Three Perfect Days – Prague

We recently visited the capital city of the Czech Republic during our Eastern European trip. Originally, we planned to take a train from Krakow, Poland, to Prague. We chose a direct train (meaning no change of trains along the way) because we had a lot of luggage—really a lot! Normally, we don’t travel with this much luggage, but since we were headed to India afterward, with an uncertain length of stay, we packed accordingly.

However, the universe had different plans for us. Historic floods occurred a week before we left for Eastern Europe from Denver. The Danube River (a major river flowing through nine countries) overflowed by 8 to 10 meters in some areas. These heavy rains damaged train tracks in the Czech Republic and the Austrian countryside. Consequently, our train was canceled. So, we flew from Budapest to Prague on a Wednesday afternoon.

We arrived in Prague around 6 pm. It was getting dark when we got out with our luggage. Uber is the official taxi service at the Prague airport, meaning only Uber is allowed to pick up passengers from the arrivals level. If you call another taxi company, you’ll have to go to the departure level to get your ride! The traffic in the city was heavy, and it took us 45 minutes to cover what should have been a 20-minute journey. I started a conversation with our driver, though he didn’t speak English well. He was from Ukraine and had left his homeland shortly after the war broke out.

By the time we reached our hotel, it was quite dark. We were staying at a boutique place with an interesting history: it’s owned by a monastery next door, and the building, constructed some 600 years ago, was used to house traveling monks! There were no illuminated signs for the hotel, so we weren’t sure we were in the right place. The entrance was up 15 steps, and it took us five minutes to figure out we were indeed in the right place! It was a beautiful property, with great people, and a cozy atmosphere for our four nights in Prague.

People often ask me how I select hotels. Up until a few years ago, I was exclusively a Hilton person. If there was a Hilton in town, I wouldn’t look elsewhere. But a few years ago, I started branching out. Now, I start my search with Google and Trivago, filtering for 4-star hotels and guest reviews rated 9/10 (or 4.5/5). I’ve found that a 4-star hotel on one platform might not be a 4-star on another, so I check that it’s consistently rated. Once that’s done, I sort by guest reviews, starting with the lowest-rated, and ask myself if I can live with the worst complaint. It may sound crazy, but service matters to me. If reviews show a great property but poor service, I move on.

The next day, we started walking towards the old town after breakfast. Our hotel was close to Prague Castle, and everything was within walking distance. Since the hotel was on a hill, coming back every evening was good exercise. On the way to the old castle, we stumbled upon a chocolate factory store, so naturally, we had to go in. They had unique, locally made chocolates, and we sampled every flavor. We decided to buy some for friends and family but planned to purchase them on our way back.

We walked through Mala Strana, a high-end street at the edge of the Charles Bridge. We found a store selling locally made wooden items, with some really unique pieces. Again, we planned to purchase them on our way back.

A quick side note: We intended to buy a local metro pass, but everything was within walking distance, and no public transportation was available between our hotel and our destinations (public transport mainly serves areas outside the tourist zone).

In no time, we reached the Charles Bridge, one of Prague’s first bridges. It’s now a pedestrian-only bridge, and tourists are everywhere. It was like an ant mound—literally. Prague is a tourist hub, and we met people from all over the world: Taiwan, Europe, India, the US, and more. Just across the bridge, the old town begins. We came across some people selling boat tours, and since a river cruise was on our list, we decided to hop on the next one. This, however, was a mistake—of all the things to do in Prague, this is one you should skip. It’s called the “Venice of Prague,” but that’s a joke. The boat circles the Charles Bridge at a very slow pace for 45 minutes, showing you nothing that you couldn’t see better from the shore.

After that, we continued walking into the old town, which was packed with people—no exaggeration, there was hardly room to breathe. We stopped by a small place selling French fries, but I’ve never had such expensive fries in my life! $7.50 for small fries? Prague is an expensive city, almost twice as costly as other Eastern European cities like Budapest, but $7.50 for small fries was hard to digest.

We also needed some local currency, so we stopped by one of the many currency exchanges, all of which display their rates clearly on boards, making it easy to get a good rate. After getting some cash, we went to the old town tower and toward the famous Astronomical Clock. Along the way, we found a shop selling clock replicas, including a cute pocket watch version, which we bought for Ish. Soon, we arrived at the Astronomical Clock—an amazing piece of engineering.

In the late afternoon, we headed back to the hotel. On the way, we stopped at a churro place for my wife, while I got some ice cream. We sat down, and next to us was a young woman from Taiwan, studying Spanish in Spain. She told us she was visiting one country a month while in Europe!

The next day, we were headed to Prague Castle, less than a block from our hotel. There were huge lines for tickets, but we found a smaller, tucked-away ticket office usually used by guides, and there was no line there. We also decided to join a guided tour, which turned out to be a great decision. The official guides have priority access, so we avoided the long lines. Our tour began at St. Nicholas Church, a beautiful building with a fascinating history, and continued to the old palace. Interestingly, Prague Castle is also the official residence of the President of the Republic. With so many tourists, I wonder how they handle security. From a special balcony in the old palace, which is only accessible to guides, we had a clear view of the entire city.

After spending a few hours at the castle, we visited Loretta Palace, which was underwhelming, but not every site can be extraordinary. Afterward, we returned to the hotel to relax for an hour.

I had researched vegetarian restaurants beforehand, and we visited a small place called Dosa Dosa. The food was fantastic—dosa, uthappam, pastries, and mocktails. It was a great experience! We then bought some souvenirs before calling it a day.

The next day, we planned to climb Petrin Hill, but my wife wasn’t up for it because of an unusually cold and rainy day, so we spent more time in the old town and Charles Bridge area and also visited the Jewish Quarter, though there wasn’t much to see. So, we did more shopping! For lunch, we ate at a highly-rated Italian place with an authentic chef from Italy. The food was delicious.

That marked the end of our three days in Prague. We were leaving the next morning. Prague is a beautiful city and, though it’s a tourist trap, it’s worth a visit. I highly recommend a weekend in Prague if you get the chance.

Let me know what you think of this wonderful city in the comments below. I’ll be back…