National Museum in Prague

we didnt find a host here too so we went to a hostel. it was d 1st time we went to a hostel for this trip n it was such a bad experience! this dated back in Berlin. they called n told me d hostel is overbooked and i cant have a room for 4 nights as per my CONFIRMED BOOKING email says. johannes was with me when that happened n he said that is not my problem. so he helped me speak w d hostel n then called up the booking center (a different site) n made a complaint. the booking center managed to confirmed my booking. when we were checking in, a guest at the hostel told us all his money n valuables were stolen from his room. on the 2nd night, i was back from sightseeing and went back to my room. i was shocked to see the room now has 4 beds (instead of 2) and all our belongings were no longer there. we went to the reception to ask about it and d staff says we need to change our room. i was upset n say why didnt anyone tell us. d staff said someone tried to contact us but we were not contactable. this is an absolutely lie cos we only left the hostel at 12pm, and they have my phone number from the booking form. d staff then said he just started his shift n know nothing about it n brought us to our 'new room'. our stuff were all over d room, things throw in whatever bags n bundled together. this is absolutely repulsive as i had stayed in many hostels and never had any experience like such! i had to worry about whether my stuff will go missing from this room again everyday i am there. and every morning, we hear some1 complaining about missing stuff. very very unsafe hostel and the management has no respect for the guest's property n privacy. i will never go back to this hostel n i urge everyone not to go there if u have a choice... hostel name is Sokolska Youth Hostel in Prague.

great experience so far isnt it... d city was definitely a hot tourist spot cos i think i saw more tour groups here than all d other cities combined! from all over d world!!! u cant get any photos WITHOUT any tour groups in them. let's put it this way, u r lucky to be able to move from 1 sight to another! Charles Bridge has soooooo many people dat we were stuck in 1 spot for 20min... i worry for my safety on d bridge. it is sooo packed, i dunno if d old bridge can take it. but thank goodness for d good old QUALITY of ancient builders, it stands strong n firm of cos! but i got really tired easily fr trying to get fr 1 pt to another pushing thru d crowd n queuing for entrance... it was really crazy!!! juz see 4 urselves...

National Museum in Prague

Powder Tower

Stare´ Me?sto - main square in Prague where EVERYTHING is!

the Jews' High Synagogue

at the entrance of the Jewish Cemetery - crowded

St Vitus Cathedral

The Astronomical Clock at Stare´ Me?sto

a HUGE crowd waiting to see d Astronomical Clock chime at the hour

Charles Bridge - still F***ING crowded!

on Charles Bridge - it was F***ING crowded!!!

i took part in the Free Hug Campaign in Prague!!!

czech is also known for its honey cake. i understand it totally cos it is absolutely delicious!!!

Honey Cake - a famous cake in Czech Republic

The Prague Castle

changing of guards at Prague Castle

overcrowded Golden Lane in the Prague Castle

Rotunda of St. Martin at Vys?ehrad - a little chaple/church

view fr a stone window in Vys?ehrad

view of Prague from Vys?ehrad

the Vltava River - taken from Vys?ehrad lookout

at The Vys?ehrad cemetery

sunset in Prague

Now when you hear about the Czech Republic you probably think of the Soviet Union. And when you hear about the Soviet Union (or eastern Europe in general) you probably think of Buildings with huge holes in them and paint chipping off the walls, or something along the lines of these pictures:

While I did take those pictures in Prague, that's not what it looks like at all. Prague has surrendered to almost all European wars in order to preserve it's history. Prague was never bombed or anything so everything here is ancient. You can see huge golden tipped spires and cathedrals as far as the eye can see in all directions.

Today I took the metro to the Old Town Square and saw some of the sights there. The Astronomical Clock in the square was gigantic and very intricate. I even got the chance to walk up to the top of it. I also checked out the Salvador Dali exhibition they had going on in the square; Unfortunately I was unable to take pictures of the exhibit.

Here's the Church of Our Lady Before Tyn from the top of the clock.

Notice the gold on all the buildings.

Everything is very cheap here too since they don't use the Euro. A pint of premium Czech beer downtown cost me 22 koruns (pronounced crowns). That's like $1.51 American. The hostel I'm staying at has one of the priciest drink menus in town. Here I believe the same pint of beer goes for 46 koruns.

The day I arrived I was very hungry. I have been craving tacos for a long time now and I decided that an "authentic Mexican" Czech burrito would be a good substitute. And at 39 koruns from a local bakery, how could I resist? Well I now know why back home why there is Taco Cabana if you want a taco and Krispy Kreme if you want a donut. I also know why you don't see Mexican restaurants in the Czech Republic and why you don't see Czech restaurants in Mexico. Czech food is to Mexican food just like a goldfish is to a telephone pole.

