After so many missed chances, diluted over the years, we finally managed to go to Prague. This time too we were at risk until the last day, since we travelled precisely in the week when Western Europe was blocked by snow and the chaos in the airports rippled gradually across the whole continent, but with a 5-hour delay on the way out and 3 on the way back, we made it. We left from Fiumicino with Wizz Air, paying 250 € for 4. I had booked the hotel through Booking.com on the edge of the centre and in particular of Petrin hill, paying 200 € for 4 nights, for 4 people, with breakfast. We were lucky: the Hotel Petr is clean, the breakfast is plentiful, the services are all new and the position relative to the centre is good.
Moreover, in the emergency, the service proved extremely efficient; in fact, on their suggestion, I had booked a car to pick us up on arrival, for 30€: well, we found it despite the almost 5-hour delay and, even though it was 22.00, the driver asked us for the same price. The first evening we ate in a McDonald's in a shopping centre fortunately within reach of our hotel. It must be said that we were terrified of the weather conditions we would find, both because of the many travel accounts told and read, and because in the previous 2 weeks there had been truly polar temperatures and, despite this, a lot of snowfalls. Instead, for once, we were lucky. The temperature dropped just a little below zero and the snowy landscape was like a fairytale! Of course, feet, hands and head must be covered strategically!
Day 120 Dec 2010
Overall
As for the food, the cuisine is Germanic in style: some things are good, but after a while it's always the same. As I had read in the guidebooks, they really do tend to rip you off, and this is also the reason why we went back several times to the same pub: Pivovarský dum, a pub that brews many fantastic beers, located near Charles Square (Karlovo Namesti) in the New Town. The food was good and they really charged you only for what you ordered. One evening when we ate at the historic establishment "The Three Cats" they added a lot to the bill, some of it apparently intended for an elderly gentleman playing the harmonica who also expected a tip on the spot, and rather shamelessly at that! These things don't leave a good memory, and I must say we found little kindness in general: when you asked for information on the street, when you had to buy a ticket for a visit to a monument.
At the ghetto, for example, they didn't tell us right away that there was a single ticket that covered everything, and so we bought the ticket for the Old-New Synagogue, twice! What a rage, especially since it cost a ton of money! The city is a veritable jewel, but too many Praguers that we ran into gave me the impression of wanting to get the most out of it while giving the minimum in return! Luckily one girl partly redeemed that image, and truly at the last minute! To get back to the airport we had in fact decided to go by public transport, since we had figured out how to do it, we had plenty of time and the services for it were very close to the hotel. But the metro was not well signposted at all, even though we knew we were very close. We asked in German and in English, but people almost ran away as if frightened..
and it was morning, with a swarm of people around, so it wasn't 2 in the morning! This girl, seeing the scene, spontaneously offered to give us a hand and, when I asked her why people reacted like that and whether it depended on the fact that they didn't know other languages, she answered me quite disheartened: no, they understand perfectly well, but this is the Czech Republic! We left anyway with a very beautiful image of this city, but I wonder how many foreigners leave our country with the same mixed feelings. I imagine, and with great sadness, very many.
St Vitus Cathedral
Day 221 Dec 2010
The city
On the morning of the 21st we began our visit of the city and I must say that, in my opinion, three completely full days leave you satisfied, because in my view what is truly beautiful, more than in other cities, is strolling through its streets and filling your eyes with its roofs, the decorations on the houses, the endless gorgeous views, the many architectural styles that never clash with one another! The center can easily be covered on foot, but if you want to ease your tiredness, there are very efficient trams that cross many streets. Not all of them, because many parts are pedestrian-only. Despite the winter, there is a lot of life outdoors and I try to imagine what a whirlwind of life and music this city must be in the warm season! There are so many beautiful things to see: among them, what we liked most was the majestic St.
Vitus Cathedral, inside the Castle, and the square of Stare Mesto, especially when we saw it in the evening! Something truly beautiful! Then there are so many other things: Charles Bridge, the little island of Kampa, with its mill and the waterways, the Jewish quarter, the Castle, which is actually a veritable little town in itself, the Baroque churches, the squares, the hills to climb. For example, you can go up Petrin on the Funicular, which costs the same as a bus ticket! And above all of it, the Vltava, flowing wide and majestic! The Christmas markets were disappointing and so were the Christmas decorations in general, but the snow covering everything still gave us just the right atmosphere!
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