We slept comfortably in our twin beds, and then rolled right out of bed at 6 am and we were out the door at 6:30, ready to check out Prague sans tourists.
The Charles Bridge (locally called Karluv most) was right next to our hotel and a natural starting point. At that time there were no vendors on the bridge and hardly any people. It was a cool morning with clear blue skies, and the sun was rising behind us, lighting up the city on the far side of the Danube quite nicely. The bridge was interesting because every few paces there is another statue ornamenting the walkway, and each one is dramatically gothic. I started to take pictures of everything, but I had to keep in mind that we still had plenty of time to look around.
After crossing the long bridge over the river we walked through the old town on the other side. The streets were empty of people and only the streetcars were moving through town. Shops were closed and we kind of followed our noses up the hill, aiming to reach the castle and cathedral at the top. We climbed the hill following the cobblestone roads, and we were rewarded with better and better views as we went. Finally at the top we reached a gigantic square, and we could see the spires of the cathedral beyond a big building to our right. Unfortunately the building was locked down behind a big gate, and there were several soldiers guarding the area. How do we get to the church?
I used my GPS to find a small pathway the led down the far side of the big building, but when we got there we discovered another gate, this one also guarded by a soldier who just looked at us blankly. There was a map nearby, but after a quick check we couldn’t find any hints. In the end we just approached the guard, who stepped aside and asked that we open our bags for a security check. Once we finished the security check we could proceed easily to the cathedral.
Later I read that the security measures were a recent addition and were heavily criticized by the tourist companies in the area. At the very least the soldier there with the guns and blank looks probably intimidated enough people to turn around and try to find another entrance. Kind of a weird system.
But anyway, we were in, and we walked through several building complexes, passing soldiers on patrol who ignored our presence. At that time of morning the cathedral wasn’t open yet, so we admired and photographed the outside and promised each other we’d be back later to see the interior. Once past the cathedral we could walk down the hill on the other side, which turned out to be another way to get back without the hassle of going through the old town.
While exploring the back area we discovered a bronze statue of a naked man in a square. The square was completely empty and the bronze man was shiny in only one particular area. A biologically important area, actually. We laughed at the sight and went on.
We got back to our hotel fairly quickly, and it turned out that the trip took a lot less time than we expected. We had a chance to enjoy our hotel breakfast buffet, and it was a pretty good one, actually. Eggs, bacon, sausages, cheeses and meats, plenty of fruit (some yellow rind melon that was very sweet) and a big bowl of yogurts (we had a lot of those) as well as bread and cereal. The coffee was free but it tasted like free coffee, but it did the trick for us. The service staff looked uncomfortable taking our drink orders, and I think the strange grimace our waiter gave us was supposed to be a smile. The other hotel guests were a mixed group of different races and countries. We saw a Chinese guy staying with someone I thought was his daughter, but Kuniko said that she was his wife. She looked like she was eleven years old – that was a shocker.
For the rest of the morning we explored other parts of the city to get a feel for the areas that were outside of the tourist zones. Without our suitcase, things went a lot smoother. While walking around the weather really started to improve. We checked out the bus stops for our future ride to the airport, and then went to a recommended traditional beer house called U Fleku. I liked the atmosphere immediately – all black wood and dark rooms. We sat down in the big beer hall, but at that time there were just a few customers besides ourselves. The tables were all long and connected, so in busy times you’d be bumping elbows with strangers as you tipped back your house beers. A guy was playing the accordion as we ordered two beers (they only served one kind) and also we split a plate of goulash (because we were on kind of a goulash survey mission).
While we waited for the food and drinks to arrive, a server walked up with a big smile on his face and a tray filled with tiny glasses filled with liquid. He said, “Would you like a traditional Czech apertif?” and we said yes, of course, because it sounded like he was giving them away. The way he asked and his body language combined with the sheer amount of the drinks on the tray made it seem like this was part of the procedure and tradition of the restaurant.
And as you might have guessed of course they are not free and they show up on your bill at the end of the meal. I was a little peeved that we fell for it, and they were indeed very traditional (and strong!) but they didn’t make me feel anything but slightly cheated. I watched the server do the same thing to subsequent customers and his success rate was quite high.
