Ahoj Czechia: 7 Unforgettable Days in the Czech Republic!
Europe is one of my favourite travel destinations, and with good reason! The continent offers a fascinating mix of history and modernity tempered with an intriguing blend of unfettered joy and heartrending poignancy. And nowhere are these dichotomies better expressed than in the Czech Republic. Since 1989, when European history was forever changed by the fall of the ‘Wall’ (and eventually Communism), tourism in the Czech Republic, particularly in Prague, has soared. If you’re ever lucky enough to be a tourist in Europe, do add Czech Republic to your itinerary. History buffs especially are sure to find tons of things to blow them away in little Czechia.
We visited and stayed in Prague for 5 days and in Karlovy Vary for 3 days. It may seem like a lot to someone who’s never been there, but trust me, this land of fairy-tale architecture, medieval streets and picturesque monuments offers so many beautiful experiences that when we left at the end of Day 7, I felt as if we had still barely scratched the surface.
If you’re planning to visit the Czech Republic, then this post is for you! Prague must definitely be on your list and if you have time, visit the spa town of Karlovy Vary as well. This is a fairytale country and the feeling of ‘once upon a time….happily ever after’ will remain with you long after you return home ☺
Pojďme!!*
*let’s go ☺
Day 1 – Lose yourself in the historic neighbourhoods of Prague
Home to just over a million inhabitants, Prague has a long and somewhat chequered history. The city played an important role during the Protestant Reformation in the 16th century, and also later in the 20th century during the two World Wars. Knowing some of this, we decided to explore the city’s historic neighbourhoods on Day 1 of our Czech trip.
We started with Old Town Square (Staromestské námestí), a spot that has been around since the 12th century. We had booked an apartment in old town square. (read review here).Talk about old! The square is home to the Old Town Hall, one of the best places to get a bird’s-eye view of the city, the Prague Orloj (the Astronomical Clock), a beautiful huge timepiece dating back to the 1400s, the Gothic-style Church of Our Lady before Týn and the Baroque-style Church of St. Nicholas. You don’t have to be a history buff or religious to appreciate the beauty and timeless splendour of these edifices. Do check them out!
We visited during Easter and the square was buzzing with people, food stalls and live bands. The Old Town Square is is easily accessible from the Staromestská metro stop.
From Old Town, we crossed the Charles Bridge (Karlův most) that took us into Lesser Town (Malá Strana). Some 30-odd statues of various saints – the oldest dating back to the 14th century – line the bridge. Selfie heaven! The sculptures on both sides of the bridge are sure to take your breath away!
We crossed the bridge and climbed the lesser town bridge tower on the opposite side in Mala Strana. You will get a stunning view of Vltava river and old town from one side and lesser town houses and buildings on opposite side.
In Lesser Town, we spent a couple of hours admiring the Baroque architecture, frescoes and statuary of St. Nicholas Church/Chrám svatého Mikuláse (not to be confused with the Church of St. Nicholas in Old Town Square). This church holds regular concerts so if you’re a music fan, do enquire about the itinerary and entry fees. And Malá Strana is also home to the Infant Jesus of Prague, a Roman Catholic statue of Jesus Christ as an infant. The shrine is open to people of all faiths so even if you’re not religious, the statue is worth a visit.
Finally, we took a vintage car drive through Prague’s historic Jewish Quarter. This neighbourhood, situated to the north/northwest of Old Town, offers visitors a hands-on experience of Jewish life in the Czech Republic. It is home to a number of synagogues (Spanish Synagogue, Old New Synagogue) as well as one of the world’s oldest surviving resting places for the dearly departed, the Old Jewish Cemetery. Some of these spots charge a fee for admission or for tour guides, but there are several places you can explore on your own for free.
Day 2 – To market, to market…
Day 2 of our trip was a Saturday so we decided to explore some of the farmers’ markets that usually pop-up on weekends. Someone in our hotel recommended that we check out the no waste farmers’ market (Farmářský trh Heřmaňák) in Holešovice, Prague 7 and boy, are we glad we did! This market embraces the concept of ‘green’ shopping which is great to witness. All drinks are sold in non-throwaway containers (juice in a glass, coffee in a ceramic cup) but you are welcome to bring your own keepcup as well. People are also encouraged to carry their own tote bags for produce (no plastic bags are provided!) and boxes for cakes and pastries. The coffee is fantastic and Czech pastries like buchty, strůdl and koláč are to-die-for! The market is clean and well-organised and a true slice-of-life representation of Prague.
Later in the evening we took a boat ride on the river Vltava. The boat ride is a relaxed laid back ride with beautiful old historic buildings on both sides.
