Praha: Paris on a budget

OK, so Prague doesn’t have an Eiffel Tower or some of the other famous landmarks, or the grand vistas along Hausmann’s boulevardes but it does have some amazing street and landscapes, with castles topping hills and the rabbit warren of the Old Town reminiscent of La Marais, bustling with cafes and bars and shops selling all manner of things.  We managed to cover a fair bit of the inner city on foot and took to the bikes for a look a little further afield on our second day.

Unfortunately, Prague isn’t as cycle friendly as some cities but we found Okolo Bike Hire who were able to get us set up with a couple of bikes and we headed to the river to ride the cycle path upstream.  The narrow streets and lanes in the Old Town don’t lend themselves to comfortable cycling and this is exacerbated by the cobble stones which make the ride less than comfortable.

After heading upstream for a while we crossed the river and followed the bank back downstream before crossing back over and walking our bikes through the throngs of people on the Charles Bridge and across to the ‘lesser town’ on the Western bank.  We were able to take a break at one of the many cafes and restaurants that line the river and spent a very pleasant break enjoying the sunshine which seemed to lift the spirits of everybody after the cold snap which had been lurking for the last week.

I’ve gotten a little out of practice at using a flip camera while riding, so this video is a bit shaky. It does though provide a little snippet of some of the wonderful scenes around central Prague.

Prague 29 Apr 2016 from Roger Pryor on Vimeo.

We found the Czech people very welcoming everywhere we went, being extremely forgiving of our absolute lack of any Czech language skills and always willing to help with directions or explaining menu choices. The reference in the title of this blog post, ‘Paris on a budget,’ comes from the fact that food and drink is exceptionally affordable here.

Last night, for example  I was drinking a couple of pints of a very nice full American Pale Ale brewed at Nota Bene craft brewery and restaurant in Prague and it was costing around $2.50 AUD each. We had dinner in the restaurant there and along with the 2 pints of APA, Lynette had a locally brewed light lager and a glass of Sauvignon Blanc to go with her dish of Iberian Beef Cheeks. I had Pork Belly and lentils and both dishes were superb. Total cost: $42 AUD for everything. This was in a nice stylish restaurant filled with twenty somethings and attentive friendly service.

On the way home we dropped into the Illegal Beer Bar which is a speakeasy style craft beer bar about fifty metres from where we were staying and grabbed a couple of longnecks of a very nice Raven APA made in Pilzen which is the traditional home of Pilsener. They’ve clearly recognised the need to follow trends. The large bottles were 89 Czech Kroner each, or $4.90 AUD. 

It’s a lovely city and, when it’s remembered that  communist rule only ended here at the very end of 1989, in the ‘Velvet Revolution,’ it is clear that there have been great changes following the opening of the borders and the take-up of so much from the West.

After an early checkout from our AirBnB apartment our Uber arrives at the door right on cue as we walk out and we’re off to catch the train to Passau, with a change at Regensburg and then Plattling before finally finding ourselves beside the Danube which we’ll be seeing much more of as we cycle downstream for a week with our bags and beds safely aboard the MV My Story.