The beers they served us were delicious, however, and the goulash also was better than average, so we were happy about that. About halfway through our beers another (kind of creepy) waiter came over and tried to push us to order refills, and that was my limit for being treated like tourist cattle. We left soon after.
Hoping for a better beer drinking experience we walked a few blocks to a place called U Pinkasu, which has the distinction of being the first brewpub to serve pilsner beer in Czech. We ordered our beers from a miserable looking waiter who at least wasn’t pushy. We also ordered a big vegetable salad, because we were needing some veggies now and then to break up the focus on meat dishes in Eastern Europe.
On our way back to our hotel we did a little shopping at the local TESCO market. We were able to find some interesting souvenirs, and I bought a bottle of Czech wine to see what it was like. Not having any kind of idea about Czech wines, I ended up choosing by price, and I bought the most expensive Czech wine in TESCO, and it was still only about $10. Most local wines were under $5.
Unfortunately later when we opened up the bottle for a tasting in our room, we discovered why it was so cheap. We ended up pouring it down the drain – full of barnyard and fingernail polish aromas – nasty! Based on this we were ready to write off all Czech wines, but later we had a chance to change our opinions.
In the afternoon we crossed another bridge over the Danube and descended to some islands that functioned as parks in the middle of the Danube river. We sat on the grass on the river bank and enjoyed watching life go slowly by at a river’s pace. There were paddleboats on the water, some row boats, and occasionally a big river barge. It was a different feeling from the Danube in Budapest, but still relaxing and stress-free. These kinds of relaxing breaks in the otherwise sightseeing-heavy schedule were a nice way to remind ourselves that we were here on vacation.
Earlier, while walking through the tourist quarter we noticed a batch of tables with white tablecloths that looked like sort of an upscale hotel cafe. We thought it would be a nice way to spend some time in the afternoon, sipping wine, eating cheese, and watching the huge crowds of tourists walking by. So later that day we made our way to the U Prince Hotel and grabbed a table. The location was great, but the service was sure slow. Also, their menu was exactly the same as the room service menu back at our hotel, with just the name of the hotel changed – so it was probably the same company. We ordered some Prosecco at first, and some white wine later, but I’m not sure that the white was from Czech. The coup de grace was the cheese platter that arrived. It had five kinds of cheeses – one of which looked a little bit like butter. Kuniko took a big chunk and put it in her mouth, and sure enough… it was butter. It was a strange place to put the butter – we had bread, and then the butter was garnished, decorated and sliced just like the cheeses. We couldn’t stop laughing about it the rest of the trip.
While we sat and enjoyed the scenery eating our wine and butter, a small group of Hare Krishnas paraded through chanting, and it reminded me of the ones we saw so long ago in Zagreb. Was that the same trip? We had seen and experienced so much since then. It was kind of cool that we started the trip with them and they were here too at the end of the journey as well. Hare Krishna!
Before dinner we did a little more shopping at TESCO, buying some souvenirs that we missed the first time as well as some water (to stay hydrated) and other goodies. The people in line in front of us were paying with some kind of official coupons. We saw lots of other customers doing the same thing – some kind of social welfare?
Dinner that night was at a local’s place called Olympia. I had researched the place online and it turned out to be just what we were looking for. The place was owned by Pilsner Urquell, and so they were (naturally) serving only their beer. We sat in the corner and ordered some small appetizers to go with the beer, since we were still a little full with cheese and butter. The food that came was in fact quite large. We had pickled sausages (served in a little glass canning jar) with a salad’s worth of veggies and greens as a garnish and several big slices of dark bread. The other dish was the big hit of the night – marinated Camembert cheese. The cheese was saturated with the garlic and paprika flavor from the marinade, and it also came with the onions, lettuce, peppers, and dark bread. We vowed to try to make a similar dish at our place when we came back to Japan. The portion size at Olympia was huge – and these were just the small appetizers. We really liked the place – highly recommended.
On the way back to the hotel we could take in some beautiful night time views of the city. It was a really laid back and pleasant experience today. Tomorrow is our last full day in Prague (and in Europe) so we’ll have to make it count.
