Prague is a city best enjoyed with your significant other, but when offered a chance by my employer to attend a conference of Indian bond dealers there, I said yes right away.
Flying Turkish airlines and changing flights at Istanbul, I reached the hotel in Prague (a Hilton business hotel not too far from the old town center) around 3 pm in the afternoon. The conference managers had organized an orientation tour of the city that evening, but I decided to explore myself at my pace, on my own whims.
Flying Turkish airlines and changing flights at Istanbul, I reached the hotel in Prague (a Hilton business hotel not too far from the old town center) around 3 pm in the afternoon. The conference managers had organized an orientation tour of the city that evening, but I decided to explore myself at my pace, on my own whims.
I set out for the Old Town Square, but lost my way and hit Wenceslas square instead, a wide boulevard culminating in the statue of Saint Wenceslas and the national museum at one end, and lined with office buildings, hotels, retail stores and strip clubs. The area sported a typical festive summer atmosphere. The crowd was a mix of locals and tourists, and a concert setup was in the works.
From Wenceslas square, I passed through narrow cobblestoned streets lined with cafés and boutiques to reach the Old Town Square. On one side of it was the pretty Tyn church and the opposite side, the Tower Hall with its astronomical clock. Both the church and hall were closed for the day, but I could go up the bell tower to get a panoramic view of the city.
From Wenceslas square, I passed through narrow cobblestoned streets lined with cafés and boutiques to reach the Old Town Square. On one side of it was the pretty Tyn church and the opposite side, the Tower Hall with its astronomical clock. Both the church and hall were closed for the day, but I could go up the bell tower to get a panoramic view of the city.
From the town square, I headed north to the Jewish quarter, where a few old synagogues stood among high end retail stores. At one of the synagogues I bumped into the orientation tour group and joined it for a bit. The tour then headed back to the town square, whereby a couple of friends and I split from the group and enjoyed some Skaroramen beers at one of the cafés at the square.
Later that evening a river cruise was organized for the conference attendees. While some river / bay cruises, such as the ones in New York, Istanbul and Sydney, give you a different view of the city that cannot be had from being on land, a majority of cruises the world over are tourist traps with bad buffets. This one belonged to the latter category, though it was fun having a few drinks with colleagues in the industry.
After the cruise, I took an overnight bus to Budapest for a really short trip and was back the next night at 1am. (see my blog Budapest and Bratislava .. In a day!) The day after that was the actual conference. I attended the morning session and then headed out to the explore the Castle district.
Located on the other side of the Vltava, the Prague castle is the foremost attraction in the city. I bought a ticket that covered the four main attractions in the complex. I first headed to St Vitus Cathedral, a Gothic masterpiece considered the best building in Prague. The tall vaulted ceiling and large stained glass works were very impressive. Across the Cathedral were the Basilica and the Royal Palace and while they have historical significance, aesthetically they were uninteresting. The fourth entry on the ticket was the Golden Lane, lined with houses of commoners - Tarot card readers, goldsmiths, cavalrymen - across the past few centuries. Some houses are now converted to shops while yet others have exhibits related to their occupants. The slight drizzle that was on since the morning had by now turned into a downpour and I was getting soaked, having forgotten to carry any rainwear.
Located on the other side of the Vltava, the Prague castle is the foremost attraction in the city. I bought a ticket that covered the four main attractions in the complex. I first headed to St Vitus Cathedral, a Gothic masterpiece considered the best building in Prague. The tall vaulted ceiling and large stained glass works were very impressive. Across the Cathedral were the Basilica and the Royal Palace and while they have historical significance, aesthetically they were uninteresting. The fourth entry on the ticket was the Golden Lane, lined with houses of commoners - Tarot card readers, goldsmiths, cavalrymen - across the past few centuries. Some houses are now converted to shops while yet others have exhibits related to their occupants. The slight drizzle that was on since the morning had by now turned into a downpour and I was getting soaked, having forgotten to carry any rainwear.
I had to buy a separate ticket to visit the bell tower of St Vitus Cathedral, which gave a nice view of the city including the old town square on the other side of the river. As I exited the castle area from the other side, I noticed a tavern, went in and took the only table available. I ordered the homemade dark beer, and then had a look at the menu - to realize that this place had been open since 1350 and Mozart had been a guest at some point of time. A British couple from Liverpool joined me at the table and informed me that this was the oldest tavern in town and they had put in some effort to find it. Lucky me to have randomly bumped into it ! Their Liverpool accent was really tough to follow, but I managed to have a bit of a conversation about football and work and travel. With the refill of the beer, I also ordered for some baked Camembert cheese, which turned out to be quite delicious. True to it's medieval origins, the tavern had no wifi, the waiters banged the beer glass on the wooden table rather than serve it on a coaster gently. When I visited the washroom situated in the basement, I noticed that the ceiling was covered with human skulls! The cost of enjoying two pints of homemade beer and fine cheese at this 600 year old tavern was less than having an average cocktail in an average bar in Mumbai.
The rain had stopped when I left the tavern. I walked through Mala Strana (lesser quarter) , where ethnic Germans lived in the Middle Ages. I thought of going into the well regarded St Nicholas Church, but I felt I had seen enough churches in the last couple of days and decided to save a few Korunas instead.
I crossed over the pretty Karluv Most (Charles Bridge) to the other side of town and roamed about for a bit, looking for places where I could spend the late evening - after attending the conference Gala dinner. I spotted a Jazz club and a couple of black light theaters. Just within a few blocks, there seemed to be half a dozen churches playing organ concerts. One could spend a week in this city visiting museums during the day and enjoying good music in the evenings.
I crossed over the pretty Karluv Most (Charles Bridge) to the other side of town and roamed about for a bit, looking for places where I could spend the late evening - after attending the conference Gala dinner. I spotted a Jazz club and a couple of black light theaters. Just within a few blocks, there seemed to be half a dozen churches playing organ concerts. One could spend a week in this city visiting museums during the day and enjoying good music in the evenings.
Walking around, I ended up in Wenceslas square again and picked up a stylish leather backpack for my wife. I then took the metro back to the hotel, changed into smart casuals and boarded the bus headed to Zofin Palace, the venue for the gala dinner. It was a beautiful neo-Renaissance style building on a small island on the Vltava, connected to the mainland by a small footbridge. The food was average, but a Violin duo playing some classics including Pachelbel's canon was the highlight of the evening's entertainment. Chatting with friends and colleagues, I stuck around at Zofin till the event wound up around midnight, and by then it was too late to find any jazz or theatre.
I had a couple of hours in the morning to explore the town before heading to the airport, but the constant drizzle dampened my spirit and I just loafed around the hotel, having a long breakfast and chatting with friends.
I had barely scratched the surface of this beautiful city in the two half days I had to explore it. I will go back for more as soon as I can!
I had a couple of hours in the morning to explore the town before heading to the airport, but the constant drizzle dampened my spirit and I just loafed around the hotel, having a long breakfast and chatting with friends.
I had barely scratched the surface of this beautiful city in the two half days I had to explore it. I will go back for more as soon as I can!
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