Sunday, 8 July 2012
Related posts: Prague Day 1 and 2, Day 3, Day 4
Today we visited Petřín Hill and other attractions in Old Town.
We bought a 24-hour public transport pass for 110 Korunas (~GBP3.5) and took the tram from Malostranská, the tram stop in front of our hotel.
From there, it was a 10-15 minutes tram ride to Petřín Hill. When we arrived at Petřín Hill, the funicular (the tram to go up the hill) had a long queue. Standing in the hot sun to wait for the tram wasn’t exactly fun, so we decided to walk up to the mid-way point (the funicular stops mid-way).
Along the way, we saw the monument of Karel Hynek Mácha in Petřín Hill. A well known romantic poet from the 1830s. At the mid-way stop, we boarded the funicular to the peak of Petřín Hill. The funicular is free if you have a valid public transport pass.
At the hill top station, there was a a guy selling ice cream. It was smart of the guy to sell ice cream near the station, especially on a hot sunny day. He gets a constant flow of customers by the arrival of each funicular.
At the peak, we visited the Petřín Lookout Tower. It was built in 1891 as an observation tower. It is Prague’s rival to the Eiffel tower. Although much shorter than its French rival, it stands on a hill which gives it higher altitude than Eiffel Tower. Not sure what the French think of that though.
We explored the peak, and took the funicular down. At street level, we took the tram into New Town. We visited a few shopping malls and later made our way back to the Old Town.
We had lunch at Česká Kuchyně, a traditional Czech cuisine restaurant. I found out about this restaurant from TripAdvisor. Given its highly recommended status, I was eager to try it. The restaurant lived up to its reputation. The food was excellent, the staff were friendly and the prices were affordable.
Upon entering the restaurant, everybody gets a ticket. Ordering is done at individual food stalls. There are separate food stalls for soup, appetizer, mains, drinks and dessert. After ordering a food item, your ticket is updated. All payment is done upon leaving the restaurant.
As mentioned in the previous post, Charles Bridge is a happening place during summer. There are many booths selling souvenirs and art work. We took time to appreciate the many statues and artwork along the bridge, and took a number of pictures. It was a bright sunny day and that really made our pictures looked good.We had dinner at a restaurant near St Nicholas Church in Malá Strana. Tomorrow is our last day in Prague and we plan to do some Bohemian crystal shopping!
Imran Jaafar 