We spotted some interesting sculptures while walking around Prague, here's a Spitfire body with the wings of a butterfly (above), not sure what the symbolism means but you don't see this kind of thing on the outside of a shopping centre very often! Below are a couple of bridges, including the famous Charles Bridge (furthest from view) taken from high on the hill above the city.
There are many river crossings in Prague, you could almost say it's a city of bridges and much like London they all have a certain character of their own, I think we did all the main ones while we were there and walked a total of 68 km, not bad for a couple of oldies.
While we were there (and by pure chance) the Czech Republic were in the final of the World ice hockey championship, which was being hosted in Prague itself. In the old town square they had erected a huge TV screen and broadcast the match live to an adoring and very loud crowd, we watched for a while and soaked up the wonderful atmosphere and then retired to our hotel to catch the last 20 minutes in our room. Fortunately CZ beat Switzerland 2-0 and so everyone was in good spirits until the wee small hours, a memorable night! You can see the pre-match excitement building in the picture below..
We loved Prague, it's a beautiful city with friendly people (contrary to popular myth) It's a city of gothic architecture, bridges, museums, ornate buildings and beer, lots of it!
If I were to sum up our best experiences I'd list them as follows (in no particular order)
- Pivovar Vinohradsky, brewery, large taproom and restaurant, world class beer and excellent food!
- Old town pubs, great atmosphere and very reasonable prices (£2 for 500ml of Czech Pilsner)
- Technical Museum, despite not having a computer exhibit, generally heaven for tech fans
- Lasagneria, restaurant in the Prague-2 district, they just do Lasagne, if you like that then it's lush!
- The Karlin District, cool vibe, great restaurants and top craft beer bars
- Prague Castle, worth the trek up the (long) hill, lots to see, history, cathedral, art etc..
Things to watch out for..
- Taxis - generally not good value (and some positively sketchy) check out public transport instead
- Places that insist on cash only (usually its a scam around exchange rates or sketchy)
- City tax, 50 crowns per person per day, 5 days cost us 500 crowns, ensure you have cash left over!
- ATMs, everywhere, but don't use unless essential, the exchange rates are criminal!
- Usual big city stuff, i.e. people trying to flog you stuff on the street etc..
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