This is a reward trip for finishing my dissertation (yey). I've always wanted to go to Prague, boy, it wasn't a disappointment. And I've got to say, I have a new favourite city now- every single corner of this city is beautiful, and I'm not exaggerating about that!
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| Charles bridge, early in the morning. |
I came to Prague with a friend to share the costs, not that its expensive! Eastern Europe has always been cheap, and very good for travelling on a budget, and in my opinion underrated compared to its Southern, Western and Northern neighbours.
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| Navigating. Andel metro station |
It's very easy to navigate in Prague, they have 3 metro lines, tons of trams and busses. As I've said in all of my posts so far, It's impossible to get lost in Europe, as everything is organised; they have timetables and they make sure to stick to it. Just download Google Maps, and presto!
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| Staromestka's modern-looking station. |
To make use of their transport system, its smarter to buy travel cards than single tickets. A three-day unlimited transport pass, which lets you ride the metros, trams, busses, and cable cars, only costs 310 Kc (Czech koruna/crowns) or £9 or P600! Not bad at all, if you compare the costs of having a travel card in London.
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| Ornamental buildings and hidden corners. |
Anyways, we were staying in a studio, which cost us around £50-60 for three days. It included a kitchen, so we were able to do money saving cooking (we only spent £15 for groceries enough for 3 days)! Though you can get a meal for £6 -8 per person, you need to eat 3 times a day, and that dents the budget. I'm not saying to not eat out, but I suggest eating local food, likely, street food. There are plenty of stalls that sell cheap Klobasa (Czech sausage), Trdelnik (chimney cakes), lagers, toasties, potatoes with raclette, name it.
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| From the top left: View at Petrin, Staromestka station, Namesti Republiky, potatoes with raclette, trdelnik, klobasa. |
Speaking about the food in Prague, I have to say that the food is pretty much the same in Eastern Europe (not all of course). Chimney cakes are called Trdelnik in Prague (they're smaller), and Kürtőskalács in Hungary and Romania. I prefer the Hungarian and Romanian ones because they are triple the size for the same price. Though I have to say, the best sausages and salami I tasted were both from Hungary and Romania! (Sorry Czech Republic).
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| The Astronomical Clock and the Týnský chrám (Tyn Church) |
First thing you have to see is the old town hall, which houses the astronomical clock. It's been there since 1410, and every hour, the apostles (and death) moves to strike the clock. A trip to Prague is not complete without seeing Charles Bridge or Karlův most- its just for pedestrians, and you see the Prague castle in the view. It feels you've been transported in the medieval era when you walk on it.
Every corner in Prague was damn beautiful and photogenic, seriously. Every single building was so ornamental: paintings, gold reliefs, statues, clocks. Seriously every single building. The roads in Prague are cobblestone, every single one of it. It looks nice but I don't really like walking on them, but I guess they keep it for the old town appeal.
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| A path on the way to Prague Castle. |
Since its so beautiful, the volume of people there doesn't surprise me, also because it was summer when we went there. If you're a photographer, and you want to take photos without people, you have to go in the wee hours of the morning. We did that every single day. People exhaust us.
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| Old town square |
Old Town Square (Staroměstské náměstí) is also where you want to be. There are plenty of stalls there, as long as you don't mind eating in the street. Plenty of gothic and baroque architecture to marvel.
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| The view from Petrin tower. |
We also went to the Petrin tower, a 'legal' replica of Paris' Eiffel tower. Nothing spectacular, but the view of Prague above the tower is amazing. It costs 120 Kc and your energy to climb up the tower. You can use the lift but you'll need to pay double the price. While you're there, check out the souvenir shop because they have some good stuff there that's hard to find in town.
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| View of Prague castle and the cathedral |
You should also check out Prague Castle and St.Vitus cathedral. We managed to walk there from Petrin tower (and found some photogenic routes along the way). Sadly, we never had the patience to stand in line with at least a hundred tourist lining up in the sun to go inside. Anyways, Prague castle is up a hill, so you'll see a good view of the city.
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| From the top-left: graffiti on the steps to Prague Castle, Old town, View of the cathedral, a hanging statue on myliskova, Charles bridge in the morning. |
This was an incredibly cheap trip. To break it down:
£40 - Flight (we flew on Ryanair, not as bad as they say! Generous luggage)
£60 - 3 day accommodation (studio. If you go on a hostel you'll only spend half the amount)
£9 - 3-day unlimited transport
£10 - street food + beer (ha)
£15 - groceries for 3 days
Not to mention, I split the bill with my friend, so I only spent maybe around £100(I splurged on souvenirs). I say its cheap because I live in the UK and everything is expensive (By that, you'll get a small shitty room for £50 a day, and spend at least £10 per day on transport ) . My only regret was not staying longer! Three days wasn't enough time to fully explore everything. We didn't get to see the dancing building or St. Vitus Cathedral. I would explore it AGAIN. Hopefully one day I can come back here.
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| Charles Bridge at night. |
Costs:
Flight - London to Prague (Ryanair) - 40 Euros
Accomodation (room with shared kitchen) - 70 Euros (three nights)
Public Transport Tickets (for three days) - 11 Euros
Sausage meal on the streets - 3-5 Euros
Trdelnik - 3-5 Euros depending on the size
Most places in Prague have free entry (with exception to the castle). For this trip, I only spent around 130 Euros (Shared the cost with the accomodation, cooked my own food). I actually spent a lot on getting souvenir items...
Next stop? Budapest (again!)
Since I didn't get to explore it that much last time, plus they are neighbours and it only costs £15 for a train ticket.
Tune in!
Flight - London to Prague (Ryanair) - 40 Euros
Accomodation (room with shared kitchen) - 70 Euros (three nights)
Public Transport Tickets (for three days) - 11 Euros
Sausage meal on the streets - 3-5 Euros
Trdelnik - 3-5 Euros depending on the size
Most places in Prague have free entry (with exception to the castle). For this trip, I only spent around 130 Euros (Shared the cost with the accomodation, cooked my own food). I actually spent a lot on getting souvenir items...
Next stop? Budapest (again!)
Since I didn't get to explore it that much last time, plus they are neighbours and it only costs £15 for a train ticket.
Tune in!
