Prague

SolaresLarrave

SolaresLarrave

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I don't have exact dates yet, but it's likely that we'll be there for the third or fourth week in May 2013 (that's soon, but we'll miss the Euromeet).

Since I'm traveling with our 4-year old, I'd like to know about these things:

-playgrounds
-parks or other public areas
-markets, streets or neighborhoods
-types of street food/snacks
-recommended dishes, wines and beers

BTW, I'm going light this time: only my newly acquired Fuji X100, along with a Leica M5 and two lenses (35 and 90mm). And lots of B&W film! :)

Thanks in advance for your kind assistance!
 
I highly recommend the old Jewish Quarter, including the Jewish Cemetary and museum (divided among three synagogues). There are large expanses of lawns near the grounds of Prague Castle, where kids can run around. Prague is a beautiful city. We were there in 2005. Others may have more up to date recommendations on restaurants, etc. The beer was great and the food was pretty cheap when we were there. The metro system and street cars are handy. I used Rick Steves' Guide and found it pretty good. The Lonely Planet Guide has some self guided walks through Prague neighborhoods that were very enjoyable.
 
Consider visiting Zizkov TV tower with excelent outlook to the city. Outside the usual turistic highlights you may consider seeing some modernist architecture as well (the Baba functionalist colony of villas) or cubist architecture (e. g. some houses below the Vysehrad citadel).

If the 4-year-old is boy, the old wastewater cleaning facility in Bubenec may be interesting for you - and it is very close to the largest park in the city, the Stromovka.

The pub U Medvidku may be of your interest to get some traditional czech meals. It is in the city centre. Minibrewery is included :). You also may like the Kozlovna restaurant in Smichov (in the wider centre).

What are your preferences/what kind of neighborhoods would you like to see?
 
You have PM

SolaresLarrave said:
I don't have exact dates yet, but it's likely that we'll be there for the third or fourth week in May 2013 (that's soon, but we'll miss the Euromeet).

Since I'm traveling with our 4-year old, I'd like to know about these things:

-playgrounds
-parks or other public areas
-markets, streets or neighborhoods
-types of street food/snacks
-recommended dishes, wines and beers

BTW, I'm going light this time: only my newly acquired Fuji X100, along with a Leica M5 and two lenses (35 and 90mm). And lots of B&W film! :)

Thanks in advance for your kind assistance!
Click to expand...
 
As you start to come down from the Castle there is a Toy Museum that drove my kids crazy.

Beer, Pilsner Urquell, no doubt about it. Delicious.

Cuisine is not the best Prague trait, IMHO. Dumplings are prevalent and not that tasty. My favorite dishes tend to be those made of wild boar. There's a dessert, kind of a fruit crepe, called palacinki ovocem that is quite good.

One of my favorite eateries is http://www.uprovaznice.cz/ Reasonably good, reasonably priced, nice atmosphere and centrally located.

Of course don't fail to go to Foto Skoda http://www.fotoskoda.cz/

Malastrana must be one of the most photogenic neighborhoods in the known universe.

Parks for the kids: In the lower Malastrana, down by the Vtalva banks, there is a nice one. A bigger, better one in Vysehrad.

Even the babies have a great time at Prague:


Praha2009009 by Santiago Montenegro, on Flickr
 
+1 on U Medvidku. A fun place to eat. IIRC, Pilsner Urquel has a pub/restaurant near the Jewish Quarter that was also pretty good.

An absolute must: the Museum of Communism.
 
Thanks a lot for all your kind help, guys! This is our first trip to Prague and the Czech republic and Edmund's (my son) second trip across the ocean (he went to Guatemala, Colombia, Chile and Spain with us).

It was in Toledo, Spain, where I came to appreciate the large number of parks and public places in European cities. Since he'll be barely four, his attention span will be long enough for playgrounds and other kids.

