An amazing city ruined by beggars (Prague)

Member Name: yackers1

Product:	Prague
Date:	29/10/08 (77 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Old and historic, beautiful, lots to see, nice local beer

Disadvantages: Everyone expects a tip regardless of service, very busy, now a popular stag venue

Before I start this review I must stress that this is not going to be an in depth review that lists all the sights to see in detail along with the history etc. This info can be found in any tourist information centre in Prague, or in any guide book or on numerous websites.

I have written this review to be a taster of what Prague has to offer, and my first time experience in this wonderful city. The only way to get a feel for Prague is to get out there and discover it for yourself.

My experience
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Getting there
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Living in Norfolk meant that the most convenient airport for my girlfriend and I was Stanstead, a one and a half hour drive (abiding by all speed limits and in moderate traffic) away.

Out of all UK airports I have travelled from I must say that Stanstead was the easiest (it is close) and the cheapest at which to park. The car parking cost £29.50 for 5 days through the BAA website.

We flew Czech Airlines, and whilst they changed our flight itinary three times prior to the date of travel, I found them to be very efficient. The plane was modest and fairly comfortable, when bearing in mind we travelled 'normal' class and the return tickets cost just over £150 for both of us.

Prague Airport
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Due to Czech Airlines messing us around we had to book the taxi for 1.30 pm despite our arrival at 12.30. I found that this was the most stressful part since I had read many horror stories of having to 'hail down' a taxi and having to pay up to £100 to get to Prague which is some 15KM away from the airport.

We watched people come and go, we watched taxi drivers arrive find their fares and then disappear. With more and more coming and going we began to get more and more nervous.

At 1.30pm a taxi driver came in to the arrivals lounge and held up a docket with my name. I have not felt so relieved. I was also very impressed - bang on time. This is something I am not used to since all the taxis I have booked in England are always late.

Getting to Prague town centre
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We followed the driver to the car. It was an old clapped out Peugeot 405 Diesel estate. Upon sitting in the seat I could feel my bum on the floor. The interior rattled, the engine smoked and the suspension knocked at every bump. This car was a death trap, but we didn't care - we were on our way to the studio and that was all that mattered.

I was glad that we booked the taxi with the accommodation since our taxi driver spoke very little broken english. There is no way he would have understood our directions.

The accommodation
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We stayed in a small studio about 300m from Charles Bridge and the river.
The accomodation was the top floor of a family home - which is why only couples are catered for. The accommodation consisted of a small kitchen complete with fridge, cooking rings, a kettle and plates/cutlery/bottle opener etc, a small shower room with a sink, a separate WC, a large bedroom with double bed, TV, 2 comfy chairs, chest of drawers, a radio and a fan. The room was basic but more than adequate.

For 50 euros per night and so close to the town we could not really complain.

Sight seeing and wandering around
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There are many historic sights around Prague to look at. These include Charles Bridge (which supposedly took 300 years to build), Wenclas Square and many statues, buildings, fountains, churches, chapels etc. Around every corner there is an historic building that is worthy of a photograph. It really is a beautiful city.

Across the river there is a look out tower on top of a hill. The tower is 60m but when considering the hill is c. 240m above sea level the combined height is c. 300m which is higher than the Eiffel Tower (apparantly). If you go to Prague you must go up this tower. The views are breath-taking since you can see the whole city from up there.

It is a challenging walk up the hill, and our calves, thighs and ham strings were burning and tight for the next 3 days. However, it was well worth it.

For those that cannot scale the hill, or are too lazy to scale the hill there is a cable car to the top. Since we walked both up and down I cannot comment on the cost of the car.

I would recommend a river trip. Although you don't get to go too far up the river you do get to see all the sights. The river trips run during both the day and at night. Prague at night, especially from the deck of a boat, is beautiful and it is an experience that should not be missed.

There are also tours around the city. This can be done via a convertible car (Skoda of course!), bus, tram, bicycle or horse and carriage. We did not participate in any of the above so cannot comment on how good, or otherwise these excursions are. Seeing the city on foot was good enough for us.

We later found out that Prague is so well preserved because it managed to escape any world war bombings. England and France decided to 'gift' Hitler Czechoslavakia as a bribe to keep him away from Western Europe. This is a great benefit now, since it is so beautiful, but at the time it was obviously not a good thing.

