Prague - March 2015
Day 1 – Arriving in Prague
The flight over had been less than two hours and as straight forward as it could be, we wasn’t hiring a car, so my wife had already booked us a transfer for our arrival. We found the guy really easy, as he greeted us, he took my wife’s case for her and off he went, us following. The journey to the hotel was about 15-20 minutes and strangely silent, I thought he would have at least talked to us, albeit small talk, but nothing, just a strange quack quack from his mobile when it rang. We seemed to make a lot of turns on the way, almost like driving through a maze and there’s no way I could possibly work out the route he had taken, but can only assume most was due to the many one way streets Prague has.
The flight over had been less than two hours and as straight forward as it could be, we wasn’t hiring a car, so my wife had already booked us a transfer for our arrival. We found the guy really easy, as he greeted us, he took my wife’s case for her and off he went, us following. The journey to the hotel was about 15-20 minutes and strangely silent, I thought he would have at least talked to us, albeit small talk, but nothing, just a strange quack quack from his mobile when it rang. We seemed to make a lot of turns on the way, almost like driving through a maze and there’s no way I could possibly work out the route he had taken, but can only assume most was due to the many one way streets Prague has.
Pure White
From the street, you probably wouldn't even know this was a hotel, with its clean, plain frontage and simple name plate, there’s no real hint at what’s behind the front doors. Once inside you walk down to a glass door and the reception is to your left, the bar/lounge is just off the reception area and the breakfast room off to the right of the reception desk.
Having mentioned to the hotel when booking, that this was to celebrate our anniversary, they had upgraded us to a superior room free of charge, which we did not expect. My wife had seen pictures of the rooms online, so we knew what it would look like and it did not disappoint, with a modern look and feel, very spacious and great high ceilings, the four poster bed was a simplistic take on a rarely seen feature in modern hotels today, but followed the theme well.
The tall windows let loads of light into the room, whilst enhancing the rooms’ height, sadly they did not have the view to suit, however we are in a city centre, therefore we appreciate great hotel room views are limited and costly. The room had nice, simple furniture, including a desk, sofa, two chairs and some funky little tables, plus a mini bar (be aware of what you use, you will be charged, price list for mini bar was on the desk).
There was a wardrobe with plenty of shelving and it also housed a large safe, which was very easy to use, the only criticism I had about the room was the lighting, working out which switches controlled which lights, even more annoying was the maids turning every light back on after cleaning the room each day and I know this may sound like I’m being picky, but when the desk lamp can only be turned off by unplugging it and not all the lights were controlled from one main switch, it was a pain going to the correct switches to turn each of them off every night.
Breakfast was interesting, hot stuff consisted of ham slices, not bacon, hotdogs, not sausages and what we thought was omelette, was in fact egg, but fried egg! Although each day was slightly and luckily for me they had, ham, cheese and croissants, sorted! A selection of juices were on offer, including orange and green apple, but the tea was a no go for me, it didn't look or taste right and I'm not a coffee fan, but I did try the coffee.
In summary, we enjoyed our stay at Pure White, it’s in a good location, (although some may prefer to stay somewhere in Prague 1), the room was lovely and the staff were friendly and helpful.
From the street, you probably wouldn't even know this was a hotel, with its clean, plain frontage and simple name plate, there’s no real hint at what’s behind the front doors. Once inside you walk down to a glass door and the reception is to your left, the bar/lounge is just off the reception area and the breakfast room off to the right of the reception desk.
Having mentioned to the hotel when booking, that this was to celebrate our anniversary, they had upgraded us to a superior room free of charge, which we did not expect. My wife had seen pictures of the rooms online, so we knew what it would look like and it did not disappoint, with a modern look and feel, very spacious and great high ceilings, the four poster bed was a simplistic take on a rarely seen feature in modern hotels today, but followed the theme well.