BTW, thanks for the Photo Skoda reference! I'd like to stare at some other things photographic. I recall there being some thought-provoking displays of old Russian cameras and lenses in Leipzig and Köln, but the prices were insane compared to what I would pay in the US.

Again, thanks a lot, and also to Martin for his PM! :) Keep'em coming! I'll print this thread out and will also look for the Lonely Planet guide! ;)
 
Pilsner Urquell i a standard good beer. U Medvídků is not only a restaurant, but also a hotel and brewery. And a very old and good one. The beer is better than the P.U. Another small, old and famous brewery is U Fleků (en.ufleku.cz). And if you find a green sign Únětice. Thats the best Prague's beer.
Beer and camera walk: Start at Vodičkova street. With Václavské náměstí in the back Foto Škoda is on the right side after the fram stop. Continue with the street about 100m and on the left side there's Pazdera's second hand photools shop. After that continue with the street untill you see tram station and red-white school on left. Turn left. The streets name is Školská. After 75 m you reach leica gallery. Continue with the street untill you reach second crossing. Turn right. The street's name is Řeznická. After 25m you will find on your left hand Café Kolíbka. (www.kolibka.cz) Order a 10° beer. One more ;-). Leave the place, continue with the street. After the street ends turn left and right. The medieval building is a City hall of this part od Prague. Go straight, at the end cross the street with trams, into the small street in front of you, theres a Sony show room on the corner. Follow the street. At the end left, right. The street is calld Křemencova. After 100m you've reached U Fleků (en.ufleku.cz).
Its very close to the National Theatre. See the map.

And one more thing. If you want to take a picture from the Dancing house, just tell them in the café and they will call you a lift :)
 

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Hi,
If you have enough time, Prague can be also a good start point for to visit neighboring countries such as Slovakia, Austria or Poland. I suggest Vienna and Bratislava. In Prague don't miss to visit the Church of Our Lady Victorious Holy Child of Prague.

Ciao
 
Dear Folks, we're leaving tomorrow for Germany, and may arrive in Prague one week after arrival.

People in Germany seem pretty cool about being photographed. How about Czechs? Does anyone have any experience to share?

Thanks in advance! :)
 
Prague

I found Prague to be a beautiful city with friendly people, great beer(Pilsner Urquiel), and fairly decent food. The Jewish Quarter is a must see as has been mentioned and the town square where the Astronomical Clock will be enjoyed by you and your son as well. Enjoy your stay. I can also second Jan Pazdera's camera shop, it's worth a look. Since you are right in Weceslaw Square check this out too. One final item- try to get a high vantage point of the city especially with an expansive view of the Vlatava river and maybe the Charles Bridge.
 
If you will consider visiting either Foto Skoda or Pazdera´s shop then you should consider Leica Gallery Prague. It is pretty close. There is also the gallery Fotograf one house from LGP, but I don´t know whether it still operates or not.

You also can visit Josef Sudek´s studio (it is actually a replica on the same place with exhibitions taking place inside), but it is rather far in Mala Strana (but Mala Strana is one of tourist highlights with Kampa park already mentioned).

http://www.sudek-atelier.cz/
http://www.sudek-atelier.cz/cz/kontakt.html (map included)
http://www.lgp.cz/en.html
http://fotografgallery.cz/?lang=en
 
If you would like to try many czech beers on one place, my friend often recomends this: http://zlycasy.eu/index.php?page=0

I have never been there so no guarantee included.

If you consider visiting not only Prague but the rather close surrounding as well, I can recomend Kostelec nad Černými Lesy (nice town with small castle) with great restaurant in former brewery (and with great cuisine and excellent selection of beers from smaller breweries).
 
We're in Vlasska street, in a small apartment with one bedroom, which we got at a nice rate. And it has WiFi!

As some of you may know, Vlasska is in Mala Strana. However, I don't know how many times I've crossed the Charles Bridge (in Czech, Karolus Most, I think), and have had at least 0.3 ml of Pilssner Urqnell every single day of my stay! :) Along with generous servings of duck or pork, of course.

