Prague & the Czech Republic

Guidebook corrections:

Please note: The following corrections were submitted by readers and have not yet been confirmed by Rick. Check updates from Rick for the latest.

Your warning on page 62 of the Charles Bridge reconstruction should go a bit further -- it is a dusty mess that is difficult to walk in crowds. Alternative waterfront & island views were more satisfying.

Brad Oswald in Waterford, NY USA 06/28/2008

Short river trip in Cesky Krumlov was not available during festival. Since they have a festival almost every weekend, I'd ask before I counted on it. We had one unhappy boy.

Steve in Overland Park, KS USA 06/26/2008

See above.

Lisa Jensen in North Palm Beach, FL USA 06/25/2008

Wrong tour times for english guides in Cesky Krumlov. Also needs more complete info on how to get there. The bus seems like the best way. Information on going to Jablonec nad Nisou that is the capital of glass bead making.

Bob in Sequim, WA USA 05/01/2008

The prices quoted for guides was off by 25-50% apparently inflation is taking a toll.

martin in New York, NY USA 10/23/2007

As many readers have already mentioned, there is NO COST now to the St. Vitus Cathedral. The Jan Hus Memorial is now "covered" for reconstruction. There were no dates when it would be finished.

Tom Kilroy in San Diego, CA USA 10/14/2007

The only thing is that when I went to St. Vitus at 9am I was not charged 100kc to get in.

Ian Brotman in East Brunswick, NJ USA 08/22/2007

Reservations can be made in advance at Bertiny Lazne (Spa) in Trebon for services such as mud (peat) bath and massage via email before going to Czech Republic. Their website is http://www.berta.cz and their contact email is sestra@berta.cz or their receptionist email recepce@berta.cz . It is wise to email your request 4 months in advance to secure a spot. They are very prompt with their confirmation of reservation date and they will advise in a further email one month before the reservation date of the exact time the services are scheduled.

Dfloyd USA 08/14/2007

We were in Prague on July 19th, 20th, and 21st and were pleased to see that the entire Charles Bridge was open. No repairs were being made. What a romantic place it was! We also found that the St. Vitus cathedral on the Castle grounds did not charge any admission to go inside. That was nice. This might be good information for your readers to have.

Gary Hoffman in Baldwin, WI USA 07/28/2007

Yes, the best way to get from Prague to Kutna Hora is by bus, not train. Leave from the Florenc bus station in Prague. See the previous advice listed in the this section about changes. An addition: Hotel Garni in Kutna Hora includes breakfast with its room rate.

Lee Ann Bourcier in Yachats, OR USA 06/30/2007

The first guide listed for walking tours in Prague has doubled her prices. I regret I don't have her name but have misplaced the page I was so careful to keep! She SAID there was a typo--and that she really needed to contact Rick Steves as I wasn't the first person to point this out--but I SUSPECT she's overwhelmed with business thanks to the guide book and has upped her rates. She was leading a Rick Steves tour that day but after some haggling, we agreed on a compromise price for one of her other guides who was quite good. A second female guide, also recommended in the guidebook, was less expensive but also booked far in advance.

Chris in Roman, CA USA 06/05/2007

I am requesting that Orange Moon restaurant be removed from your list of Prague restaurants. My sister, mother in law and I were treated very badly, they treated us with disrespect and was very clear prejudiced against Asians! We walked out of that restaurant after 10 mins.

Sarah Giam in San Jose, CA USA 05/31/2007

1. Minibus from airport. It was already correctly mentioned that direct bus from Ruzyne to Nam.Republiku costs 120Kc, not 90. You can pay either at their kiosk inside arrival area, or to the driver (same price). This route is marked "V Celnice" (destination street name).

2. Kutna Hora. We took bus from Florenc bus station (same metro name). 62Kc per ticket one-way. 1h25min ride. 5 min walk to the edge of Rick's 2007 map on page 167. Ask / check the schedule for return bus. You have to pay to driver in Kutna Hora (the bus is just stopping at K.Hora)

3. If you follow advice on page 108: The best way to arrive to Grad not from Pohorelec, but from the prevuis tram stop. Then you go via little street Novy Svet, which is like Golden Streen without shops and tourists. You get to Loreta and Strahov monastery first, and to castle second.

4. Prague apartments have specific electrical outlets with ground pin stick out (don't know about the hotels), so check twice before getting any adapters.

Boris V. in Dover, NH USA 05/28/2007

St. Vitus is free from 1 April 2007. Closed for Mass, of course but the wait was not too long on a Saturday even if we did not get to the Castle until after 10:00 AM.

