Prague - Bars, Beers and Getting Lost

Prague is a delight of ornate buildings and endless picturesque photo opportunities.  The drive in from the airport was scenic enough for starters, but having gone through my brief arrival ritual (dump bags, quick shower, grab camera and go) I’m off on foot getting deliberately lost in the meandering side streets.

Ok so I started on Wenceslas Square which is neither meandering nor a side street, but before long I was into the smaller streets surrounding the Old Town Square and the delightful old Town Hall.

The square itself, like the main square in many other major European cities, is ringed with cafes and bars which while undoubtedly pleasant, will leave a major dent in your budget if you stop for a drink or two.

Prague does have plenty of hidden, and some not so hidden, gems when it comes to sampling the local beverages.  Close to the Old Square down a narrow alleyway I stumbled upon one particular bar which advertised its particularly cheap glasses of Pilsner.

Inside it was basic in a way that Eastern European places can be, but it more than fulfilled its purpose with spicy sausages and giant pretzels to accompany the frothing beers served up by a scary looking man with a huge moustache wearing a big leather apron.

He was the only one who could serve the beers it seemed and he produced a steady flow and slammed them down on the bench for one of the waiters to bring to you.  Marvellous stuff.

Further exploration took me off to Karlovy Most, possibly the most ornately decorated bridge I’ve seen, which takes you across from the old town to the more spacious side of the river which leads to the castle.

This side of the river takes you through parks and expensive looking streets, with the odd bizarre sight such as a pissing fountain (yes, really), in the lead up to the castle area.

I was lucky enough (or clued up enough) to turn up when the changing of the guard was about to happen in the bright midday sunshine.  Wandering through the hustle and bustle I came to a wide avenue with some tiny pathways off to the side between buildings which were essentially just staircases heading down the hill.  In one such stairway I stopped for lunch at a delightful small café perched on the hillside with a great view over the river and city below.

Suitably refreshed for more wandering, it was back through the castle area and back through the streets until I passed a beer garden complete with the odd tree sprouting through the tables and nice good music playing.  Unable to resist, I was soon installed as a table soaking up the sun, and soaking up the Pilsner, whilst chomping on giant pretzels.

Such are the delights of wandering more or less aimlessly in a new city – I like to try and get “deliberately” lost at times, whilst keeping a rough idea of where I am, and this often leads to some good discoveries (except when it leads to a street full of nothing of course!). 

Wandering through some of the small side streets I would occasionally surprise myself by suddenly turning a corner and finding myself in the Old Square without having realised how close I’d been to it.  Prague is an ideal city for such exploration.

In front of the old Town Hall there are numerous tour guides offering guided walks on one theme or another, and can be thoroughly recommended.  I chose to do a walk themed on the Communist era, visiting various significant parts of the city centre with an extremely knowledgeable guide and hearing about her experiences under communism.

And after all that history what next?  Ah yes, back to my little pub with the big apron and moustache wearing barman.  Lovely stuff.