The tall windows let loads of light into the room, whilst enhancing the rooms’ height, sadly they did not have the view to suit, however we are in a city centre, therefore we appreciate great hotel room views are limited and costly. The room had nice, simple furniture, including a desk, sofa, two chairs and some funky little tables, plus a mini bar (be aware of what you use, you will be charged, price list for mini bar was on the desk).
There was a wardrobe with plenty of shelving and it also housed a large safe, which was very easy to use, the only criticism I had about the room was the lighting, working out which switches controlled which lights, even more annoying was the maids turning every light back on after cleaning the room each day and I know this may sound like I’m being picky, but when the desk lamp can only be turned off by unplugging it and not all the lights were controlled from one main switch, it was a pain going to the correct switches to turn each of them off every night.
Breakfast was interesting, hot stuff consisted of ham slices, not bacon, hotdogs, not sausages and what we thought was omelette, was in fact egg, but fried egg! Although each day was slightly and luckily for me they had, ham, cheese and croissants, sorted! A selection of juices were on offer, including orange and green apple, but the tea was a no go for me, it didn't look or taste right and I'm not a coffee fan, but I did try the coffee.
In summary, we enjoyed our stay at Pure White, it’s in a good location, (although some may prefer to stay somewhere in Prague 1), the room was lovely and the staff were friendly and helpful.
Hard Rock Cafe
My wife had done some research on local restaurants and preselected some for our evening meals, however it didn't take her long to change those plans, so our first night we went to The Hard Rock Café. From Pure White, it’s about a 25 minute walk, head down past the National Museum, through Wenceslas Square and down into the old town square, we did find it a little hard to locate, however my wife had a different location to the (correct) one I had and we had no map. It was quite busy and the service was a little slow in my opinion, but the waiter was friendly and the food was nice. |
Day 2 – Across Charles Bridge, up to Prague Castle
On our first full day in Prague, we had chosen our longest route, heading down to the river from our hotel, along to Smetanovo Nάbřeži, (one of the best places to take a photo of Charles Bridge), before actually crossing Charles Bridge, then working our way up to the rear of Prague Castle, to the Muzeum Hracek (Toy Museum) and finally walking back down to Kampa Island, along the riverside and across the Jirάskův Bridge, past the Dancing House and back to our hotel.
Once across the Charles Bridge, we walked down the street to the right, which eventually brought us out by the river and a small beach, also providing a different view of the Charles Bridge. We headed in the direction of the castle, but soon realised the walk up was going to be a challenge, with many steps, but the view looking down over Prague from the top was a great sight.
Walking up past the two guards, we easily found the toy museum and this was on my list of visits, not so much my wife’s, as she was concerned I’d take photos of every toy. There were loads of stairs inside, to get up to the museum level, not what we wanted after the hill we’d just walked up. Admission for an adult was 70kc and walking around it wasn't quite what I had expected, with all the toys placed in cabinets, too organised and tidy, they are toys and I felt the setting wasn't quite as fun as it should have been, but there are many cabinets to look in. The upper floor was mainly dedicated to Barbie, with many other competitors’ dolls and celebrity dolls thrown in as well.
On our first full day in Prague, we had chosen our longest route, heading down to the river from our hotel, along to Smetanovo Nάbřeži, (one of the best places to take a photo of Charles Bridge), before actually crossing Charles Bridge, then working our way up to the rear of Prague Castle, to the Muzeum Hracek (Toy Museum) and finally walking back down to Kampa Island, along the riverside and across the Jirάskův Bridge, past the Dancing House and back to our hotel.
Once across the Charles Bridge, we walked down the street to the right, which eventually brought us out by the river and a small beach, also providing a different view of the Charles Bridge. We headed in the direction of the castle, but soon realised the walk up was going to be a challenge, with many steps, but the view looking down over Prague from the top was a great sight.