People here don't seem to care about photographers. However, I don't want to be too crass (and some shooters here are kind of blunt) and have been enjoying the architectural beauty of this place. On Monday, June 3, we'll return to Nuremberg and then Henfenfeld, and two days later we'll hit Bamberg. At least I'll be in a place in which the language is not as alien as Czech is to me! :eek: At least I do know how to find "Beer" in a menu, but then, a lot of people here speak English so there's no use in my butchering their language, especially when they're so nice.
 
SolaresLarrave said:
On Monday, June 3, we'll return to Nuremberg and then Henfenfeld, and two days later we'll hit Bamberg. At least I'll be in a place in which the language is not as alien as Czech is to me!
Click to expand...

Oh man, Bamberg! I couldn't have given you any advice on Prague, but I spent three months in Bamberg and - I think you'll like it. :cool: If you don't mind, I'm gonna pass a few words by you - part for you and part to relish in my nostalgia.

It's small but plenty beautiful. Practically all of the sights are within a 10-minute walk from the old city hall. (A side note - when the hall was built, all land north of the river was owned by the State and that south of the river by the Church. The hall was built over the river so that it wouldn't be seen as giving favoritism towards either entity). Like many European cities the churches are some of the most popular stops, and the church on Domplatz deserves special note for it stands on grounds where a church has been for the last 1000 years - it was the former seat of a Bishop. Half-timber houses abound and are fun if only for looking at. Schloss Seehof was the Bishop's former residence and is great fun for viewing with a wide garden and lake all its own, just a few miles north of Bamberg proper.

It's a great place to raise kids, but I can't suggest many places that your four-year-old might enjoy.

So let's get down to the other real reason to visit Bamberg: the beer - the beer. Schlenkerla and Spezial hold the city's unique Rauchbier, Mahr's Brau holds a nice unfiltered lager called Ungespundet ("a U, bitte"), and the city's best Weizen is at Wilde Rose. Schlenkerla is perhaps the nicest tourist trap in the entire world.

You can get to all of their restaurants with ease if you stay near the city center, but my opinion holds that the best locations are the Kellers - traditional Bavarian outdoor biergartens with communal benches. Wilde Rose and Spezial have the better two, Wilde Rose for the atmosphere and Spezial for the view over the city, and they're both on the same road just south of the city and beyond Schlenkerla's brewery location.

An even better view can be had from the Michaelsberg Abbey or Rosengarten, but there's no beer to be had at either. :)

If you have a few days, you might also think to visit some of the villages outside of the city. If you make it to Schloss Seehof go a few miles further and you'll find Merkendorf, my favorite of the villages. Brauerei Hummel has the nice homey feel of Bavarian brauhauses without the tourism found in Bamberg, and nice drinks to boot. Brauerei Wagner has its own following but I found it less homey than Hummel, though you might enjoy it. If you go in the other direction, about 20km out of Bamberg, you'll find Mönchsambach whose kellerbier (Mönchsambacher Lager) is rated as the best in the world by the good contributors to RateBeer.

Maybe this can be of help to you! I hope you like the city.
 
Dear Erik, thanks for your advice. This will be my second trip to Bamberg; my first time was in 2007 and we stayed three days only. You're very right about Schlenkerla, although more than Rauchbier, I'm looking forward to Schäufele at the other place (Spezial? I cannot recall the name) that has menus in Franconian and German.

Now, I didn't know about the U. I'll see to try it!

One of our discoveries the last afternoon we spent in Bamberg was the opposite side of the Altstadt, across from the Rathaus. I mean, the side where the Little Venice is; it's a nice, pedestrian area, vibrant with pedestrian traffic, store windows and places to eat. But I'm sure you know what I mean.

Again, thanks for all the tips! I really envy your having spent three months in Bamberg. We intend to be there for three days before returning to Nuremberg (we have family there) and Henfenfeld (my wife's family has a small place to stay there).
 
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