Prague

From Dresden we ventured into true adventure. In England and Germany we could make ourselves understood, but between us we spoke not a word of Czech. It was also the first city in which we had used Airbnb to book accommodation. If you are not yet aware of it, this web site links people with a room or a flat to rent out with travellers who desire a place to stay. Both parties give feedback so that those who come later have some intelligence to base their decisions on. Like the Ulmon maps app, this was a tip from Mike Theilmann. And like the app, it was a winner.

In fact, we had an armchair ride into Prague. Our host, Martin Boura, had given us clear directions from the station to the flat as soon as we booked. On the day we arrived he also told us (by txt) exactly where to buy the necessary tram ticket. The name of the next stop was always displayed in the tram, so we didn't need to try and follow progress on paper or electronic map. We arrived at the door just a minute before Martin so 'check in' was very smooth. Hooray, we're here!

Prague had been recommended to us by several folk and they speak sooth. We had a very pleasant few days. Travel is very easy on the frequent trams and a modern Metro. Prices are reasonable or cheap. The beer is both cheap and excellent, and since the warm weather continued this was a blessing.

Although plenty of communist-era blocky high-rise buildings can be seen outside the centre, the old city is pleasing to the eye. The old buildings are painted in pastel shades. We saw the famous ultra-modern 'dancing house' from our first tram, but never went back to take a photograph. The image below was downloaded from the Internet. It doesn't, to my mind, 'go' with the rest of the centre, but it certainly cannot be accused of being unimaginative.

The little flat did not contain a washing machine so host Martin directed us to a laundrette. It was sufficiently popular with tourists that signs were in English and the attendants spoke enough to make the transaction simple. Otherwise we stayed in the tourist zone, where English is the universal language.

The places we visited were from the guidebook's top attractions; Wenceslas Square, the astronomical clock and Charles Bridge (packed with hawkers, almost outnumbering the tourists) in the Old Town; Vyšehrad to the South. We considered an excursion to the Sedlec Ossuary in Kutná Hora, but there was too much to see for the time available and something had to go.

A street in Prague Old Town

Not only is this busker playing plastic buckets as drums, he's playing them very well!  Wenceslas Square, I think.

The famous astronomical clock.

A detail from the clock.

Buildings near Wenceslas Square

One of the best 'living statues' we've ever seen.

The crowds on Charles Bridge

Church of St Peter and St Paul at Vyšehrad.  A bit more colourful than British equivalents.

The roofs of Prague, from Vyšehrad.

Most of the important cities of the middle ages grew up on navigable rivers. It was therefore a big surprise to find that the Vitava River has a weir across it in the city.

Part of the river flows under the houses.

We didn't go inside the Castle, but the Royal Garden was a quiet delight. The garden was patrolled by a guard in camo gear and toting a very large gun. This was a bit disconcerting. He did move around, but it was a slow, almost stealthy, saunter not a march.

The gardens are well labelled in Czech and English.  I was interested to note a Weymouth Pine, but it is a N American tree, not from Weymouth, Dorset.

We attempted to visit the Letná Beer Garden as recommended by Lonely Planet. We found a beer garden, but I don't think it was Letná. Never mind. It served nice beer and we had a long, pleasant conversation with a young German.

Wikitravel put us on to a Czech phrase that every visitor should memorise, “Denni menu, prosim.” Use this in cafes and restaurants at lunch time. Without this prompting the waiter will not provide the special lunch menu, at least not to tourists. Either the day's special will be fixed, or the menu will be in Czech. Each time we tried out this scheme the waiter translated for us, but I wouldn't hesitate to take pot luck and just point to a random item. At one cafe the fixed menu was goulash with dumplings (and delicious). The other two 'denni menus' were both 3 courses; soup, choice of main and a piece of fruit for dessert. All the meals were tasty and satisfying. The cost was around Kč100 or $6 each. A main dish from the tourist menu would have been from Kč250 to over Kč300.

The nearest major shopping area to our studio was Andel. In one of the malls we found a giant Tesco supermarket. Prompted largely by the desire to see how cheap alcohol was, we ventured inside to buy something for dinner. One of the cheapest red wines was labelled as from Australia. How the winemaker made anything on the sale is a mystery to us.