Europe city hopping: Prague attractions

Truth be told, Prague has never been on my travel list. It always seems that there are other more interesting and exciting places to visit but of course I cannot go to all of them for budget and time reasons. We had 2 weeks off work last Christmas but we decided to spend one week traveling and the other week in Germany because most of the attractions would be closed over the Christmas/New Year period. With only one week, and not willing to spend too much on our holiday (since we’re planning a big one for 2017), we decided on Prague. We heard it was lovely from some of our friends who have visited the city before.

When we knew we were moving to Germany 2 years ago, we heard many comments like “oh lucky you, you can travel to *this place* and *that place*”. That is true, but not without spending a lot of money. The distance is relatively near, but it doesn’t mean that transport is cheap as peas, neither is the travel time. Case in point: Prague is nearer to Bremen, than Singapore, obviously. However if we were to take the bus, it would take us close to 13 hours, 8 hours by train, or pay triple the cost of a bus ticket and take the plane for 45 mins.

But after visiting Prague, I’m glad I did because I enjoyed the city SOOOO much! First of all, they all speak very good English (a very much appreciated fact after living in Germany for more than a year now), and very welcoming to tourists. The city is safe and the shops open till late!

Here’s are some of the places we visited

1. Charles Bridge
   
   

   
2. Old Town & New Town
   
3. Jewish Museum
   
   

   
4. Lennon Wall
5. St Vitus Cathedral
   
   

   

   

   

   

   

   
6. Prague Castle
7. Petrin Tower
8. Clementinum
9. Mirror Maze
   
   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   
10. Wenceslas Square
11. Prague Underground Tour
12. Old Town Hall Tower
13. Old Royal Palace

What I enjoyed the most were the Jewish Museum (a lot of history, and it can be quite emotional to read the history), the Clementinum (gorgeous library that is out of bounds to public and no pictures allowed to preserve the centuries-old books) and our absolute favorite was the Prague Underground Tour (interesting to see how modern Prague was built city upon city)

Europe city hopping: Prague (accommodation edition)

It’s no secret that I’m a fan of Hotels.com. I have been using the website to book my travel accommodation for a couple of years now and I like that they have this reward system that gives you a free night stay after completing 10 nights on their site. After using the site for 2 years now, I finally received my first free night (oh yeah!) which I used for Prague.

We stayed at Mamaison Riverside Prague on our first night in Prague because the value of my free night was calculated at around SGD150. Being the greedy Singaporean I am, I booked us a junior suite room to maximize the value, and then we moved to another service apartment nearby which was only about SGD60 a night.

The check in procedure at Mamaison was prompt and friendly. Our room was not ready when we arrived so we had to wait for a couple of minutes at the bar. Not a big deal as we used the time to catch our breath and decide where to go next. We were then assigned our room which was located on the top floor. Then the staff told us “the lift is not working now, it is under repair”. I thought he would help us with our luggage, but no. He just turned and walked back to the office, leaving us to carry our luggage up 6 stories. Granted, we had a relatively light luggage (only one cabin piece), but still! At that moment, I was thanking myself that we had packed light for the trip.

Upon entering the room, I was drawn by the view at the balcony. It faces the Prague Old Town and it being located by the riverside, means you get unobstructed views. The rest of the room was huge and modern (except the TV). They had a coffee machine as well. The sleeping area was carpeted so you might want to bring your own bedroom slippers if you’re finicky like me.

Though the lift was under repairs when we checked in, thankfully it was working by the time we left the hotel an hour later to explore the town, so we didn’t have to climb the stairs again when we returned. The location of the hotel was 10 mins walk from Café Savoy, and 30 mins walk to Old Town.

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Our second accommodation for the trip was MH Apartments Riverside, 10 mins walk from Mamaison, further away from Old Town, but it was only 300m to Andel subway station. You can also catch the trams to the city centre from outside MH Apartments.

MH Apartments had recently opened its new location at Andel and so everything was new, modern and in working condition. For the price of SGD70 a night, it was excellent value for money. We got a one bedroom apartment which included a living area and a small but well-equipped kitchen. The management had very thoughtfully included a cleaning pack for their guests so you have fresh dishcloths, dish detergent, clothes detergent, and tea towels.

The kitchen also had almost everything you’ll need for simple meals: pots, pans, cooking utensils, cutlery etc. The amount of cutlery was sufficient for the 2 of us for 3 meals, so we only had to operate the dishwasher once after accumulating everything.

In the bedroom, there were two single beds put together to form a double bed – this is common for Europe. Gosh I could go on and on about how soft the European pillows are, but thankfully MH Apartments had provided two pillows per person, and with different firmness so I was spared a sore neck for this holiday. Bath towels were also provided, and extras were also available at the wardrobe area, so you won’t need to call them for a change of towels. By the way, there is no front desk at this service apartment chain. Check in is done self-service, via a machine. Super cool!

The bathroom was nice and cosy, and they had a heating towel rack!! Our favorite because nothing beats warm, fluffy towels after a nice rain shower (toilet fittings by Grohe!).

By now, you should be able to guess which of the two accommodations is my favorite. MH Apartments wins the award, hands-down, no need to consider and mull over my decision. At only SGD60-70 a night, fantastic location and amenities, it’s a steal!

Europe city hopping: Prague (food edition)

I was lucky that a friend of mine was visiting Prague a couple of weeks before my trip, so I managed to get some good recommendations/validations from her.