I just got back from a trip in the Czech Republic (Prague, Karlovy Vary, Plzen, Ceske Budejovice, Cesky Krumlov) and had a great time. It is a beautiful country and was failry safe for a solo female traveler.
Prague is just gorgeous! I won%26#39;t say much about it because I am sure it is covered in every guidebook and every other posting. I will talk about my accommodation, restaurants and bars only in Prague.
Hotel:
In Prague, I stayed at a B%26amp;B off Husova (about 3 minutes from the old town square) called PENSION U ZELENEHO VENCE. It is fairly affordable, clean and close to everything. The free breakfasts are simple (bread, cereal, yogurt, cheese, meat) and nothing to write home about. Note that it is not handicapped-accessible. No elevator or escalator, so if you have a lot of luggage, it could be a bit difficult. The staff is friendly and helpful. When I went to Karlovy Vary and needed bus information, they helped me find the bus schedule and gave me directions to get to the bus station. Also, because it was low season, I had a fairly decent size room (the first half of my trip - I stayed in a room for 3 people -- with a sitting room and living area; on the second half of my trip, I stayed in a room for 2 people - no extra sitting or living room). I would go back to this place.
Restaurant:
I had dinner one night at KAMPA PARK in Mala Strana. I LOVE this place. The view of Charles Bridge was just stunning! The service was excellent. The staff spoke English and were very friendly and helpful. Lastly, the food was GREAT! I tried the lobster tail and the tuna sushi for the appetizer, pear salad, the Bear Garlic soup with seared scallop, the duck with foie gras, the chocolate soufle and vanilla raviolli. all were FANTASTIC (except for the vanilla raviolli, a dessert, which was just a bit too sweet and had a weird consistency). yes, a lot of food, but i ended up having dinner with some fellow travelers to prague. I think, with 2 vodka drinks, my share came up to about $110. I recommend this place to everyone, if you don%26#39;t mind paying the price.
I also had dinner at MLYNEC in Stare Mesto. It has an ok view of the Charles Bridge but not fantastic. I had the Goat Cheese for an appetizer. It was just ok. I loved the Crispy duck. It was tasty. I had a chocolate souflle. (Kampa Park%26#39;s souffle was better). The service was also friendly and nice and they spoke English. They seated me right away even though I did not have reservations. This was also a pricey place but not as expensive as Kampa Park. By the way, smoking is allowed in the restaurant so you could smell smoke while dining. I would probably try out Bellevue next time.
I also had dinner in BAROCK in Josefov. No views but it is in the %26quot;hip%26quot; part of town. I met some other travelers earlier who said Pravda was not that good so I opted for Barock (which is across the street from Pravda). Again, the service was excellent. (And, again, I had no reservations). I had the seared scallop with salmon - it was ok. I had the Chilean Sea Bass, which was very good. The best chocolate souffle out of the three dinner restaurants, thus far, was here. The dinner, with 1 vodka drink and port, came out to about $80. Barock has a smoking and non-smoking area - separated by a wall - so if you are a non-smoker, you can enjoy dinner without any smoke seeping through. I would probably go back here.
I had lunch one day at OLYMPIA in Mala Strana. The service was ok but not too friendly. I had the salmon tartare (just ok) and the potato pancake with ham inside, which was very good but quite filling. They only serve one kind of beer here, the Pilsner Urquell. I would probably try another lunch place.
I also had lunch at one of the restaurants in the heart ot Stare Mesto on the square - STAROMETSKA RESTAURACE. I had the pork with gravy on top and bread dumpling with a Pilsner Urquell. It was ok food but a great place to watch people go by.
Bars (smoking is allowed so beware):
TRETTER%26#39;S in Josefov looked cool and trendy. They play American music. It is dark and looked like a date place. It is a cocktail bar so they serve all sorts of cocktails. But, they only serve Pilsner beer there.
ALCOHOL BAR in Josefov also looked cool and trendy. Again, it is a cocktail bar and located underground. I had my first Russian Standard vodka there. Pretty good.
BOMBAY CAFE was more homey and casual. There is a small dancefloor and the music was mostly American/British pop. Mostly locals came here. For a Sunday night, it was fairly filled.
BATALION on Narodni (across from Tesco) was also fun although not as crowded on a Saturday nightl. It is underground and is a pub.
OCEAN DRIVE in Josefov was probably my favorite. The bartenders were friendly and made good cocktails. I was told that 70% Czechs and 30% tourists went there. I met locals and tourists alike and all were friendly. The decor is kind weird (angel wings hanging in the ceilingl; drawings of South Beach on the wall). I went back here 2 nights in a row.
There were pubs around Stare mesto that I visited (through a Pub Walk tour by Praguer.com) and don%26#39;t remember their names but I recommend the Pub Tour. The guide was funny and fun and took us to different pubs serving different beers (Pilsner Urquell, Gambrinus, Krusovice, Budweiser Budvar).
Sorry this was long but it does not even cover the architecture (excellent, by the way) I saw and just looking at the remnants of history (from the Austro-Hungarian empire to communism).
I found Prague to be safe and I did not feel threatened walking by myself on the streets of Prague at 2 am. Of course, I was vigilant in making sure that my money, etc were protected and I was not wearing expesnive jewelry. And, that I was not in remote alleys and backways. There were plenty of locals whom I found to be helpful and spoke English (and did not make fun of me when I tried to pronounce Czech words).
Safe travels to you!
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Excellent review glad you had a great time, just reading this has made me very hungry!!
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What about Cesky Krumlov and the other places you visited?
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csaconsult,
Karlovy Vary was nice but a little bit slow. I stayed at HOTEL KOLONADA, which was in a central location, I thought -- between the Hotel Thermal on the one end and Grand Hotel Pupp on another. My room (single) was fine, nothing great. I paid extra for the view but I really shouldn%26#39;t have bothered because I was partly looking at Hotel Thermal. I only stayed one night so I couldn%26#39;t say much about the service. The hotel bartenders were nice though although they admitted that nothing much went on there at night. Everybody, it seems were there for the spa services and went to bed early (or it could be because it was low season). The Hotel Restaurant staff were not very helpful though. I tried to eat there for dinner and it was difficult to communicate. So, I ended up eating in a Thai Restaurant -- bad idea. Not very good at all! For breakfast, the buffet was nothing exciting - bread, meat, hotdogs, some hard boiled eggs. The breakfast staff was friendlier than the dinner staff.
I do recommend the ZAMECKE LAZNE for spa serices. It is fairly new and modern and beautiful. I bought a 4 hour visit (mineral inhalation; kniepp therapy, pearl bath -- all are about 15 minutes -- and a massage -- 45 minutes -- and the rest was spent in the pool and/or sauna) for under $100.
I did not stay in Plzen but just went to the Pilsner Urquell brewery. The Restaurant there, NA SPILCE, was good and served tasty pork chops with fries. The service was also friendly and helpful.
I stayed with my cousin%26#39;s friend in Ceske Budejovice/Cesky Krumlov so I cannot review any hotel or restaurant. I did enjoy those towns tremendously though.
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Great report! I was there last week with a friend...we never felt afraid and just kept close contact with our purses. We loved the Kampa Park too...yes it is expensive...but if you compare it to a high end resturant in New York or just about anywhere in the US...it was very fairly priced. I think the bottle of wine we had was 15 euros...a nice suprise. Next time we are going to try to Pub Tour...we met up with a guy from the UK in our hotel...he had gone on the tour the night before...from what he could remember he thought it was a great time....:)
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