Walking up past the two guards, we easily found the toy museum and this was on my list of visits, not so much my wife’s, as she was concerned I’d take photos of every toy. There were loads of stairs inside, to get up to the museum level, not what we wanted after the hill we’d just walked up. Admission for an adult was 70kc and walking around it wasn't quite what I had expected, with all the toys placed in cabinets, too organised and tidy, they are toys and I felt the setting wasn't quite as fun as it should have been, but there are many cabinets to look in. The upper floor was mainly dedicated to Barbie, with many other competitors’ dolls and celebrity dolls thrown in as well.
It’s fair to say we covered the route quicker than necessary, only making one stop for lunch and had time for a rest back at the hotel before going out for tea, but you could do it in a full day, at a slower pace than us. To the right is our tracking data from the route and below our pictures.
Lal Qila – about 10 minutes from Pure White
Not too far away, this Indian Restaurant was one of my wife’s selected choices and I was hoping for “the perfect meal”, which for me was not only good food, but somewhere I felt comfortable, had the right atmosphere and good service. It was almost like they knew, the restaurant is set out perfectly, from the tables being adequately spaced, to the beautiful décor and despite it being fairly quiet when we first sat down, there was a good atmosphere.
The food was gorgeous, the waitress was really nice, spoke very good English and despite being very busy managing quite a few tables later on, she still managed to serve us within good time and was always polite and friendly. I would say this is one of the best Indian restaurants we've ever been to and it’s a shame it’s not closer to home, as we would definitely return and highly recommend it!
Not too far away, this Indian Restaurant was one of my wife’s selected choices and I was hoping for “the perfect meal”, which for me was not only good food, but somewhere I felt comfortable, had the right atmosphere and good service. It was almost like they knew, the restaurant is set out perfectly, from the tables being adequately spaced, to the beautiful décor and despite it being fairly quiet when we first sat down, there was a good atmosphere.
The food was gorgeous, the waitress was really nice, spoke very good English and despite being very busy managing quite a few tables later on, she still managed to serve us within good time and was always polite and friendly. I would say this is one of the best Indian restaurants we've ever been to and it’s a shame it’s not closer to home, as we would definitely return and highly recommend it!
Day 4 – Old Town
It was our last day in Prague and the plan was based around the old town, visiting the Astronomical Clock, Klausova Synagoga and Palladium Shopping Centre, we headed off in the direction we’d been before towards the old town, down Wenceslas Square, my wife having already spotted the shops she wanted to look in.
We carried on down to the bottom of Wenceslas Square and turned right, working our way around the shops to head towards the Old Town Square, at that point we hadn't realised how close we had come to the Palladium shopping centre we planned to visit. In the Old Town Square large sheds were being erected, we assumed in time for Easter celebrations, that sadly we would miss. We headed across the square and stopped in front of the Astronomical Clock to take photos, where there seemed to be many gathered, almost waiting in anticipation of the clock springing into action, however it was half ten and appears to only chime on the hour.
From there we walked down the side of the clock building and in approx. 5 minutes, we had arrived at the end of the street of the Klausova Synagoga, which stood out amongst the newer painted buildings. We decided to weave our way back through the streets of shops, only to realise that we didn't know where The Bake Shop were, which is the place my wife had decided she wanted to go for lunch, so we then headed back down towards the Astronomical Clock and ‘round to the Hard Rock Café, knowing our phones would have saved their Wi-Fi code and we could do a quick search online for The Bake Shop location.
Once we had the location on the map, a quick screenshot, we headed there for lunch, before continuing on to the Palladium shopping centre and it was at this point we realised how close we had been earlier.
From the outside, The Palladium shopping centre isn't quite as grand (or as new) as I expected it to be, but the inside is a different story! With five floors and its very own unique shape and style, I was impressed, not only did it not follow the usual straight “high street” style layout, like The White Rose Centre and Meadowhall do in the UK, but the central shops had walls of glass, making it look and feel modern and light. Entering on the “0” level, the first thing you saw, was an escalator, appearing go straight through a large central column of shops and directly onto the food floor, which once again did not follow the norm. The two lower floors did not follow the exact same floor plan, making it more interesting and enjoyable to walk around, with all floors containing a good mixture of shops.
