Hastings House & Us: Daytrips Prague and the Czech Republic

Here's a sample chapter from our newest title, Daytrips Prague and the Czech Republic by Don Wilkinson. This chapter reveals all a visitor needs to know about the practicalities of traveling on your own in the Czech Republic:

Getting Around

The Czech Republic has a large network of roads linking every little town, village, hamlet and farm community, no matter how small. There is also a large network of rail lines that also connect most of these small communities with the larger metropolitan areas. And that is where the problems of rail travel in the Czech Republic lies.

It seems that each and every community is connected to every other one and the trains are determined to stop at them all. Thus, a trip from one town to another that might take 30 minutes by car or bus can take two or even three times as long by train. It is only on the main lines between Prague and a few other major cities that rail travel is quicker and more convenient. For all other travel, take a bus, or better yet, rent a car and use it to randomly explore the country. You will see more and have more fun doing it. Besides, many of the castles and other sights are located away from the towns so a car is often the only way to get to them.

Once you are in the towns, park your car — you won’t need it again until you leave for the next town or castle. Walking is by far the best way to see these places, and almost all the sites in town are grouped within a few blocks around the historical main square.

Do not use taxi service within Prague. The taxis are usually privately owned and under regulated. A lot of the drivers do not know the city well and many have hidden buttons that can advance the pay rate unfairly. If you must use a taxi, arrange the fee before boarding and get it in writing.

Air Travel:

Czechs do not travel by air within the country and very little within Europe itself, thus there are few International airports.

There are as many as 40 International airlines flying into Prague presently with more being added all the time. Prague’s Ruzyné Airport is large, clean, newly rebuilt and expanded and very efficient, if any airport can be deemed efficient. The airport is located just 15 kilometers from the city center. Fast, cheap bus service will whisk arriving passengers to the end of the Metro line in less than 15 minutes where you can catch a subway train and be in the heart of the city within another five minutes.

Rail Travel:

There are four train stations in Prague, the main station is Hlavní Nádraží and is conveniently located near the center of the city. Holešovice, Smíchovské and Masarykovo Nádraží are scattered around the city but all are located on at least one of the Metro lines. If arriving in Prague by rail from almost anywhere inside or outside the country, take note of which station you will be arriving at. Often the station you leave from on a round-trip is not the one you will arrive back at, which can be confusing.

The CD or, České Dráhy is the government Rail Service, owned and operated by the State. There are four levels of rail travel: the EC which is an international express, the EX which is the national express service, the Osobní, which are very slow and stop at almost every station imaginable and finally, the Rychlík or express trains which run between the larger towns and cities without stopping at ALL the little towns. This is the train to look for if traveling by rail in the Czech Republic.

There is a Travel Information Center located in each station in Prague and are extremely helpful to rail travelers. English is spoken and the personnel are more than willing to help you with train schedules and connections. You will need them! Use them!

First Class tickets guarantee you a seat; otherwise it can be a mad scramble of pushing, swearing and shoving to reach the first available seats. On-the-spot fines are levied if you are caught in the wrong carriage but make sure the person demanding payment is an actual Rail employee. Look for their badge and photo I.D..

Bus Travel:

The main bus station is located at Florenc on the Red Metro line. Buses bound for every town, city and village in the country as well as anywhere in Europe can be caught here. Ticket sellers do not speak English but there are English speaking personnel at the Information wickets. Bus travel in the Czech Republic is safe, fast, frequent, inexpensive and comfortable. For most routes, a roundtrip ticket can be purchased to save money; however, you do need to know when you wish to return as seats are sometimes reserved.

Buy your ticket inside the station where a seat will be assigned, otherwise if purchased at the gate, you may have to stand if the coach is full. There is no extra cost involved for reserving a seat.

