Prague: Architecture, Art & Agnst

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Prague is amazing and hence I know I am now forever spoiled from enjoying other European cities, architecturally speaking...I think. I will break this down as simply as possible for a quick read of important Prague categories and experiences.

Architecture

At every turn, every inch of this city is so different than what I am use to in the States. Even down to a simple veterinary sign. If you like visual detail, the Czech Republic has it down pat. Prague is definitely the place to be if you love to shoot anything. Anything from castles to Gothic structures to beautiful old cemeteries in the Jewish quarter, everything is simply breathtaking. There are beautiful sculptures on the facades of almost every building and amazing statues around every corner. We stayed 6 days, which was perfect because we definitely covered everything, including one half-day trip to Kutna Hora (see below). Technically, you could see all of Prague in about 3 days.

Sights

The Observatory Tower on Petrin Hill has a beautiful view of the city, unfortunately we went during the last part of March, beginning of April and it was overcast the entire trip, plus the weather was pretty nippy. In the Lesser Quarter, The Rozhledna is a quater of the height of the real Eiffel tower in Paris and has 299 steps up a spiral staircase for the amazing views. At the base of Petrin Hill is a very moving sculpture - a memorial to the victims of Communism.

Our friend had also arranged an airplane ride over the Prague Castle and the city center. It was the best way to see the structure of the city from an aerial view. Don't miss the St. Charles Bridge from Stare Mesto to Mala Strana, Old Town Hall Tower & Astronomical Clock, and the Prague Castle.

Art

The art galleries in Prague are great as long as you enjoy angst-ridden art. I personally loved it. Some of the best, very expressive and dark. The art galleries also housed some beautiful local photography not to miss. Make sure you wander down some of the off streets and alley ways to catch these hidden galleries. Don't miss the Czech Marionettes in the Lesser Quarter or near the Prague Castle. Amazing artwork within itself. Beautiful hand carved puppets by individual artists. They are very expensive but lovely to look at, you will know they are original by the price tag and the craftsmanship. If you want a cheap souvenir, you can get a knock off (machine made) marionette on the main tourist shopping area Wenceslas Square.

Shopping

As far as shopping goes, forget about making any type of fashion statement while in Prague unless you are stuck in the 80's. Clothing here basically sucks, which was good because I really saved some money! Their idea of fashion is Cherokee or Wrangler, basically the stuff you would pick up at KMart, but with a $40 price tag...completely odd and wrong in every sense of the word. The upscale shopping stores were the same one would see in any metropolitan city. The only thing I would consider buying in Prague is the local artwork or a real marionette, neither of which I could afford.

Bars

Bars in Prague are like other European bars; nice, cozy and great prices on snacks and beer. Beer was about $2 US everywhere. I would not recommend the Czech wine, tasted like water, go for the Italian or Spanish wine instead. Stay away from tourist areas for good priced beer. We walked to U Fleků, the oldest bar in Prague, but it was full of tourists and frankly, looked pretty obnoxious and we passed on going in. The best bars are off the main tourist streets. Mostly everyone speaks English in the city center of Prague and for the most part are helpful. Our friend also took us to Bugsy's Bar about a 3 minute walk from Old Town Square. If you like the typical LA or NYC nightlife feel with $10 drinks, this is the place to be. Personally, we get enough of those places in Dallas and enjoy sticking to the local pubs. I could not get the boys to go to the Tingl Tangl, but it looked like it could have been a pretty entertaining drag show.

Food

Can we say meat and potatoes? Goulash and Potato Dumplings anyone? At first, we thought we were going to be locked into a constipated hell of heavy meat with gravy soaked dumplings. But we quickly discovered that Prague had a variety of delicious cuisines. We had a Czech friend who took us to a local bar outside of Prague 1 by car to try some delicious, truly local Czech food. But if you are on foot in the center of Prague make sure you shy away from the tourist traps. We went to one that was expensive and not very good. After my boyfriend ordered the highlight on the menu, Goulash of course, he bit into something that was probably a main artery of a cow...tasty. For the most part stay away from the restaurants that have the pictures on the menu or that advertise a "tourist menu". They also charge you for the bread they put on the table also known as "table settings". Normally the local cafes will not charge you. Also, keep a look out for stands that sell what we called "the Prague donut!" In Czech it is called Trdelnik. A delicious barrel shaped, piece of dough cooked over hot coals, sprinkled with sugar or filled with Nutella. A divine snack on a cold day.

