[Erin]

My husband and I will be spending a few days in Prague in February and I am at a bit of a loss as to what to do. We are staying at the Hotel Venzia which is supposed to be situated between The Old Town Square and Wencelas, (spelling?), Square. We are hoping to see a hockey match and plan to visit the Imperial Cafe. Does anyone have any suggestions?
_________________
"It's watery....and yet there's a smack of ham."

"It's hot ham water."

[simona]

Hi Erin,
You can get some information about Prague from a former topiv on this subject named "Prague restaurants".

Bon Voyage and take warm clothes. It's freezing in february.

Simona

[Erin]

I read that topic and there was some info, but it really drifted away from Prague and became an extremely fascinating conversation of history and personal backgrounds.
I read about cabs and pickpockets, but not very much about the to do.

I was fascinated and forgot why I decided to read it.
_________________
"It's watery....and yet there's a smack of ham."

"It's hot ham water."

[Bo]

try to take a look at www.prague.tv this site is designed for prague visitors. there's info about events, restaurants; there're forums and picture galleries too.

[Erin]

Thanks Bo,
I have found a lot of sites, but that one is the best so far. I actually found a hockey schedule! Is the hockey arena very far from the Old Town area?
_________________
"It's watery....and yet there's a smack of ham."

"It's hot ham water."

[Donna]

Hey Erin,

when are you leaving? I am dying to hear how the packing turns out!
_________________
L'appetit vient en mangeant. -Rabelais

[Erin]

We leave on the 22nd, and the packing trial runs have been a bit of a flop. Yes, I am doing trials. I'm a little bit Monkish. I promise to give you the lowdown. The sad thing is that I found this totally cute kind of punky shirt that would look great with either jeans tucked into boots or jeans rolled up with heels. I swore no heels, but going out at night I will need something. It is hard being a girl.
Anyway we get to Prague on the 4th of March. It is really a toss up as to which city I am most excited to see, they all have so many great things to offer.
_________________
"It's watery....and yet there's a smack of ham."

"It's hot ham water."

[wintkat]

Hi, when we were in Prague we visited the Mucha Museum and were delighted. This small museum features only the work of the great Czech Art Nouveau artist Alphonse Mucha. Here's a website for the location and info re:how to get there and hours of operation.
http://snipurl.com/m853

[Erin]

Very cool, thank you! Welcome to C&Z Wincat.
_________________
"It's watery....and yet there's a smack of ham."

"It's hot ham water."

[woodstocker]

march 4! my birthday! can you tell i'm excited about getting a year older? (what's wrong with me?) now for something completely different, how many different cities are you visiting? i have three weeks off for spring break and am trying to figure out where to visit...so many choices!

[Erin]

Happy month early birthday!!!
On the Czech portion of the trip we are only visiting Prague. I wish we had alotted more time there to see other places. I think the beauty of the city's architecture and shopping will keep us occupied though.

If you are looking for a place to go Prague has a very favorable exchange rate even for people coming from the US. I have also been told by several friends that it is a very happening place and extremely beautiful.

We will be in London, Paris, Doncaster, Ruddington, hopefully Edinburgh and Cardiff. Maybe Swansea. While we are in France we would like to get to Normandy, but I just don't know if we will be able to tear ourselves away from Paris. After all it's Paris!
_________________
"It's watery....and yet there's a smack of ham."

"It's hot ham water."

[woodstocker]

i probably shouldn't tell you this, but Edinburgh is used book capital of the western world. everywhere you go, there's at least 4 shops on each street. if you're into Trivial Pursuit, many pubs here have "quiz night," its a fun time. of course all the uni. kids go for the cash prizes and free beer. the pub i was at has a first prize of a gallon of beer! second prize was a bottle of wine. otherwise, there's lots of good shopping off the main tourist areas, most notably High St. aka the Royal Mile.

[creampuff]

I was in Prague in 2001 in early March. It snowed and was very cold. Bring silk long underwear. Also bring comfortable footwear, the cobblestones in Prague are the sharpest of any I've experienced.

Plan on spending at least a half day in the old Jewish quarter. Prague's is one of the best preserved since the Nazi's planned to make it a museum to a lost race.

Bohemian garnets (which are lovely and very deep red almost black) are a good deal, especially when set in silver.

I think it is worthwhile taking an actual tour of the old castle. There is not much explanation for a self-guided tour.

There is a chain for crystal stores (I would need to check my notes for the name) that has beautiful, tasteful crystal including some nice smaller pieces at very respectable prices.

I usually don't drink beer, but I made an exception in Prague. The beer is tasty and cheap. Food on the whole seemed to be very reasonable, although the quality varied.

I kind of stumbled into The Imperial Cafe. It's history seems to come alive through its tiled walls If I remember correctly they serve a kind of filled donut/bun with your coffee drink, which was a nice surprise.

I also like having coffee in the Municipal House. It was also an internet cafe back then. I loved the art noveau architecture. I also liked the Museum of Decorative Arts (which was still being put together back then, there should be even more to see) housed in one of Prague's many beautiful palaces.

The Mucha Museum (which someone else mentioned) was also a treat.

There is good music to be had (particularly classical) everywhere it seems. Try to check out a concert if you have time. Also, a black light show. We went to one of the "non-traditional" ones that also featured some mime comedy along with the black light (which is fabric being moved in various shapes almost telling a story by "invisible" people under black lights.) Trust me this is something I would normally avoid and I found it charming and entertaining.

I was pleased that it was pretty easy to get around in Prague despite my lack of knowledge of the Czech language. Most street signs had the english transliteration on them and most service employees knew at least enough English to sell you stamp, or whatever it was you were coming in contact with them for. However, perhaps as part of the country's communist past, at times the notion of customer service was shall we say uneven. This may not be an issue any longer.

Prague is filled with beautiful buildings (most of which were covered with scaffolding while we were there undergoing renovation.) I have heard there is a big graffetti problem now, which saddens me. Walking in the winding streets and looking up and suddenly see yet another fairy tale building in front of you was one of the delights of Prague.

I can't remember all the places we ate, but I enjoyed the veg. fare at Country Life. We needed a veggie break since much of the food is based on meat and bread or dumplings. We had a fabulous tasting menu at a French rest. near the river at a rooftop restaurant. I think it might have been V Zatisi, but I'm not sure.

Unless the laws have changed, there is a lot of smoke in the restaurants and bars.

If I run across my notes, I'll post again.

If you have any specific questions, please don't hestitate to contact me through my website or by private email.

Bundle up and have a great trip.

[Erin]

woodstocker,
I am totally going to a game night! My good friend we are visiting in England and I were the Trivial Pursuit champs of all our friends. She will be so excited to go. Thanks!

creampuff,
great tips!
I am really looking forward to the Imperial Cafe, mainly because I want to see the bowl of doughnuts you can buy and throw at the other patrons. I don't intend to do it, I just think it's funny.
_________________
"It's watery....and yet there's a smack of ham."

"It's hot ham water."

[Donna]

Hi Erin,

Creampuff's post made me remember one of the worst days in my life - trying to walk around Oslo in clogs. I know you mentioned somewhere you were taking clogs, but seriously - RECONSIDER. They DO NOT work on cobblestones because it is so uneven. You will twist your ankles all day long and maybe even fall! (I did and I was young and athletic at the time.) Something that allows your sole to flex as it hits three different levels of pavement at once works better.

Yes, silk long underwear - warm and not bulky. Highly endorsed here!

Throw a doughnut! How many opportunities will you have in your life to do that? It will be a funny story to tell your kids!
_________________
L'appetit vient en mangeant. -Rabelais