By Car:

Rental cars are available in Prague with most of the larger rental companies represented as well as a few local ones. The best place to rent is at Prague’s Ruzyné Airport. Arrange to pick up your car after you have finished exploring Prague. There is no need to have a car in the city, parking is almost non-existent and the drivers are just plain nuts. Wait until you are ready to explore the rest of the country, where at least a few drivers acknowledge the presence of traffic laws and speed limits.

Czech roads are almost without exception in very good shape, albeit narrower, hillier and much windier than North Americans are generally used to. Many of the roads are less then two lanes wide and few have shoulders. Luckily, few have ditches either and it is a simple matter to pull off into a field if necessary to avoid oncoming traffic. Stay on your own side at all times, even though most of the smaller roads do not have center lines.

There are only three divided superhighways in the country, the E50/D5, which runs from the German border in the west, through Prague and Brno and then exits as the E50/D2 southeast into Austria.

The E55/D8 runs from Dresden in the north down to Prague, the E462/D1 runs within the country from Brno to Olomouc.

Seatbelts must be worn at all times and children are not allowed in the front seat if under 12. An International Driving license is not needed for North Americans or Europeans but is for Australians and New Zealanders.

On the highways, the speed limit is 130 kph (80 mph), 90 kph (55 mph) on smaller roads and 50 kph (30mph) in towns and cities. Watch for roadblocks and check stops by the police. These are nothing to be concerned about and they will often just wave you through once they realize you are a tourist. If they do wish to inspect your vehicle, be polite and friendly. They will reciprocate. Do not drink and drive.

Metro/Tram Travel in Prague:

Travel within Prague has got to be the deal of the century. Not only is it fast, convenient and safe, but it is also extremely inexpensive.

Upon arrival and before leaving the airport or train station, search out a city travel booth and purchase a Metro Pass. These can be bought in single trip, 24 hour, 72 hour, weekly or monthly passes. A three- or seven-day pass is the cheapest and allows you unlimited access to all trams, subways and buses within the city, including the inclined railway up Petrin Hill.

Frequent spot checks are performed by plain-clothes and uniformed police on subway cars or platforms and also on the trams and buses. Plain-clothes police will show you a badge before demanding to see your pass or ticket, and an on-the-spot fine will be levied if your ticket is invalid or expired.

The first time you enter a Metro station or climb on board a bus or tram, look for a yellow box and stamp your ticket once. It is valid from that point forward. Do not re-stamp your ticket as this will invalidate it.

Beer, Food and (More) Beer In Czech:

The Czechs are immensely proud of their beer, and justifiably so. With more than 300 brands of beer to choose from, they take their drinking seriously. Czech brewers brought the world Budweiser and Pilsner beers, which the American beer companies promptly stole, or at least the names, if not the taste.

The Czech Republic produces more than 18 million hectoliters (1,800,000,000 liters) of beer per year and exports just two million hectoliters. That leaves 16 million hectoliters to be consumed each year by a population of only 10 million people. And a lot of tourists. Yes! The Czechs know beer.

Czech cuisine is not on the level of their beer, however. About the only universally known Czech food is Goulash, and that they share with Hungary and a couple other Slavic countries.

Beef and pork is usually served very simply with boiled potatoes, dumplings or rice. Few spices are used and although good and filling, there isn’t much that is exciting. Breads of all sorts are a staple of the Czech diet. In restaurants it is usual to be brought a basket of breads without requesting it. If you don’t want it you may ask to have it taken away or simply ignore it. Either way, you shouldn’t be charged for it. Look for a charge for Brot if you happen to get an itemized bill.

When ordering a meal, be aware that other than the meat, everything else is ordered and charged individually, including potatoes, rice, salad and any other vegetables. The costs are very reasonable however and a good meal complete with soup, beer or wine can be had for a very small amount.

The viniculture industry in the Czech Republic is making great strides in producing some very good wines with the reds slightly edging out the whites in quality. While certainly not to the standards of French, German and other wines, they can still be very enjoyable and should not be lightly dismissed.