After the boat ride we walked on the river bank for sometime and then headed to a club called Karlovy Lazne right next to Charles bridge. Its a sprawling nightclub spanning across 5 floors all dedicated to different themes and music. We roamed all the floors and got settled where they were playing music from the 80”s 🙂
Day 3 – Beervana and Chocotopia in Prague!
Day 3 was a chilled out day with chocolates and beer! First we visited the Choco story museum in old town. I am a huge chocolate enthusiast and this was a MUST do for me. The choco story musuem offers history, demonstration and tasting of heavenly belgian chocolates. They even have a store where I shopped to my hearts content.
If you’re a beer enthusiast like Prati then you have to try the beer in Prague! The Czech Republic has been producing beer for centuries (some say since the 10th century!), making it one of the world’s oldest beer- producing countries. Thanks to this rich beer tradition, Prague is dotted with bars and pubs selling amazing pivo. You will be spoiled for choice for sure!
After days of doing touristy stuff in Prague, the better half and I decided to spend our last day here sampling beers like Budweiser-Budvar, Lobkowicz and Staropramen. Pilsner Urquell, the world’s first ever pilsner blonde lager, easily lives up to its hype as probably the best-known Czech beer in the world. We also tried Kozel, a dark beer from Velké Popovice that is fairly cheap but of good-quality and with an amazing taste. The craft beers in Prague are also worth a try.
If you still have your wits about you after all that beer, check out the Beer Museum that offers a ‘beer experience tour’ along with the opportunity to bottle your own beer as a souvenir of your trip!
We had reserved a table for us in the evening at a medieval tavern U Pavouka. Its a 5 course dinner with live medieval style entertainment including belly dancers, sword fighting, fire shows and more. Make sure you ask them to keep a table for you in the lower level. They have unlimited alcohol in the price but limited vegetarian food options.
Day 4 – Pay homage to Prague’s art and culture
Prague has a buzzing art and culture scene that will leave you with a feeling of ‘Wow! The human mind is capable of creating such amazing miracles!’
We then went to the National Theatre, which is considered the prime stage in the Czech Republic for opera, drama and ballet performances since 1883 (wow!). We were very excited to do something different that we had not done and decided to book an opera show on the spot. Well we forgot to check the language 😉 All of us laughed our wits out as soon as the Opera started as it was in Czech language!!!!
Franz Kafka, Czech Republic’s most famous writer is immortalised in the form of an 11-metre tall rotating bust sculpture in the city’s business centre (directly above Národní třída metro station.). Even if you’ve never heard of him (I hadn’t!), the sculpture’s giant-like appearance and mechanism of motion – thanks to its 42 mobile tiers – will amaze you as they did me.
Incidentally, the sculpture is the brainchild of artist David Černý who also created the Hanging Statue of Sigmund Freud, the Peeing Statues (yep, peeing!) outside the Franz Kafka Museum, as well as the MeetFactory, a popular centre for contemporary art, music and theatre in Prague.
Day 5 – Feel like royalty
If you only have a day or so to spend in Prague, then Prague Castle, located in Hradcany/Castle District should definitely be on your must-explore list. The castle’s grounds are so vast (covering an area of 70,000 m² – a Guinness World Record!) that you can easily spend half a day to a full day here exploring its features and splendour. Unfortunately we kept on last day and couldn’t enter the castle as it was closed due to a government event there! So make sure you keep this on your day 1. There is an excellent photo spot to click a picture of the Prague Castle alongwith the statue of John the Baptist from the Charles bridge.
Did you know Prague Castle is home to the President of the Czech Republic? Yep, it is an actively-used edifice and not just a collection of pretty-but-ultimately-useless old buildings! It is also a UNESCO World Heritage site. Explore St. Vitus Cathedral (whose spires are visible from all over the city!), the Royal Palace, the Basilica of St George and Golden Lane (the location of a house where famous Czech writer Franz Kafka once lived). Do keep in mind that although admission to the grounds is free, some of these sites charge entry fees. I think it’s worth it though.
If you arrive at the castle before midday, you can watch the ceremonial changing of the Guard (the guards serve the President) including a fanfare and flag ceremony. It’s brilliant, don’t miss it! However we walked the steep narrow roads leading up to the castle.
Also do check out the statue of the Boy with the Golden Penis at the Castle.This particular statue (called ‘Youth’) is located in the castle’s courtyard in front of the Toy Museum, and supposedly brings the ‘rubber’ good luck. Go ahead, rub, you have nothing to lose! ☺
To get to Prague Castle, you can take the subway from Hradcany station. Or you can take Tram # 22 to the Pražský Hrad stop. The castle is also accessible from Charles Bridge.
Since we couldn’t visit the castle we decided to go for segway ride.