Ken

Ken Culverson in Dalton, GA USA 05/10/2007

Sykora Hotel in Krivoklat charges 1600 Kc/night, NOT the 600 Kc for a double quoted in your 2006 book!! Also, we have yet to find a beer for the 25 Kc you state in your book is all over Prague! You should also emphasize the way nice, legitimate restaurants add charges to your bill - we had a wonderful dinner at a Brazillian restaurant, with an extra $10 charge. I was too embarrassed to inquire, but my husband did so politely, and was informed that we bought a cigar!!! And were looked at askance when we replied that we had not. If my husband would not have sat silently and returned her look, we felt thet would not have removed the charge.

Astrid Cizek in Chapel Hill, NC USA 05/03/2007

If you plan on going to Karlstejn Castle on a day trip, you can also go to the main Prague train station (Hlavni Nadrazi). This station was much closer to our hotel than Smichov that is listed in the guidebook. The tip to write down your destination on a piece of paper is excellent as most of the ticket agents do not speak English.

Jennifer in Bangor, ME USA 04/19/2007

There is no fee to get into St. Vitus Cathedral anymore, it is free to the public.

The Chevas Minibus from the airport is now 120k. Make sure to bypass the overpriced taxi's at the front of the terminal. You have to go all the way to teh far end of the terminal (exit to the right) to get the Chevas Minibus.

Jennifer in Bangor, ME USA 04/19/2007

On Page 244, last paragraph, the sentence about the construction of the Metro makes it sound like it was build in the late '80's. I think it's meant to correspond w/ the 1st sentence in the para (i.e. built in the late 60's). Second is just a note that all city names seem to be by their Czech name, except Prague which is never ref'd by its Czech name, except on a side topic.

Alan Tipping in Keller, TX USA 12/03/2006

The Prague Castle now has a separate admission for the Cathedral. You have to stand in one line to get the ticket for this and another line to get the ticket for the rest of the castle, and yet another line to get the audioguide. I have a few problems with this. One, without the cathedral included, I don't think the admission to the castle (ticket A) is worth it. The cathedral and its tower are the main attractions. It annoyed me to pay to go into the Golden Lane, which was like paying to browse in their overpriced shops and little else. The audioguide was described as worthwhile but it was way overpriced -- 250 for 2 hours and 300 for all day. Also, there is no way that you could see this all in half a day, especially in the summer when it's more crowded. We thought the overall sight, aside from the cathedral, was a bit of a tourist trap.

Kato DiBernardo in Alexandria, VA USA 11/28/2006

Cesky Krumluv is DEFINITELY NOT easy to navigate by car. We had reservation at Hotel u Malého Vitak. We made it to town square but could not actually reach our hotel until we drove back out of town and entered via a different road (because of one way streets). Then after dropping luggage at hotel had to take same circuitous route to parking garage. City is easy to navigate for walkers but a nightmare for drivers.

Kurt Huneke in Kingwood, TX USA 10/25/2006

Visitors to Czech Republic from USA must have a passport that is good for 90 days beyond expected stay. We have friends who were turned away at the airport here and had to cancel their trip because their passports were good for only 2 1/2 months after their trip. I checked this on what seemed to be an official Czech tourism site and found the same information.

Vickie Shea in Pittsboro, NC USA 10/04/2006

The admission to the Prague Castle - As of Sept 1, the Roman Catholic Church now owns the St. Vitus Cathedral. They have their own admission price (100 crowns) and it is not included in any other tour or package of the Castle.

Correction to other feedback - the Charles Bridge is not closed. One statue is under repair at present.

Beth Landis in Eagle, ID USA 10/01/2006

Prague, Budapest, and Krakow:Prices are generally higher (across the board) for almost all items-somestimes significantly , but still cheap. Prague Airport is new; name in your book (Ruzyne p. 67) was never used; always referred to as Prague Airport. Budapest: Taxi from airport is now price controlled; give address to dispatcher, he prints out voucher and zone and gives to driver; you pay what is on voucher; we were expecting to pay 5000 HUF based on book(p. 388), voucher price was 3,500 HUF. Bike rental (p. 391); I bike a lot, and I would NEVER bike in Budapest...esp given your readers demographics, I would not even suggest it is a possibility. Krakow: Restauracja Samooblugowa Polakowski (p. 252) is closed.

I like your books a lot; most things are right on; there are always personal differences, but we all have different likes and dislikes. Keep up the good work. al keltner alk123@execpc.com

alan keltner in Milwaukee, WI USA 09/29/2006

Restaurace u Pinkasu, Prague: Fine restaurant, once we found it. Revise the map/location description please.

Steve in Basking Ridge, NJ USA 09/27/2006

Just an FYI: The John Lennon Wall does indeed exist...as of July 10, 2006. We visited it, though it was hard to find, on the tiny street on Kampa Island. It looks like it has been painted over many times, so the "original" portrait is not there. A little under-whelming for me, but Lennon fans may like it for historical reasons.