It should be noted that Prague is full of tourists, and I mean FULL of them. From parties of school children to couples to families to stag parties - Prague appears to attract all. If you do not like crowds, or feel claustrophobic, then Prague is not the place for you.

Food & Drink
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On the whole, Prague is a cheap place to eat and drink. We found 0.5l of Pilsner Urquell (which is their local beer) for 29Kr around 60p for just over a pint. All alcoholic (and soft) drinks are reasonable in these places. However, there are places where 0.5l cost 155Kr. These tend to be in places where there is outside seating. I would recommend that these places are avoided.

With regards to food it can be really cheap or quite expensive, depending on where you go. Traditional Czech food consists of meat (pork, beef, chicken or duck) and potato dumplings, dumplings and red cabbage. It is very tasty.

A piece of advice is don't ignore the restaurants that appear to be too cheap. I was sceptical and thoguht the food would be awful and the portions would be small. This was quite the opposite! The cheapest, and arguably the best places to eat are found off the main streets. Ignore small alley ways at your peril.

I must warn that there are places that will rip you off given the chance. We paid nearly £25 for a sandwich, bit of green salad, 2 portions of chips, a wine and a litre of beer! We got charged for everything in this place including 50p for a dollop of ketchup, 50p for some salt, 50p for pepper, £2 for using cutlery, £1 for sitting down, the cost of the food and they even put a 10% tip on top!

Again this was the place where there is outside seating. We were served by a pretty girl and once the bill came and we started asking questions four big blokes came out from the pub - it is a very intimidating experience that can only be solved by paying and leaving. An American couple were charged £9 for a bottle of water and an expresso! Just a warning for all to consider.

One thing that annoyed me was that in bars we were told what to tip. If I get good service then I will leave a tip at my discretion but for being served a drink?!? I would have gone to the bar myself - oh... infact I did but I was told it was table service only. I also found that when paying for all the drinks at the end the waitress (after telling you that the cost does not include a tip of 10%) stands and waits for you to tell them how much change you would like back. On the last day I got tight and said all of it and the look I got was disgusting. She said something in Czech - what I do not know but can only guess. This happened at Lavka - a bar on the river. Again I would avoid this since it is expensive and the waitresses are very rude.

I should note that in restaurants we were not told about the tip. Upon paying the bill all change would come back and it was up to you to leave a tip. In these I generally left 25% since the service was excellent, the food was excellent and it is very cheap.

It appears that you should tip everyone in Prague. You pay 10Kr to go to the toilet and the person taking the money expects a tip. You pay 500Kr to get from the airport to the studio (which we later found out is double what we should have paid) and the driver expects a tip - even though he did not speak to us, tell us about the area, help us with bags etc. It is a mockery and I actually find this style of begging totallyt wrong.

Transport
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Getting around Prague is easy. We found the best way, and the cheapest way is on foot. Prague is not that big and most of the city can be walked within a day or so. Being on foot allows you to go down side streets and alleyways and see some beautiful and very historic buildings, statues and fountains.

In addition there is a tram which goes around the perimeter of the city. For around 50p you can travel around most of Prague. Just take no. 22 or 23.

Shopping
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Amber, crystal and garnet is big business in Prague. I can't comment on the price since I am unsure how much it costs in England.

Wooden toys and puppets are also big business. And whilst they have a certain charm about them they are not your typical holiday souvenir to take home.

Around Charles bridge there are tacky souvenir shops that sell t-shirts, crystal glasses, key rings and all the usual holiday tat.
Strolling around Prague there are many 'fashionable shops' including Louis Vitton, Benneton, a Nike store, the Adidas store, La Coste, Cartier etc. I was hoping that I would be able grab a few (genuine) bargains. Wrong! Prices in Prague are not that much cheaper (if at all) than in England.

Conclusion
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Prague is a place that you must get to. I wanted to see it before the stag/hen parties ruin the city. We were lucky to take our city break mid week so we did not get too caught up in the (supposed) busy night life.

The city is so historic and (in my opinion) far more romantic than Paris that there is a phot opportunity around every corner. It is cheap to stay, eat and drink (providing that you are careful).

Summary: Couldn't spend a week here but a great place for a few days. Very historic and well worth a visit