Other interesting spots in Prague
Prague offers so many amazing things to do, see and experience that we couldn’t explore, even after spending 5 full days here! If you have more time though, do check these out:
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- Stick your head up the book tower in the magnificent Municipal Library (Městská knihovna v Praze) and take some selfies (especially if you have kids!)
- Enjoy an unforgettable ride on Pražský Semmering, Prague’s unique motor-coach train that takes you through the city’s downtown and outskirts
- Put your feet up in Letná Parks (Letenské sady) and enjoy gorgeous views of the city from the park’s Hanavský Pavilion
- Lose yourself in the Hogwarts-like atmosphere of the Baroque library, Klementium, probably the most beautiful library in the world (we only saw it exterior and I now regret not going inside!)
- Take panorama-style photographs of Prague from the Jindřišská Tower (Jindřišská věž), a gorgeous Baroque-style 65-metre tall tower right in the heart of downtown
- Dancing House in downtown Prague. Dancing House is easily accessible from the Karlovo Námesti metro stop.
Day 6 – Getting rid of the blues in Karlovy Vary
On Day 6, we left Prague to go to Karlovy Vary (aka Carlsbad), a famous spa town in the Western Bohemia region of the Czech Republic. The town is well over 600 years old and offers a number of interesting tourist spots (museums, galleries, monuments) apart from its curative hot springs and spa resorts.
Getting from Prague to Karlovy Vary is quite easy with both trains and buses plying regularly between the two spots.However we self drove to the spa town.
After checking into our hotel Petr ( read the review here) which was excellently located , we set off to explore the town.We had heard a lot about the town’s restorative hot springs and drinking cures, so we started there. We strolled around the impressively designed and constructed colonnades while sipping on health-restoring sulphurous water from ceramic drinking cups. The sight of buildings
There are a bunch of such colonnades in town: Park Colonnade, Mill Colonnade (Mlýnská Kolonáda), Market Colonnade (Tržní Kolonáda) and Castle Colonnade. They’re all gorgeous and they all add to the pleasant spa atmosphere of the town. The hot springs are easily accessible from these colonnades and most of them are open to the general public.
We filled a spa mug from The Freedom Spring (which is directly under the roof of the Park Colonnade) and sipped on the water while strolling through the town’s enchanting historical districts.
While walking, we overheard a tour guide telling her group that the Vřídlo spring, which emerges from the ground near the Church of St. Mary Magdalene, is the hottest spring in Vary. It spews a geyser of hot water that has a temperature of about 72° C. Although the water is not boiling, 72° is still pretty hot, so handle carefully!
For such a small town, Karlovy Vary houses quite a few art galleries and museums. My favourite though was the Karlovy Vary Museum (very original name, I know ☺) which displays many interesting exhibits about the town’s history, trades, crafts and of course balneology, which is the study of medicinal springs and the effects of bathing in natural mineral water.
Day 7 – ‘Looking out’ over Karlovy Vary
Having explored the primary tourist attractions on Day 7, we decided to simply walk about the town and its surrounds on Day 7. My husband and I both love exploring places on foot and that is mainly what we did on our final day in the Czech Republic – no set schedule, no hurried agenda, just sedate walks with occasional breaks to smell the roses. Karlovy Vary is dotted with a wide range of lookout points and observation towers so there is no excuse not to explore this fairytale town at leisure.
First up, we hopped onto a toy-like cable car that took us to The Diana Observation Tower. This 104-year old stone observation tower offers spectacular views of the town itself, but also the Krušné (Ore) Mountains, Doupovské Mountains and the Slavkov Forest. There’s also a mini zoo.
Yet another lookout place, The Deer Leap (Jelení skok) is walking distance from the Diana Tower. Since the mid-1800s, this spot is dominated by a bronze statue of a mountain goat that has stood on top of a rock and looked over the town.
After we came back into town, we spent some time in the beautifully designed Japanese Garden which is the ideal spot for meditation and quiet contemplation.
Our Karlovy Vary trip would have been incomplete without buying some of its world-famous products: Thun Karlovy Vary porcelain and a cut-glass sugar bowl from the Moser Glassworks Museum (absolutely mind-blowing place – highly recommended!) We also bought a small bottle of Becherovka herbal liqueur.
There are so many interesting spots outside the town proper such as Bečov castle, but our 2 days in Vary flew by so fast, we didn’t have time to explore these places. But Prati had the right of it when he said ‘Don’t worry wife – there’s always next time!’ ☺
We had our flight back from Prague so headed back. This time while driving back to Praha we stopped at the Karlštejn Castle. Its a Gothic castle built by Charles IV around 1348. Cars are not allowed all up the way. You will have to park the car in the designated parking area and walk up from there. There are cafes and cute stores along the way.
Have you visited the Czech Republic? I’d love to hear your experience.