Rick Steves' Prague & the Czech Republic: More Feedback
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The Golem restaurant in the Josefev is a great place. It's almost next door to the Maisel synagogue. I went in alone and enjoyed a very well priced meal (for the quality of the food, it would have been easily 3 times that in many places in the US) The staff was very fast and pleasant. Also check out the Bohemian bagel. Be aware, if you enjoy a cup of coffee to go, that this is not common in cafes there. It is a beautiful, incredible city. St Vitus's is not to be missed. I did pay the extra fee so I could take pictures and I felt it was worth it when I got my film devleoped. However, St. Nicholas's, in the Mala Strana, was even better, in my opinion. It's quite fun to get a cheap cup of hot wine and then wander around Old Town Square--- but be prepared for extremely friendly pigeons. I stayed at the Hotel Anna-- very nice and quiet and clean and an extremely helpful staff and an excellent breakfast. It's in Vinohrady, which is just a couple of easy metro stops from Old town and the castle.
Michelle
LA, CA USA Sat 04/16/2005
Visit to Prague
We just returned from spending 2 days in Prague. The city is wonderful and we really enjoyed walking around! I felt the castle was a little disappointing but the cathedral was beautiful.
HOTEL:We stayed at Pension U Medvidku. Our experience was NOT good! Upon an earlier than expected arrival, we asked if it would be possible to check and see if our room was ready. The lady behind the desk was not polite at all and gave us the key and told us she couldn't go check and that we would have to do it ourselves. We then asked if we had parked in the right garage that "they suggested" because the rates were NOT what they quoted us (double!)in an email. She went on to say that they have nothing to do with the rates or the garage, that her colleage gave us the information and if they changed the prices without notifying them it isn't her problem. We had no choice because parking is nonexistent in the city. The restaurant attached to the hotel was good for a light lunch or dinner.
Since we arrived on a Sunday we didn't think that the noise would affect us from the beer hall. We were wrong! Lots of noise from the beer hall AND the aerobics/dance class next door to our room! We had to be careful becuase they could see right in to our bathroom. If you stay here, ask for a room FAR away from the beer hall. The room itself and bathroom were large but there was mold in the shower and for the price we paid 5000 czk or 174 euros, minimum in comforts. The bed was extremely hard (fine for some people)and feather pillows weren't great for support. We spent 9 days traveling to Vienna, Prague, Munich and Bolzano,Italy and we paid the most for this room and got the least!Oh, no elevator but breakfast was good. If smoke bothers you then beware because it is served in a small room attached to the beer hall and it smells of stale smoke!
RESTAURANTS:Beware of prices listed outside of restaurants being different than inside. We ate at one establishment (our mistake, touristy area)and once inside the menus had higher prices. The waiter said that the differences were for carry-out services. Don't feel bad getting up and leaving when this happens. If more people did then they wouldn't try these tricks! We LOVED Pivnice u Zeleneho Stromu! Inexpensive and great cuisine! We sat in the garden which is nice and avoided the smoke that is so common in Prague. We also ate at U Zlate Studny on Karlova.Yes, touristy area but it is part of a hotel and the restaurant is in the cellar. Fun environment and great food. The waiter was friendly and spoke good english. OVERALL: Great city, food and beer but I would revisit other cities again over this one.
Meg
USA Sat 04/16/2005