Lori Guderyon in Madison, WI USA 08/14/2006

The guide book was great and most helpful. Some of the pricing was out of date but I suppose this is inevitable. As Prague gains in popularity prices will rise accordingly.

Robert Bell in Victoria, BC Canada 07/13/2006

The number given on page 53 for the Cedaz minibus is actually a fax number-neither I nor the hotel reception could get through. They called another company and the standard rate from the hotel seemed to be 480Kc for up to four people, not 360Kc as in your book.

Barbara Sauve in Montreal, Canada 07/08/2006

The 8Kc ticket is NOT valid within Prague - we got in a real bind with the transit police when trying to explain that we thought we bought the right ticket on one of the random checks. The officer spoke very little English and wouldn't tell us how to correct our error. We argued with him for about 20 minutes (much of it him yelling at us in Czech) until we finally took him to the information desk to ask if we could just pay for a new ticket.

Erica in Washington, DC USA 07/07/2006

The Strahov Monastery and Library admission is now 80 Kc. Also, in your eating section map, the Bohemia Bagel Cafe (Internet) is shown in a confusing way. Your map indicates it to be on or near Vezenska without accurately showing the actual location at Masna #2. We couldn't find the street Ujezd (16) in Old Town. That street is in Mala Strana. The Monday night jazz session 19 June at St. Martin in the Wall turned out to be a classical music performance(?).

William Walsh in Seattle, WA USA 06/20/2006

I don't think the phoenetics of the word for thank you in Czech is very accurate; however, that also may be due to variances in dialect? I had moderate success with the book's phoenetic spelling; however, at one exchange the person I was speaking to said I was way off. So, I asked my new sister-in-law about how to say it, and she pronounced it as: day cui (instead of DYACK QUEE).

Per the guidebook's suggestion, I asked my hotel to book us reservations for the U Prince Terrace restaurant. When my wife and I showed up, we told the manager that my hotel had booked a reservation. He informed us that for the terrace restaurant they do not take reservations. He was able to find us a table without a problem, but thought that would be useful information for you to know.

Ross Stannard in Cle Elum, WA USA 06/16/2006

in the Olomouc section, Tram #1 does NOT go to U Domu and Koruna. Trams #2 and #4 are the correct ones. I learned this one the hard way!!

leigh USA 05/04/2006

Hi! Just a quick note about pronunciation in Czech: the emphasis for words is always on the first syllable and if the word is provided by a preposition (such as "na") the emphasis shifts onto the preposition. Therefore, just a quick pronunciation update in regards to your list on page 23 of the 2006 guide:

"Prosim" is more accurately pronounced "PRO-seeeem" - long "i". (See my comments at the bottom.)

"Na sheledanou" is more accurately pronounced: NAS-skle-da-no-oo

"koruna" is "KO-roo-nah"

"...vece" is "VAY-TSAY" (as it is merely a pronunciation of "W.C.") or better yet, you can say "toaleta" - "TO-ah-let-a" as in "Kde je toaleta?"

"Na zdravi!" is "NAH-zdrah-veeee"

"Ucet, prosim", again, see the "prosim" note above. More of an "s" sound than a "z".

You might wish to mention that the accents do NOT necessarily denote where the stressed syllable is, but rather, as you DO mention, a prolongation of the sound. This is contrary to English, where most often the stressed syllable is the same one with the prolonged sounds and all other syllables often becoming schwas. This is why it may seem weird to pronounce "prosim" (with an accent on the "i") as "PRO-seeeeeem", since the first syllable is short but stressed and the second is long but unstressed.

I.T. Robertson in Prague, Czech Republic 04/27/2006

Renovation of Prague's main train station Hlavní nádraží will start this summer & continue through 2009. They are going for an upscale Galleria type of look with plenty of shops & eateries to bring it up with western europe's standards. So far the word on the street is there will be no interuption of train service, as only one part of the station at a time will be overhalled. Expect some confusion entering & leaving the station during the construction period.

DFloyd CA USA 04/20/2006

On page 18 of your Prague and The Czech Republic 2006 you state that CZ is not a Eurail country. Both Eurail and Raileurope now offer regional rail passes that include the Czech Republic. Otherwise its a great book.

Jim in Beaverton, OR USA 03/21/2006

The 2006 Prague book still lists prices in the koruna. Internet prices for Prague are in Euros. Which is correct?

[Editor's Note: The Czech Republic still uses the koruna or "crown," abbreviated Kc. While they have been a member of the EU since May 1, 2004, they will probably not start using the euro until 2011 or 2012. Often, websites show prices in euros as a courtesy to tourists. Or they may be able to charge your credit card in euros, but this "convenience" is almost always at a terrible exchange rate. Always ask ahead of time to have transactions charged in the local currency.]

Walter Vestal in Arlington Heights, IL USA 01/02/2006