We somehow managed to exit The Palladium from a lower level into the metro and arriving back on street level, back looking at the front entrance, from here we headed away and came across another shopping centre, Kotva. I thought the Palladium was unique, but this was taking it to a new level of uniqueness, verging on weird and something I had seen before, but not like this. It was like an exhibition hall, with many floors, all divided into shops, rather than stalls, some of which were much bigger than others and many were empty, we only had a quick look and left, heading back through the streets, working our way back to Pure White.
It was our last day in Prague and the plan was based around the old town, visiting the Astronomical Clock, Klausova Synagoga and Palladium Shopping Centre, we headed off in the direction we’d been before towards the old town, down Wenceslas Square, my wife having already spotted the shops she wanted to look in.
We carried on down to the bottom of Wenceslas Square and turned right, working our way around the shops to head towards the Old Town Square, at that point we hadn't realised how close we had come to the Palladium shopping centre we planned to visit. In the Old Town Square large sheds were being erected, we assumed in time for Easter celebrations, that sadly we would miss. We headed across the square and stopped in front of the Astronomical Clock to take photos, where there seemed to be many gathered, almost waiting in anticipation of the clock springing into action, however it was half ten and appears to only chime on the hour.
From there we walked down the side of the clock building and in approx. 5 minutes, we had arrived at the end of the street of the Klausova Synagoga, which stood out amongst the newer painted buildings. We decided to weave our way back through the streets of shops, only to realise that we didn't know where The Bake Shop were, which is the place my wife had decided she wanted to go for lunch, so we then headed back down towards the Astronomical Clock and ‘round to the Hard Rock Café, knowing our phones would have saved their Wi-Fi code and we could do a quick search online for The Bake Shop location.
Once we had the location on the map, a quick screenshot, we headed there for lunch, before continuing on to the Palladium shopping centre and it was at this point we realised how close we had been earlier.
From the outside, The Palladium shopping centre isn't quite as grand (or as new) as I expected it to be, but the inside is a different story! With five floors and its very own unique shape and style, I was impressed, not only did it not follow the usual straight “high street” style layout, like The White Rose Centre and Meadowhall do in the UK, but the central shops had walls of glass, making it look and feel modern and light. Entering on the “0” level, the first thing you saw, was an escalator, appearing go straight through a large central column of shops and directly onto the food floor, which once again did not follow the norm. The two lower floors did not follow the exact same floor plan, making it more interesting and enjoyable to walk around, with all floors containing a good mixture of shops.
We somehow managed to exit The Palladium from a lower level into the metro and arriving back on street level, back looking at the front entrance, from here we headed away and came across another shopping centre, Kotva. I thought the Palladium was unique, but this was taking it to a new level of uniqueness, verging on weird and something I had seen before, but not like this. It was like an exhibition hall, with many floors, all divided into shops, rather than stalls, some of which were much bigger than others and many were empty, we only had a quick look and left, heading back through the streets, working our way back to Pure White.
Summary
Prague is a lovely city to visit, getting around is easy, whether on foot or by using the public transport like the Metro and Trams. The architecture is fantastic and it’s hard to find two buildings the same, it’s like they built each building using a different architect and even more impressive considering they didn't have the tools and equipment we have today. The thing that surprised me the most was the scale, it covers a large area and aside from the architecture, the buildings footprints are massive, most have at least four floors, they’re the kind I expect to see in downtown Manhattan, I've never actually been to Manhattan, but it’s the first place that comes to mind, probably from watching too many American TV dramas. The map to the right is from out travel tracker, it's not perfect and the tracker can lose signal, so the lines do not track perfectly to the streets, however you can still see the distance we have covered, (Prague Zoo being at the north side of the river). |
Map is best viewed in landscape mode on mobiles
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