Prague blog

Firstly Prague signage does not come with instructions in English or any other EU language so prepare for some fun and games. That noted the immediate transition from air through arrivals was fast. Václav Havel Airport swiftly beckons you into Prague much like the entrance to an Aladdin’s cave.

Modern Tram

My first task as a weary backpacker was to get into the city and navigate my way to the hostel, immediately outside the front entrance there were a number of bus stops. I paid (24Kr) for a ticket and hopped onto a 119 straight into the city centre, from here Prague’s accessibility exists of the metro and trams. Beware trams are very silent, fast and strangely disorientating when you alight So be careful not to get off and think you’re on a pavement, for the most part you will be in the middle of a busy road, where from what I could gather there is no definable speed limit.

View looking down at Florenc

Prague is divided and graded into a geographical cluster of area’s (1, 2, 3, 4, and 5) in order of status 1 being given the highest merit and most central location. Prague 1 is packed with tourist attractions and includes most of the medieval heart of the city. Most of Prague 1 is a UNESCO World heritage site and almost Prague’s entire major tourist sites, including Prague Castle and, Old Town are in this area.

I made my way to Prague 3 where I would stay, the accommodation was comfortable and reasonably priced at around €20 a night and this complemented my budget, to my surprise this was a very impressive grand building spanning 7 floors which included a basement bar, lounge and a free Wi-Fi computer suite for uploading those treasured Face Book status updates. The crowd ranged from hip weekenders, gap year students all the way through to seasoned globe trotters. The main purpose for my visit to the city was to experience a little eastern European culture liberally mixed with a snapshot of the hedonistic nightlife the Czech republic had to offer, I had been informed that Prague was losing its cheap image and now catered to the more sophisticated and discerning tourists.

Prague 3

When gauging a new city I’ll try to work my way in from the borders Prague was no exception. I started by exploring Prague 3 and to my delight found Zizkov TV tower , built between 1985-1992, it had been voted the world’s 2^nd ugliest structure, I found the 11 black babies crawling upward pleasantly soothing and unique. In the Restaurant, bistro and bar in the sky the entire floor is located at a height of 66 meters and is intended as a rest area, relaxation area and above all, to enjoy first class meals. The food here was my first real Czech meal an expensive treat at (400Kr), the Roasted Pigglet Chop from Prestice was most neatly placed before me as my eyes eagerly scanned the horizons greedily devouring every rooftop and feature Prague had to offer from this dizzying height.

Zizkov TV Tower

Old Town

                                                

After a few hazy days settling in and yacking with the locals, I ventured back into the city entering through Prague 3 over to Prague 5 which is across the Vltava River, this is the longest river in the Czech Republic, running north from its source near the German border in Šumava.

I wandered through a contemporary shopping mall near (Andel metro), this to my surprise housed shops from Zara, H&M fashion, hypermarkets, and high ticket electrical outlets. Not wanting to swap my new found eastern European experience for Bluewater madness, I quickly scuttled on continuing on a five minute trek parallel to the river I found Petrins hill, the hill is easily recognizable by the TV tower that is a miniature of the Eiffel Tower in Paris. I advise riding the funicular to the top of the park as it’s a steep and windy walk not for the faint hearted. At the top there are breath taking views from Petřín tower, a mirror maze, Pony and horseback rides, an observatory a rose garden and some reasonably priced bars from where I spent a very relaxing  day.

Petrins tower

Prague Castle

 Moving on from Petrin’s hill the next day was spent exploring Prague 1, with the sun drawing the people out, parks were filling up, restaurants / cafes were busy and the cobbled pavements and narrow medieval lanes were flooded with tourists I bravely battled my way through to the heart of the city. From bustling contemporary Wenceslas square to a dated beautiful Old Town Square housing golden clocks, magnificent churches and a richly presented  chocolate box selection of outdoor restaurants,  I stopped and dutifully started to use my compact camera until the smell of roasting pork gently wafted my way, here I was  faced with four to five generously sized hams slowly turning on a spit inches above hot coals, these were as golden and succulent as I had ever witnessed. I happily paid (120Kc) and was far from disappointed.

Prague 1

Old Town Prague 1

I advise a comfortable pair of walking shoes as Prague is full of surprises at every turn and can easily take 4 hours of wandering from street to street a day. My trip was starting to merge from night to day as I ventured into the evening playground of Prague’s bohemian barflies, I found  most bars/clubs opened at around 8.30pm and rarely closed before 5.00am (beer 30Kc £1.00) some good spots I stumbled across  were, Bajkazyl, zakladna, shadow bar, to mention a few. Aimlessly wandering at times I noticed the usual array of entertainment, theaters, cinemas, exhibitions, some health activities, a generous sprinkling of communist block era architecture, tours around concentration camps and WW2 places of interest.

 Prague 5

I spent most of my time exploring the more alternative scene that came after the velvet revolution and gave the Czech Republic freedom from politics and freedom of culture. This was visibly apparent in the attitude and general composition of the younger middle aged demographic and led to a wholly pleasant cultural experience.

Sadly it wasn’t long before the partying, culture and architecture, and day trips around Bohemia were to end, however the memories of such an elegant place will stay with me until the next visit, and so as suddenly as it had all started I found myself once again sitting on the 119 bus and heading back toward Václav Havel Airport.