We found the best food to be in the small restaurants and bars in Old Town right around the corner from our apartment. Our top recommendations of restaurants we visited were:

Stoleti on Karoliny Svetle in Stare Mesto. Fantastic little bistro that takes reservations but very reasonably priced, nice wine list, delicious appetizers and entrees.

Potrefena

Kmotra Pizzeria
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Best Pizza in Prague
Husa (The Shot Duck translated into English) on the outskirts of Stare Mesto, the boar dish was unusual and delicious but was a small chain and we preferred the atmosphere of the smaller, quaint cafes.

We found an Afghan restaurant located across the street from apartment that was inexpensive and tasty, they also served vegetarian cuisine and pizza. Delicious entrees and wonderful Naan type bread. I had a great spinach entree and my boyfriend had a huge kebab.

But our all time favorite place was a quaint Italian cafe that we stumbled upon on the way back to our apartment after missing our train to Kutna Hora that hands down had the best pizza and the best lattes that have ever crossed my lips. We visited Kmotra http://www.kmotra.cz/en/home.php three times during our 6 day stay in Prague. This was traditional Italian pizza that was cooked in a wood burning oven. Very cozy, amazingly delicious and affordable. The ingredient list was amazing. One of the best pizzas on the menu was the one with capers, sun dried tomatoes and ricotta cheese. They didn't know the meaning of "skimp on the ingredients" and the service was warm and welcoming. They

Kutna Hora
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Chapel of Bones - over 40,000 human remains
also served pasta dishes.

Tipping is not really necessary but we did because we are dumb Americans and apparently enjoy throwing our money away.

Day Trips

A great day trip (really only a half day) should be spent in Kutna Hora to see the Kostnice (Church of Bones) in the Sedlec Ossuary. The Sedlec Ossuary's interior is completely decorated with bones, it houses the remains of 40,000 people, many of whom died in the Plague during the 14th century. Very easy to visit by train from the central station (Hlavní nádrazi ) in Prague. http://www.praguenet.com/compass/number_6/travel.html

Lodging

We were traveling with another person (three total) and found the best apartment in an ideal location. It had 2 separate bedrooms, and believe it or not 2 baths, washer, sink, fridge and stove. Totally renovated in the coolest little building in Stare Mesto (Old Town). We were walking distance from everything. We booked though http://apartments-in-prague.org/rental-apartments-in-prague/apartment-karoliny-svetle/ the name of the apartment was Karoliny Svetle Apartment Street 21, Praha 1. The booking was seamless and they even had a driver pick us up from the airport for about $5-$10 more than it would have cost us to take a cab and find our way. And after traveling for about 13 hours, this was a no-brainer. When we arrived the driver took our cash (yes, I did say cash) for the week, explained how everything worked and left us to our own devices. He picked us up at the end of our stay to take us back to the airport. I would highly recommend this apartment and they were very helpful.

Graffiti

There are two types of graffiti in Prague, the 3rd grader type and the stencil type. The emulated NYC style that looked like it was created by a juvenile with a crippled arm was basically a joke. But the printed stickers, stencils and other graffiti was pretty impressive. I enjoyed the graphic style and the simplicity of the work. It is all over the city, and down almost every alley. An odd dichotomy between the young graffiti and the old world mix of architecture but again, it really worked.

The People

If you do travel by train beware, the employees at the train station are less than helpful. We actually bought a ticket and could not find out how to get to the right gate because we cannot read Czech so we missed our train. When we asked the help desk how to go to Kutna Hora, her response was, "You buy a ticket and you go!" Young people were laid back and spoke English in Prague and were quite helpful when we found ourselves in a pickle. If it were not for our friend who was Czech, we would have been in some sticky situations. For the most part, the older generation was pretty cold and unfriendly. They didn't want to deal with the tourists what-so-ever. We saw no sign of pickpockets or mischief but we were always aware of our surroundings, didn't get in the middle of large crowds and I had my purse around my chest the entire time, even when we were in pubs and restaurants. As a female, I would feel very safe, even on my own in the city at night. The only people that may irritate you are the hords or young and loud Italian tourists having their own party in the squares.

Price

Cost for day to day living in Prague for 6 days was about $600-$750 per person. This was also with us buying a couple of gifts, shopping for groceries and eating breakfast in our apartment. Drinking beer and lattes everyday, full meals and buying some drinks for our friend. We were not trying to be cheap, just everything was very reasonably priced in Prague. Plus, I am sure the absence of me not interested in buying a pair of 80's style shoes helped too!

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