street Market and Vietnamese Food
Thursday - mam wanted to visit a market. There are a few but they aren't the huge impressive indoor ones from what I could find from searching. We went to Jiřího z Poděbrad, just a few stops from Mustek by the apartment.
This is only a small market laid out along a short stretch of path. We noticed the top of a communications tower popping above the buildings and recognised it was something that my friend Milan had mentioned. We took a walk to check it out. This is the Žižkov Television Tower. Ah, those babies again, crawling up and down the tower design. There is some controversy around the design and how it was built. There viewing pods up there and a restaurant but I don't think it is worth the 9 Euro fee to go up.
Food is never far from our minds and having read a blog piece about the market that highlighted the Vietnamese takeaway (Pho Vietnam Tuan & Lan) we headed back towards that. The food was really very good and very good value as well. Definitely recommend it and the locals seem to like it as well judging by the queues. There was a wine shop (Vinotéka Noelka) just up from there where people were enjoying large glasses of wine standing on the street. It didn't seem to be a wine bar but whatever goes.
We sat on the grass in the shade and had our very own Vietnamese picnic. It was good, have I said that already?
Oh, I also went up to the market stall for some beers. I attempted by Czech and asked for three beers. He responded in Czech and I was stuck. He explained that I had to choose from the 4 different beers on tap and explained them all to me. Lovely strong IPA at 6% and he filled the cups right to the top. I couldn't carry three plastic cups as they would squash unlike if they were glass, so a kind gentleman took one and walked me back to our group. Brilliant. I would recommend visiting that beer stall and chatting to the guy who spoke really good English and was so enthusiastic about the beer.
It was a useful diversion for us today. Mam also bought a kilo of cucumbers #random.
After the food and beers we went to the Vietnamese coffee place Cafefin, which is also owned by the same people.
When coming back I explained about Wenceslas and the Christmas carol to the nephews as the metro station stop is right at the bottom of Wenceslas Square. And that the Square is not a square but a long boulevard, anyway.
An evening out for drinks
On the night us young ones went out back to that cheap beer place, Hospoda U Nováka, and we ordered food as well. The specialities at the top of the menu seemed to be the best value as the main courses needed to have a side ordered on top of the meats. Anyway, my duck was spot on for 149kr.
I had been reading a few TripAdvisor reviews beforehand and wasn't sure about going for food and drink as the one-star moaners complained about surly service and service charge. The staff don't sing and dance, and I didn't have a problem. Yes there was a 10% service charge but had no problem paying it.
Next stop was the absinthe bar called Absinthe Time on Křemencova. Some of the others tried an absinthe based cocktail whilst I went purist with a Toulouse Letrec. The waitress came with the absinthe, lit it up in a large glass with the sugar and poured it back into the shot glass. I asked where the water was and she said that's the French way, do it the Czech way and drink it down in one. I seemed to have no choice in it. I said no and sipped it in 5. Some other Brits came in after us and the guy did it in one. I bet he suffered. Whilst I was sipping it I could feel it evaporate from my mouth and if I tried to chug it I would have sprayed it back out over the candle and cause some flame throwing incident.
We went to the rum bar next, Casa Havana on Opatovická. Initially there was no room for us so we headed back out but Angela had other plans and loitered near a table that was leaving. We got given the all clear so headed back in and enjoyed a couple of great drinks. The rest had cocktails but I had a Rum Old Fashioned with a R. L. Seale’s 10 year old. I then inadvertently ordered a Diplomatico Reserva Exclusiva when I actually asked for some water. I went for it, hoping that it wasn't the Ambassador as I really didn't know what it was until the bill arrived. That's how I roll.
The head bartender came over and asked people what kind of flavours they like and came back with cocktails to match. As we were getting ready to go, someone asked him his favourite drink and he said Trois Riviere and I chimed in about the Cuvee de l'Ocean and he seemed impressed. I asked about World Class and he showed me his badge, I mentioned about our very own 2014 finalist from the Larder House, James Fowler, and we got a round of drinks based on his rum, like a daiquiri.
Excellent end to the night. We thought service charge had been included but only afterwards we worked out it hadn't, so was a bit embarrassed as we got great service. Some places make it clear either way and others just slip it in without telling you, which is probably creates all the TripAdvisor issues.
Visiting Little Hanoi
Saturday - took a trip to Sapa, the Vietnamese centre aka Little Hanoi. The journey takes about 50 minutes with one change along the way. Goes past pretty quickly.
As a complex it ain't pretty but if you want some Asian food and to do something different then it's worth a trek. There is a big Vietnamese community in the Czech Republic that partly comes from a shared Communist heritage. At Sapa there is supposedly several Vietnamese living there.
After wandering up from the enterance and having a nose around the shops on the right hand side of the area, we sat down for some very tasty bowl of noodles at Pho Tung. That's all they do: beef, chicken or chicken with beef. Seems to be a theme.
I followed some of the recommendations from this website : Taste of Prague
Also had Banh Cuon (like Chinese Chung Fun) at Thuong Thuong, which is on a corner but above a toy shop. We asked for the menu and was told no, we just do the one thing Banh Cuon, which is what Pho Tung’s approach is. Do one thing and do it well.
Not to miss a shopping opportunity, we came back with fresh crabs, frozen squid and loads of veg. Mam was pleased with her purchase of bitter melon, for some reason. This was our last evening meal together as were to leave the next day and the rest stayed behind for another day.
And now the holiday was over. As we started our trip to Sapa around midday our day ticket was still valid so made it easy to get to the airport on the Sunday. Need to think about when you use your tickets guys.
I really do like Prague and if only the exchange rate was 1 GBP to 43 Kr like when we first visited, unlike 27 now, the beers would have been so cheap, and definitely cheaper than soft drinks!
These "vintage" car city tours are a tourist trap, don't do it. You can walk around most things pretty easily, and the public transport is cheap and easy also.
