The leftward and other blatherings of Span (now with Snaps!)

Thursday, January 12, 2006

pithy planned perusal of Prague post

Let the plucking continue (suggestions for Dubai here please).

Now I'm looking at Prague (and apparently so is some guy called Rod Steward) - we'll be there for 2.5 - 3 days and 3 nights in early May.

Current plan is:
Night before - arrive from Italy (no idea how exactly yet)

Day 1 - Approximately do the Royal Walking Tour (i.e. follow the route the Czech royals used to take to their castle) in reverse, starting at Prague Castle and taking in:

  • Sternbeck Palace
  • Strahov Monastery
  • Church of St Roch
  • Nerudova
  • Church of St Nicholas
  • Mala Strana Square
  • Charles Bridge
  • Klementium
  • Little Square
  • Old Town Hall & Square
  • Tyn Church & Court
  • St James Church
  • Hotel Pariz
  • Royal Court
  • Powder Tower
  • Municipal House
Yep, that's a lot - but I figure some of it won't take long and if there's anything we want more time for we can come back on Day 3. A lot of them are on the Prague Card too, so it shouldn't cost too much.

Day 2 - Day trip out to Karlstejn - I'm thinking it may be better to organise this ourselves than go with a tour company, it looks pretty easy and the tours I've looked at are not for very long (effectively about 3 hours in Karlstejn rather than making a day of it)

Day 3 - half-day/full-day taking in things we may have missed that we want to eg:

  • The Infant of Prague at the Church of Our Lady Victorious
  • Museum of Communism
  • John Lennon Wall
  • Lanterna Magika
  • Jewish Museum in Josefov
  • Lucerna Passage, to look at, amongst other things, the David Cerny artwork there
Then off to Germany that afternoon/night.

Are there any Czech specialities that ought to be eaten/drunk? So far I only know of one; svickova which has something to do with roast beef allegedly.

Not yet sure of the exact dates we'll be in Prague, but has anyone been there on May Day or the anniversary of the Czech Uprising (May 5th)? Does everything shut down on these days?

And another question - is the Prague Card worth it? It looks like a lot less hassle given how busy we are going to be.

Once again, thanks in advance, dear readers.

6 comments:

Joe Hendren said...

Hi span,

I really enjoyed the walking tour - when I went back to Prague in 2004 I did the same tour again - but then I am a total history nut :)

Allow at least half a day for the castle/St Vitus - there is quite a bit to see up there.

You may find what I wrote in 2002 helpful - I travel blogged Prague before I had a blog!
(if these links don't work click on [ Travel ] from my blog).

Old Bridges and Absinthe

Prague Castle, St Vitus Cathedral and Flood Damage

Span said...

thanks so much Joe, i will definitely check out your links!

i figured that we would possibly find the crowds at the Castle annoying by about 11am, how did you find it? I thought we would aim to be there bang on the opening of the doors at 9am, in fact be a bit earlier and do the gardens before hand.

sagenz said...

where on earth is all the time on your itinerary for drinking beer and eating dumplings??

The beer is excellent. you should definitely sample the local brews.

Span said...

that's what the evenings are for sage, although personally i'll be passing on the alcoholic beverages.

any recommendations for particular food and drink to try?

Joe Hendren said...

yeah I would try and get to the castle early - I think we were there about 10 and it wasnt too bad.

I have had some very yummy steak type meals in Czech republic - its worth taking advantage of as it is probably the only place in central/western europe you can afford a steak! Prague is getting very touristy now, so the best and cheapie eats are likely to be out or on the outskirts of town.

Michael said...

Make sure you go up Petrin Hill on the Funicular and up the Eiffelova - a beautiful view over the city! There is also a small mirror maze next to it. Then you can walk back down to the city via the gardens (Don't stray off the path as some homeless live in the bushes)

There is a pub on Uvoz Street near the castle (on the right about 50 metres past the switchback to the castle entrance) that the locals recommended but we couldn't get into because it was always so busy.

Try an appertif I had called Bechorova, which is a spirit with a cinnamon taste.

Chaucey and I loved Prague - it is getting more touristy, but not overrun. And make sure you have some beer!