It may look legit at first glance, but it's obviously not a burrito when you crack it open.

Also I tried a traditional Czech dish today. Goulash! I don't even know what to say about it or how to even describe it. It wasn't bad, but it was far from good. Interesting dish that's for sure.

Yo Andrew Minard, what it do?

written by  pathaley on July 16, 2008 from Prague, Czech Republic
from the travel blog: Eurotrip
tagged Castle, Prague, Czech, Praha, Goulash and Burrito
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We were told that we could check in to the apartment from 7:30 or so because there was no-one in the apartment the day before. Well, when we arrive it turns out that the guy here the day before went and got hit by a car, and needed another day's rest. Talk about inconsiderate! So we were told that we could check in at about 12:00 or so.

At 9 we left our bags at the agents office around the corner, and walked in to the centre of town. A nice 15 minute walk. The new town, especially Wenceslas Square is very nice, busy and active. Lots of young Czechs and foreigners walkinga round, but as we were both tired, and Adam wasn't talking to me, we decided to go to the apartment and have a day of doing nothing. We sat back and watched the 1008 channels of satellite... Every channel had shit on it... Adam went to bed at 10...

Next morning, get up and Adam is chipper again! Yes! Very pleased about that... We went out to do some sightseeing in town. Started with a pizza for lunch, went to the old town square... Millions and millions of tourists there, you couldn't move for tourists... But it was entirely understandable. Prague's old city square is absolutely stunning, and as it turns out, even more beautiful at night.

The same thing can not be said about the smell. The city square, particularly up around the Astronomical Clock smelling like horseshit, mostly on account of all the horses shitting there... The trams, also, smelled like B.O. or at least our one home last night did. It reaked of the two homeless people sat in front of me. Mostly on account of the fact that they needed a shower...

Dinner and drinks followed, and we went to a traditional Czech bar called Caffreys, to watch the second half of the Arsenal/Dynamo Kiev game. Drinks at this bar proved to be expensive, so I only had 2 more after the other 7 or 8 I'd had through the day, and went back to the apartment at 12:30 to play an online poker tournament... My KK came up against AA and I was out just outside the money...

Today, (our 3rd and final day in Prague) is another day of sightseeing. Heading to Prague Castle, and hopefully taking some pictures around the city. I will eventually add some more pictures to the blog and to Facebook. Hopefully I can get that done tonight... And, hopefully, I can survive the smell of horseshit...

I meet up with Mum and Dad tomorrow afternoon, so that's pretty exciting too...

written by  Big_T on September 18, 2008 from Prague, Czech Republic
from the travel blog: Big_T's Travel Blog
tagged Prague, Horseshit and Horses
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We checked into the Mamaison Residence Belgicka, which is in the expat part of town, really nice little gem of a hotel - the room does smell a bit like smoke - uh not surprised though.

No naps! We took the above ground tram to Prague Castle, which was an enormous complex. We got lost getting there and met someone from Estonia, and between the 3 of us, we ended up finding it just fine. The land is so hilly, it's easy to lose sight of the landmarks and get turned around. Kris could not pass up some authentic Prague Castle goulash.

Going to bed now- finally:)

written by  blondie on August 25, 2010 from Prague, Czech Republic
from the travel blog: Central Europe
tagged Prague
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Kris' Polish Birthday Cake

Prague Castle and Charles Bridge

Prague Castle and Charles Bridge - John and Agata

Saturday, Agata and John had to leave back to Poland, so I walked with them to the train station and they took the 4 hour train back :( Sad to see them leave, but I'll see them back in the U.S in another week!

Kris and I walked around to some of the city we hadn't seen yet, including Wenceslas Square, and we ate dinner at a great cheap Thai noodle bar called Modry Zub, or the "Blue Tooth". I walked to see Prague Castle lit up later in the night. Prague certainly is a whole new city at night, with all of the bars lining the cobblestone streets opening up and different types of tourists out!

written by  blondie on August 26, 2010 from Wodzislaw Slaski, Poland
from the travel blog: Central Europe
tagged Poland and Prague
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Notre hôtel est très bien située. On va partout dans la partie touristique de la Ville à pied. Là, on est brûlé. Il est 8h45 et on est revenu se coucher pour entreprendre une autre grosse journée demain. On aimerait bien voir cette Ville de nuit. Il paraît que c'est spectaculaire mais ça va Aller à demain car là, on manque de sommeil. D'ailleurs, Gilbert dort déjà à côté de moi.

written by  gifran on July 11, 2013 from Prague, Czech Republic
from the travel blog: Europe 2013
tagged Prague
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Demain, on s'en va a Vienne. Il est supposé faire autour de 30.

written by  gifran on July 14, 2013 from Prague, Czech Republic
from the travel blog: Europe 2013
tagged Prague
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