Restaurants, cafés and pubs do not expect you to simply finish your meal and then leave. It is common to sit around and talk, for hours if you wish, with no one minding. The bill will not be brought to you until requested and will generally be tallied at your table. Tipping is not expected but if you have a few coins returned after paying your bill, you may leave them if you wish but shouldn’t be more than one or two percentage points.

Practicalities:

I have included in each chapter, the addresses of the Tourist Information Centers of the towns visited. Almost without exception, each town has put their Info Center in the Main Square and erected a green “I” sign outside, so they are very easy to spot. Nearly every Daytrip listed begins in the Main Square.

When to Go:

It is best to travel between mid-May and late October as far as weather is concerned, although Prague can become stifling in July and August and the hoards of tourists that flock to the city can get irritating. Try not to be in the city on a weekend as cheap flights and cheaper beer draw hundreds of drunks and hooligans from all over the U.K.

Holidays:

Few tourist sites are open on Mondays or the following holidays.

New Years Day
Easter Monday
May Day-May 1
Day of Liberation from Fascism - May 8
Day of the Slavonic Missionaries, Methodious and Cyril - July 5
Jan Hus Death - July 6
Day of Czech Statehood - September 28
Founding of the independent Czechoslovakia - October 28
Day of Struggle for Freedom - November 17
Christmas Holidays - December 24-26

Money Matters:

Few, if any banks, stores or restaurants still honor Travelers Cheques, so don’t bother with them as the banks charge extra for cashing them in. ATM machines abound in the Czech Republic; you can find several in even the smallest town. You will get a better exchange rate using these than you would at a bank.

All major credit cards are acceptable in Prague, in most establishments. Look for the stickers of your particular card pasted on the door or window. Debit cards are not often accepted for food purchases in cafés, pubs or restaurants although they are accepted at service stations.

Telephones and Communications:

Pay phones are available everywhere in Czech but due to the language barrier it can be difficult to converse over the phone with stores, restaurants and all but the largest hotels. Pre-paid phone cards are the simplest way to make international calls, although coin-operated phones are also prevalent. Internet cafés can be found in most towns and almost all Tourist Information Centers have either free or very cheap internet service.

Beware of using the internet at the Tourist Center in Karlovy Vary. The costs are extortionate.

Suggested Tours:

Most of the walking tours in this book are relatively short and easy to follow. The tours for Prague generally start at a Metro or tram stop or are a continuation of the previous Daytrip.

Daytrips in towns and cities outside of Prague usually begin in the Historic Town Square. Train and bus stations are not always close to the town centers so wherever this will be a problem, I have tried to offer alternatives.

Free maps of each town in the book are available in the local Tourist Info Center, usually located in the Main Square. For some reason however, Center personnel are strangely reluctant to display or hand out brochures of local attractions, so if you don’t know something is available it can be difficult to ask for it.

Although I spent several months exploring the Czech Republic, all of the tours in this book can be accomplished in three weeks or less of fairly leisurely travel, particularly if you choose to drive yourself. Remember, the country is only 300 miles long by 175 miles wide.

Most of the individual tours can be accomplished in a few hours of casual strolling, depending on how many and how long your side excursions and stops at each church, cathedral or museum is. Meals and pub stops can also encroach on your time, although they are encouraged throughout the book if for no other reason than to let you better take in a particular square or site.

As of this writing, opening times and admission prices are accurate but may change somewhat between writing and publishing. It is best to ask at the local Information Center before heading off somewhere too far.

Advance Planning Information:

Czech Tourist Authority

95 Great Portland St, London, W1W 7NY, UK,

Phone: 44 20 72 91 99 25

Email: ctainfo@czechcentre.org.uk

www.antor.com/Czech_Republic

Czech Tourist Authority

1109 Madison Avenue, New York, New York, 10028, USA

Phone: 1-212-288-0830

Email: travelczech@pop.net

www.czechcenter.com/travel.htm

Czech Tourist Authority