Prague, Czech Republic
Prague is a wonderful city you can visit many historical places, one of Europe’s largest castles, a historic clock, cathedrals, music, and beautiful art all over the city. The city has a unique old town with a beautiful square with a somewhat terrifying history, and wonderful shopping for things like Russian Nesting Dolls. The city is also home to many museums and the city has a history as part of the West and part of the Eastern Communist Bloc. One museum goes over their communist history and the brutality of the communists in then Czechoslovakia. Prague also has many day trip options as is easy to get to from much of Europe. We went to Prague for 3 days during a very cold January 2017.
Getting to Prague and Transportation
Getting to Prague is pretty easy. You can fly directly into Prague’s International Airport or you can take a train into Prague. We took the three hour train ride from Vienna to Prague on OBB (Austrian Rail). The train station (Hlavní nádraží) is a short walk from Old Town Prague and the center of the tourist area so it is very convenient. We walked to our hotel in the area. European rail is very nice and affordable (first class on our trip was around $30). If you stay in the Old Town Prague area you are within walking distance from many of the sites to see. Otherwise Prague has a subway system (we did not use it while we were in town). We used the Hop On Hop Off tour bus to get around the city to tour. Otherwise we walked to the different places. Prague is safe so walking even late at night is not a big deal.
Other Country Information
The Czech Republic is in central Europe and is part of the EU and the Schengen Visa area (once in the area you can visit any other Schengen country without any border checks). While Prague and the Czech Republic are a part of the EU, the Euro is not the currency of the Czech Republic. The Czech Republic uses the Czech Koruna as its currency. The currency exchange is favorable when exchanging US or Euros. The national language is Czech but we got around just find speaking English for the most part. The only area we had an issue was at a monastery where English was not spoken much. Credit cards are used at most places as well.
Old Town City Hall and Astronomical Clock
In historic Old Town Prague you will find the Old Town Hall that has one of the most famous spots in Prague to visit. The Old Town City Hall has a large tower you can go to the top of for a small price that gives you a good view of the city. In front of the city hall is the Over 600 year old and still working Astronomical Clock. It tells time, and information about the Sun and Moon. Watching it on the hour you will see the clock in motion. The 12 Apostles come out and go around the clock and other characters such as a skeleton that repersents death, a miser for greed, vanity and lust. They move as the clock chimes. It works very well considering its over 600 years old. During World War II at the end the Czech people revolted against the Nazis and Czech fighters were holding the town hall against German armored vehicles. City Hall was badly damaged during the fighting. Below the City Hall is a dungeon where many people were held over the years, including the Protestant leaders during a revolt during the 1600s. These leaders were executed in the Old Town square. You can see crosses on the ground where these people were executed. We took a night ghost tour of the dungeon that gave us a lot of history about the dungeon and the execution. It was an interesting and affordable tour to take. This area is a must see stop if you are in Prague and does not cost much to go to the top of the tower or take a tour.
Old Town Square
Next to the Old Town City Hall you is a large square. In the center of the square there is a memorial to Jan Hus who was burned at the stake. Surrounding the square are many old buildings that are hundreds of years old. Its an interesting architectural sight to see. There are many shops and restaurants you can visit at the square and in the surrounding streets around the Old Town. My favorite store was the Hand Made Nesting Dolls store that had many wonderful products. We stopped and had coffee and a snack at a cafe on the square during a tour. This area is the center of most tourist activities in the downtown area. Its a great place to visit and we walked through it multiple times while in Prague.
Prague Castle
Sitting on a hill overlooking Prague sits the huge Prague Castle. Prague Castle is the largest Ancient Castle in Europe and is the home to halls, palaces, churches and the home to the President of the Czech Republic. The Castle is a Unseco World Heritage Site. We took a guided walking tour to see most of the complex. As we walked through the Castle gates we were able to see the Czech changing of the guard. It was neat to see the changing of the guard in a different country. We walked in to see many plazas, the Presidential Office, statues, and beautiful churches. We took a walk around the massive castle walls as well. The guided tour of this must see spot in Prague was included in our Hop On Hop Off tour bus. You can visit on your own but there is a cost to visit the buildings inside. It took as a little over an hour to walk to many of the sites in the Castle but if you look at things in detail it could take much longer. If you do not take a bus there is a tram/light rail stop near the front gate.
Charles Bridge
About a 15 minute walk from the Old Town Square is the beautiful Charles Bridge that is over the Vltava River. It was built in the 1300s and has beautiful architecture. This is a pedestrian bridge so you do not have to worry about any traffic. The bridge is lined with baroque statues and you have a nice view of the river and the city. Its a very famous bridge and one of the marquee locations in Prague to see. We walked across it during the day as well as during the night during a night tour of Prague that we took. There is one statue you will see that people touch for good luck. We touched it as we walked by. During the day small vendors setup shop around the bridge. When we went in January it was very cold (near 8 degrees) so there were not as many people out. It is worth taking a quick walk across the scenic and historic bridge.
The Strahov Monastery
Located above the city is the Strahov Monastery. A monastery has been there since the 1100s and the architecture is beautiful. Being above the city it also gives a great view of most of Prague. Its a stop on the Hop On Hop Off bus and a nice one to stop at. We payed the few dollars to walk through a museum and see art work. There is also a Brewery on the grounds of the Monastery if you want to get a Czech Beer while visiting. Beer is very popular (the Czech Republic is a nation that drinks more beer than most other nations) in the Czech Republic so its something to try. This was one of the few places we have been were there was a little language barrier when trying to talk with some of the people selling tickets. This was a nice stop we spent around an hour at.
The Museum of Communism
On our last day we walked over to the Museum of Communism. Czechoslovakia sat behind the “Iron Curtain” as a communist country. This museum chronicles the coming of the Russians after WWII and the Communist regime. The museum has artifacts and real stories about the harshness of living under communism. They have a replica of a holding cell and stories about other communist nations. Its a sobering but interesting and unique museum that is worth a stop. We spent around an hour here and the cost is not too much to enter.
Walking Prague, other tours and tips
There are many others tours and things to do in Prague and good day trips from Prague outside of the city. It is worth walking the city or taking a night bus tour as we did to see the city and other sites. If you enjoy symphonies there are many Classical music concerts available in Prague. We took a Jewish Quarter walking tour that took us to one of the oldest Jewish cemetery in Europe. We also visited the Lennon Wall that has Beatles themed graffiti and art. The architecture is beautiful in Prague so just enjoying it is nice. The national museum was closed when we were there but it would be nice to visit. We walked up Wenceslas Square where many events including part of the revolution against the Communist Regime. We were able to see some sites from Operation Anthropoid where high ranking SS officer Reinhard Heydrich was assassinated. The Czechoslovakian soldiers were killed in battles with Germans in the city and many people were killed as punishment for the assassination. A movie about this was released a few years back. From Prague you can go on many wonderful day trips. We decided to take a day trip to Dresden, Germany. Dresden is another beautiful European city but much of the city has been rebuilt after much destruction during bombing in WWII. You could take a day tour to the Terezin Concentration Camp and see where so many died during the horrors of the Holocaust. You could take a tour of Unesco World Heritage Site City Chesky Krumlov or visit Kunta Hora and its Unesco World Heritage Site Abbey with its Ossuary (bone chapel). There is a lot to see in Prague and the general area. We spent three days in the area and got to see many of the highlights but if you want to do more of the day trips I would recommend spending five days or so. We found Prague pretty affordable compared to some cities. Its a wonderful culture and place to visit so go try it out!
