Saturday, October 13, 2007

Prague, the Cheap but Amazing City!


Finally, I have the chance to get on the internet here in Budapest to talk about Prague. Budapest is our place of relaxation so I can upload a lot of pictures and write a few posts here. We arrived in Prague 9 days (Oct. 4) and stayed there for 3 nights, but could have easily stayed longer. There was a lot to do there and the city is extremely nice. The people weren't too nice but the architecture and landscape were beautiful. This was the first city that we started having language problems, which may have exacerbated the unhelpfulness of the people. We rarely could find someone who could speak English. However, The language barrier was a very cool experience despite how frustrating it got.

One particular incident occured when we were trying to get to Plzen, about 2 hours west of Prague, for a day trip. We asked the lady for bus tickets, then paid thinking everything was good. So, then we tried to find the bus but was unsuccessful. We asked someone where the bus leaves from and the guy gave us a confused look as he told us it was a train ticket, go to the train station. Eventually we made it to Plzen where we walked around the city and did the Pilsner Irquell brewery tour. The city was full of people because we happened to be there while Pilsner Fest was on. There was a band playing in the market square playing English songs but with Czech lyrics, which made for a good time since we had to sing along in English.


While in the market square we climbed over 300 steps to the top of the church. You could see the entire city from the top of the tower. Upon our arrival back to Prague we went out to dinner with friends from Guelph. I have to say I was not impressed with Czech food but they did have an Edmonton Oilers vs. San Jose Sharks hockey game on the TV. That definitely makes up for the bad food!! Speaking of hockey, I wish I could watch the Pittsburgh/Leafs game tonight but Hungary isn't as big a fan of hockey as the Czech Republic. We're hoping to see a Raptors game in Italy or Spain, I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

Things to do in Prague. As I said before there is a lot but most of it is walking around. Speaking of walking, you would definitely want to take a walking tour. We've been doing them in a lot of the cities and they are always well worth it! While walking around we saw Charles Bridge, the Astronomical Clock, the castle hill where the cathedral stands, Peltin hill, old town square, and many other buildings. We went through the Communism Museum, which I thought was really good. Walking down the streets and seeing the buildings that were built with communist ideals is very strange but interesting. We walked through Wenceless Square where all the riots and resistance against communism occured.

Overall Prague has been my favourite city so far and it's extremely cheap!! We're able to go out for dinner every night. A pint of Pilsner Urquell (the main Czech beer) is $1.50 CDN. Poland and Hungary are our next stops and they are equally as cheap. Finally I can be under budget. I got some pictures of Prague up but the internet is very slow here so you'll have to wait a few more days for the rest. Until next time, ______ (I can't remember what cheers in Czech is).

4 comments:

mom said...

Hi,

Your pictures are great! You had a picture in Prague of something we are wondering if it is a bathroom, on the street, say WC and looks like you need to pay to use it?
I see you met some pretty girls at Octoberfest.
Look forward to your next enrty
Love Mom

Anonymous said...

Sounds like you guys are enjoying your rest...a well deserved one. It must be a little frustrating to leave cities just as you get a taste of them. Nice, though, that you got to experience the Pilsner Fest...coincidence?!
Take care,
Jack's Mom

Sean said...

Beautiful pictures! Prague is very nice city, I can say magic city! To see all Prague, you will need a lot of time, not several days.
I have been in Prague for one week! I found in Prague accommodation in 5 minutes to historical center and not expensive, as I expected! I visited many sightseeings! Excursions were interesting and low cost! I agree with you that Prague is not expensive but really amazing city!
It was unforgettable holiday!

Unknown said...

Nice pictures and interesting story. I also like Prague and last few month I'm thinking about invest in Prague property, because it is best time to do it. The Prague property market has and continues to see overwhelming demand from both foreign and local investors. And who wouldn't like to own a property in this fairytale city that pulls at your heart strings and attracts major foreign investors on the basis of economics.