Prague trip: The one with the final comments!

So! Another successful trip is over and I thought one more blog post about Prague would be in order. I enjoy traveling over the Thanksgiving holiday and it is always exciting to see new places and chat with folks in another country.

My overall thought on Prague is that it is a lovely old city with some fabulous landmarks and buildings. Although it was different than my expectations (damn those pre conceived notions!!). If you look on a map you can see that the Czech Republic is very close to Austria. So although I acknowledge that they are two different countries I thought there would be some similarities. Not really.

My impression of Austria (Vienna and Salzburg) is that it is an elegant, refined city with culture and music. Perhaps using the word “highbrow” wouldn’t be out of order. I found Prague to be lovely but perhaps a bit more “grittier” and more “working class”. This is in no way a negative thing. Just a comparison. To be honest I found Prague more like Moscow than Vienna. To my (very) untrained ear the language was similar to Russian than to German.

With all this being said I actually found the people in Prague to be friendlier. Although there was a slight language barrier (most people understood some English but not everyone spoke English) it appeared that the Czech people were more “down to earth”.  As far as the city itself being “grittier” I only attribute that to both having had most of its buildings survive WWII and also the communist influence.

If I were to visit Prague again I think a day trip outside the city would be a great addition to the trip. I didn’t have enough time this vacation to do that but there is some great little towns 2-4 hour train ride away that might provide a more rounded experience.

Last thoughts? I would definitely visit Prague/ Czech Republic again. I perhaps might not visit in November, as it was very chilly. Although based on the crowds that I experienced the summer months would be too crowded. I might suggest either October or perhaps April (to avoid crowds and also the cold weather). All in all a wonderful trip (minus the blisters)! Remember that these are just my opinions and your mileage may vary!!!

Next up? A trip to Italy in March with some friends! Rome and Venice here I come (and there may be a stop in Istanbul as well!!).

Happy Travels!!

Prague November 2014: The one where I get zero sleep but get tons of blisters!!

Day 1!!  I'm off to Prague! Very excited about this! The airport/normal part of the trip went fine. No big problems other than getting to the airport way too early and having a 4 hour layover in Amsterdam. It just makes for a tiring day. 

And add to that the fact that for some reason I was totally unable to sleep on the plane from Boston to Amsterdam. Now, I always sleep on planes. Not sure why I couldn't this time. I just couldn't get comfortable at all. I maybe slept 1.5 hours total. Ouch!

Landed in Prague with no issues. It doesn't seem to be a really large airport. Progressed to baggage claim, stopped and got some Czech money out of the ATM (thanks to USAA for always making this work!). The off through customs (nothing to declare) and to meet my driver. 

I had arranged for a private pre paid car to get to/from the airport and the hotel. I had read how there could be some issues with shady taxi drivers. I used Prague Airport Transfers, booked online and pre paid for both trips. Total about 1100 CK (about $50 USD). Easy Peasy. My driver was very nice and spoke perfect English, the car was clean and up to date and he was pleasant for the drive to the Prague Marriott Hotel. 

Now here is where things get a little wonky. My normal routine is to take about 1/2 hour at the hotel "regrouping". I change shoes, freshen up and get my stuff in my bag to take out to sight-see. Well, this particular trip brought me into the hotel close to 2:30 pm. I felt like I was not going to have that much time before dark so I didn't "regroup" as much as I should have. I paid for that. 

I somehow managed to have the wrong socks with the wrong shoes and ended up with HUGE blisters. I mean my heels were both bloody, but the one was certainly impressive. I mean, this was dripping blood into my shoe bloody. Yeah, rookie move there Michelle. 

So I managed to find a pharmacy and get some band aids and hobble back to the hotel to bandage myself up and head back out. I was determined to find a few things before I turned in for the night. The main one was a large mall near the hotel (a western sized hotel) where I could pick up postcards, Starbucks mugs and a book for my brother at the bookstore. Bonus? The bookstore sold stamps. So I did manage to do that, find the old town area and make a plan for the next day. Then I just hobbled back to the hotel with my purchases and ordered room service. It gets dark here early this time of the year and I was beat. Just exhausted. I always know that the first day in a city is kind of a slow day, so I won't beat myself up about it. There are a few pics that I managed to capture before the day ended. 

Tomorrow? The food tour!!!

The Powder Tower (near my hotel)

This is a view of the city from my hotel room