Valentine's Day in Prague

From Milan to Prague: a snowy afternoon

Here we are on board: the plane is 20 minutes late and we are really curious to see Prague. At Malpensa, despite the snowy forecast, the sun is shining. Finally we're off!!!! After about an hour and a half of flight we land in Prague, amid expanses of snow. The airport is modern and efficient: the suitcase arrives right away and near the baggage claim there is the information office with maps and brochures. We immediately proceed with a withdrawal at the ATM (SEPA area, no credit card needed) and purchase public transport tickets (330 korunas each for 3 days, but we will soon discover that perhaps it's not worth it: Prague is perfectly navigable on foot!!!). With bus 119 we reach the terminus of metro line A and after 2 stops we are in the Lesser Town, not far from our hotel.

When we arrive the room is not yet ready and so we take the opportunity for a first stroll (it's less cold than expected) and to have lunch at U Zlateho Precliku, where the house dishes cost around 200 korunas (10 euros) and a medium beer 39 korunas (1.60 euros). The place is nice (it's located in a cellar and legend says it's haunted by a ghost) and the food is good, as is the beer. Too bad that when it comes time to pay they tell us clearly that credit cards are not well regarded (despite the card reader on full display).

We return to the hotel and this time the room is ready: on the first floor (no elevator), very spacious and clean. I expected it to be warmer, but we won't be there much (then we discover how to adjust the radiators and at night we wake up from the heat!!!).

Our tour begins with the Lesser Town, following the itinerary recommended by the guidebook. The Church of St. Nicholas is unfortunately already closed (in low season many monuments close at 4) and so we decide to come back tomorrow.

We continue toward Charles Bridge, admiring in the meantime the colorful houses and the decorations on the doors and facades. Charles Bridge is crowded even in the cold and in front of the statue of St. John a line forms of people who superstitiously stroke the bas-relief (and I don't forgo the tradition either). We continue toward the old town and get lost along its little alleys, in search of the Hard Rock Cafe (for the drummer's drumsticks) and the colorful glimpses of the facades. We arrive at the astronomical clock (we thought it was higher up!!!), but the climate in the squares makes the cold felt much more.

Our stroll continues toward Namesti Republiki, with one eye on the architecture and one on the shop windows: Bohemian crystal and Swarovski (I bet they cost less here!!!), ceramics, matryoshka dolls, icons and painted eggs, puppets and clothing (the inevitable long-haired hats and earmuffs).... We are amazed by the large number of theaters and offers to attend musical shows of various kinds. And museums abound too: the chocolate one, the torture one and even the ghosts one....

We begin to feel the cold and the tiredness (besides, it's now dark): on the way back to the hotel we stop at Coffee Heaven, to sip a cappuccino (small glass: 320 ml!!!!) on comfortable little armchairs, while we watch the passersby coming and going and listen to other people's chatter (it may be low season, but you hear many languages spoken: Italian, English, French, German....). Resuming our stroll toward the Lesser Town, but we don't forgo some nice nighttime photos: like most Northern European countries, the monuments are well lit and create evocative panoramas, especially the Castle and Charles Bridge.

A brief pause at the hotel and then off we go, in search of the U Fleku brewery to savor the taste of Czech cuisine and the flavor of the local beer. It's located in the New Town and wouldn't be far even on foot, but we prefer to try the metro: modern and clean, it only falls short in heating: the draft is so strong that it seems colder than outside!!! We arrive at the brewery and find a place in the non-smoking room. The first round of beer (dark) is taken for granted, but we also accept the local aperitif: a spiced bitter that's not exactly light. The choice is perhaps a bit banal: pork shank (very tender and tasty) for my husband, goulash for me and a strudel to share between the two of us.

As soon as the mugs empty, the waiters come by to ask if you want a "refill" and for each new beer, a tally mark is put on the order slip (the Czechs at the next table are 5 and have about 15 tally marks on their sheet!!!!). In the (spartan) establishment local musicians take turns: first a duo (accordion and trombone) and then a soloist (accordion). Evidently they play folk music, because the local customers make an effort to sing along and clap... The duo takes their leave with the Radetzky March and a great clapping of hands. It's not exactly the New Year's Concert in Vienna, but it's not the usual restaurant or pub with cheesy music either. For those who want, there is also a mini shop where you can buy beer glasses and mugs and other U Fleku-branded souvenirs.

