Train frustration, Vysehrad and more

Obecni Dum: Art Nouveau and hot chocolate
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We were travelling to Krakow on the overnight train on the Friday night and wanted to book our tickets ahead of time to make sure we got private beds – I had read that this train line could sometimes be a bit sketchy with thieves operating. The guidebook said the people in the tourism office at the train station would speak English, so we decided to walk over. Upon arrival we quickly realised the woman in the tourism office did not in fact speak English and all she had was a timetable for the trains, which luckily established that there was a train when we wanted to leave. However we didn’t know how to ask for a private cabin, so decided to find another tourism office and see if they could write it down on a piece of paper that we could hand over to a ticket agent. The first tourism office we found (after much more walking) had closed its doors for good two days before, so we were out of luck with that one! We finally went into the tourist office near the Old Town Square, where the girl flat out refused to write down our request! I don’t know if she wasn’t able to write it down or just wasn’t willing to, but at this stage we were getting very frustrated! After a great deal of questioning from us, she half-heartedly told us how to find the train travel agency, and we stumbled out into the streets once again, praying that we could just book the ticket. By pure luck we found the train ticket office, and while the man in there was not overly friendly by any stretch, we were able to book exactly what we wanted! So my advice to you is to go to the train booking agency. As a footnote I do have to say that it turns out there are at least two train stations in Prague, one for domestic travel and one for international – we of course had presented ourselves at the domestic station, so this may in part account for the frustrating morning. For all I know the people at the international station are far more helpful, but I have to say, don’t rely too heavily on the tourist office!

Wenceslas Square army men
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After all the walking, we decided it was time for a hot chocolate. The guidebook said there was a good café at the Obecni Dum (Municipal Hall of Culture) so we headed over there. This building is quite interesting looking, built in an art nouveau style – apparently the people of Prague originally referred to it as a White Elephant and it was very unpopular, but now it is a centre for musical events. I think the café the guidebook was talking about is on the main floor, but we ended up in the American Bar in the basement. This was a tiny bar with charming tiles all over the wall and a huge old fashioned coffee maker – I highly recommend you go there, sadly I couldn’t properly capture it on camera! On our way out we dodged touts selling tickets to various classical concerts. We didn’t end up going to any, but apparently you have to be careful of some of these people, as they may try to tell you (and the brochures will suggest) that the concert is going on in the beautiful concert space at Obecni Dum, whereas it may be taking place in a small room elsewhere.

View from the Vysehrad
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We walked over to Wenceslas Square, which is the main commercial avenue of Prague. I wasn’t overly impressed, it seemed a little dirty and unappealing overall. I guess it’s kind of like Leicester Square in London, which I have also never been fond of. We did run into some interesting art installations on the way up though, including some slightly intimidating futuristic warriors. One thing that is worth doing in this area is to have a look into the shopping arcades that run off in both directions. These arcades have various small shops and restaurants and are really quite interesting. There is even a horse and rider statue hanging upside down in one of them.

Upside down horse and rider in Lucerna shopping arcade
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Once we had reached the top of Wenceslas Square, we decided to hop on the tube and head over to the Vysehrad, which is the old fort. The Vysehrad is a very green space, with a beautiful church and graveyard. There are also beautiful views back over Prague, and there was hardly anybody else there. This would be a great place to bring a picnic lunch and spend an afternoon. We spent some time wandering through the graveyard (where many Czech dignitaries are buried) and gazing out at the view, before going on a tour of the Casemates. The Casemates run about 2 kilometres under the Vysehrad, and we were lucky enough to end up on a tour with only 4 other people. The tour was in Czech however, so we read our English explanation page, but did feel like we were missing out a little, particularly when the whole group burst into hilarious laughter. After the tour it was time for another Czech beer, then back to our apartment to rest before going out that evening. We ended up at Restaurant Gitanes, in Mala Strana, which was a very cozy restaurant with a fairytale design. Hard to describe, but worth a visit, it serves Croatian cuisine – or at least that’s what the Easyjet inflight magazine said! After a huge meal we walked across the road to the St Nicholas Café, which is a great cellar bar with cheap drinks and pizza (which we never actually got to try). We ended up coming back here at least twice more, it was just such a cool space. After a couple of drinks it was time to face the steep hill home.