The beer goes to your head and when we go out we barely feel the cold anymore. We therefore decide to walk back to the hotel and take the last photos of the evening.

We fall asleep a little tipsy, but happy: Prague is confirming all the positive (if not enthusiastic) opinions we had received.

Between the castle and the old and new quarters

We wake up early to have a hearty breakfast (even if the buffet is not exactly the richest and most varied) and immediately set off to go visit the castle.

We decide to go up by tram (number 22 is very convenient) and to come down on foot, descending toward the Lesser Town.

The castle complex is very vast, but in this season it shrinks to just the buildings because the gardens are covered by a blanket of snow. We pick up our tickets for the short tour and the audio guides (1300 korunas for two) which will turn out to be very (too?) detailed (also available in Italian).

We begin the visit with St. Vitus Cathedral (which reminds us a lot of Vienna's Cathedral): the interior is so damp that it's freezing, but also very bright thanks to the wonderful stained glass windows of a thousand colors.

Having left the Cathedral, we head to the Old Royal Palace which however doesn't offer great beauties, except the vague memory of the Defenestration of Prague.

We then move on to the Church of St. George, simpler and more intimate than the Cathedral, but equally majestic.

We continue to the Golden Lane, with its tiny pastel-colored houses (in one of them Kafka had lived) now used as little shops of local handicrafts. On the upper floor there is the armor museum and a small shooting gallery.

Having left the lane, what remains is the Dalibor Tower, with some torture instruments and the cages for prisoners.

A few photos of the panorama and we return the audio guides (they ask you to return them after at most 2 hours, but in our opinion that's too little).

We descend toward the Lesser Town, where we buy some souvenirs (including a couple of local beers) and eat at the Restaurant All'Aquila Nera (excellent for anyone in the mood for pork shank or roast duck).

Since we're in the area, we drop off our purchases at the hotel and return to the Old Town: the sun has come out and we take advantage of it to take the photos we couldn't take yesterday.

At 4 we are at the astronomical clock to see the procession of the 12 apostles (a bit disappointing) and then to visit the Old Town Square. At a kiosk in the square we buy a taste of Prague ham (cooked and smoked on the spot) and a glass of grog (great aroma, neutral flavor).

Next stop: the Municipal House (today a concert venue) and the Powder Tower, before continuing to the very long Wenceslas Square.

Tiredness makes itself felt and so does the cold... On the way back to the hotel my husband decides to be romantic and as a Valentine's Day gift he buys me a beautiful Swarovski necklace!!!!

After the stop at the hotel we decide to have dinner at a place with live music, between the old town hall square and Namesti Republiki, but when we arrive, we find it completely empty and we lose our inspiration. We try to find an alternative in the guidebook, but we are too worn out for long reasoning (among other things, here too there's no glorious smoking ban!!!) and in the end we go for the safe choice: hamburgers at the Hard Rock Cafe!!!

We return to the hotel, bidding farewell to the magical lights of Prague by night, because tomorrow we will only have the morning for the Jewish quarter and one last Bohemian meal, before returning to Italy.

One last tour to say goodbye to Prague

Last half day in Prague: at 5:15 PM the plane leaves again for Milan.

From the window we seem to glimpse a blue sky and the map of the city tells us that the Jewish Quarter is missing.

Quick breakfast at the hotel, we free the room and leave the luggage at reception, to be free to wander around.

We arrive at the entrance of the Jewish cemetery to discover that the cumulative ticket for two (full tour) costs 960 korunas, but they accept neither credit cards nor foreign currency. We wander around in search of an ATM and find it near the Spanish Synagogue. After withdrawing and buying the ticket, we begin the visit and are immediately stunned by the wonder of this building, as simple on the outside as it is rich and imposing on the inside (too bad we can't take photos).

On our way out, we admire the famous statue in memory of Kafka (a small man atop a large headless man) and then head toward the square with the cubist houses.

We then reach the Old New Synagogue (more intimate and simple) and the Jewish Town Hall (in the guidebook the facade is pink, but in person it looks blue). We conclude the tour of the quarter with the Old Jewish Cemetery, very evocative with the interplay of snow and sun.

It's time to complete our Bohemian meals. We choose a medieval-style place called U Sadlu.

We return to the hotel retracing for the last time the streets of the center and Charles Bridge. Prague bids us farewell with a beautiful sunny day.