We, as a family, took off on a road trip. After deciding on Prague, we traded cars with one of Dad’s coworkers (who has a vehicle that can seat six), plugged our destination into the GPS and took off!! From Pápa to Prague (or Praha as it called in Czech) it is about 4 ½ hours. We had to purchase 2 vignettes for our journey, one in order to drive through Slovakia and one for Czech Republic. The total cost for both vignettes was 19 euros, or about $24. Immediately after driving into Slovakia, we pulled over and were able to buy both vignettes there. Driving through Slovakia offers a very similar atmosphere to Hungary. Once we entered Czech Republic the scenery became more lush, with small forests and scattered trees all through the country side. In Hungary, when driving to virtually any destination, you will find that you drive through numerous small villages. When driving through Slovakia however, the villages are more-sparse, and the villages are larger towns.

The speed limit on the highway in Czech Republic is 130 kilometers per hour (80 mph). Despite keeping up with this speed limit, fine made European automobiles passed us at impressive speeds. We pulled into Prague and parked in a train station parking structure. There were many hotels in the vicinity, and we were on a mission to find one! The first hotel we investigated, a four star Golden Tulip, had 2 rooms left and would cost $240 to reserve both. The price seemed appropriate for downtown Prague, but we decided to walk further into the heart of downtown before committing to a hotel.

Prague is huge, but by pure luck we chose a parking spot that was a few blocks from the main city square. We walked towards the large buildings that lead to the square (again, all by luck, we didn’t know we were heading the “right” way). The architecture was extremely impressive and beautiful. As we continued to admire our surroundings, we checked out different hotels, finally deciding on the four star Prague Marriot Hotel at V Celnici 8. The hotel was very beautiful and only one block away from the town square.

The town square was full of shops, a mall, a casino, bars and restaurants. We were all under the impression that this was the main city square. After roaming around the square and checking into our hotel, we went out walking in search of a restaurant for dinner. One thing we all agreed upon was to find a place that offered traditional Czech food.

Rachel was checking out some brochures at a small tourist stand when a guy passing on a bike said, “Well hello pretty lady” (he was obviously American). Rachel was very surprised, but used the situation to our advantage. She asked him to suggest a good, inexpensive, traditional place to eat. He jokingly answered that we definitely didn’t want the Hard Rock! LOL He suggested “Lokal” which was inexpensive, offered traditional good cuisine, and was only a block away. We asked him what he was doing in Prague, how long he had been here, etc. Oddly, he was very “careful” of his responses (I believe that he was in the country with no visa). He was very nice though and we learned that he was from Santa Cruz and his dad was a rice farmer. We said our thanks and goodbyes, and headed towards Lokal.

Lokal is a very long restaurant with large bench style tables. The waiters all wear black pants and white shirts. When we entered, I told a man that was standing behind a small bar that we had 6 people. He motioned us through towards the back of the restaurant, which seemed to span out further and further. We sat at a table near the back and a waiter brought us menus.

Lokal definitely offered traditional Czech food at affordable prices, and a fun local atmosphere. As a table, we ordered pork Schnitzel, beef, different salads, different styled potatoes, and dumplings. For an appetizer we enjoyed wieners with spicy mustard and fresh grated horse radish. The appetizer was delicious but none of us were too impressed by the entrées. The pork Schnitzel was tasty, especially after we squirted fresh lemon on it. Never having eaten Schnitzel before, I was expecting it to come out with gravy. I was wrong, it was plain. The different style potatoes were tasty but the bread dumplings were blah, blah, blah. Grandpa ordered potato salad with his Schnitzel which was extremely tasty. Dusty had ordered the roast beef, but what came out was a beef steak. It was lacking in flavor but was cooked a perfect medium-rare (he wasn’t asked what temperature he wanted his meat, luckily for him he loves medium rare). Rachel ordered Goulash and what came out of the kitchen was not what any of us were expecting. The Goulash was not Hungarian style Goulash and was served on a plate, not like a soup. We all agreed that the meal was less than satisfying, but still enjoyable because of the experience of eating “traditional Czech food”.

Lokal was decorated with thin wood walls that had been carved by customers. Rachel was given a white marker to create her own design on one of the walls. After much consideration, she decided to write “California Girls”. She began her work of art as we all watched. She finished the large picture, with the text surrounded by a large sun. It is our understanding that if the manager likes her design, it will be carved into to wall. It was a fun dinner, a great authentic experience.

As a group we headed back towards the hotel. Dusty, Rachel and I decided that we were not tired and were ready to keep exploring the night life of the city. We said goodnight to Mom, Dad and Grandpa, and began heading back towards the city square.
Prague completely comes to life at night! The streets were full of people and almost every building was illuminated beautifully. The 3 of us strolled through the crowded streets and less crowded alleyways, peeking into shops and visiting a few. Music and smoke crept out of bars, and bbq’s were aflame in the square. We bought “Praha” stickers and a beautiful perfume bottle, made in Czech Republic of citrine colored Bohemian glass. Based upon our little night tour, we believe that Czech Republic must be known for Bohemian glass and Swarovski crystal…shops that carry both are everywhere…it’s dazzling!

We spotted massive steeples in the distance, and began our dance towards them through the maze of alley ways. When we found what the steeples were connected to, not only did we find a beautiful castle under those steeples, but also a second huge city square (Old Town Square)! This square was full of hundreds of people, and an open-air summer market filled the center. We heard familiar music and followed it into a bar called “Praha Coyotes”. The bar was full of people sitting around high tables drinking, smoking and socializing. They were being served by beautiful girls dressed like cowgirls; we realized it was Prague’s version of a Coyote Ugly bar. Despite the music, there was no one dancing. We walked out as fast as we had walked in, but it was a cute spot.

We took pictures all through the square before adventuring out again. Another block up, we found a lively night life section of the city. This spot was very different from the 2 previous squares in that it was obviously for “adults only”. We were approached multiple times by men trying to sell “stuff”…thankfully we don’t speak Czech! One man did approach us, speaking English. He offered Dusty great fun by saying, “I can give you exactly what you want.” Dusty replied, “No thanks man.” It was a very interesting experience walking through this district, definitely not what I was expecting, but we were in a big city!!

We arrived back at the Prague Marriot at about 11:30pm and jumped into bed. The phone rang at 7:30am, Grandpa woke us up for the day. We all got up and ready. After deciding to find breakfast before checking out, we were back on the streets of Prague. Dusty, Rachel and I wanted to share all of the sights that we had discovered the night before. We lead our family through the Praha streets that lead to that 2nd large city square. Next, we found a great place for breakfast! We ate at “Bohemia Bagel” at Masná 2ü 110 00 Praha. All of our breakfast meals were outstanding! The staff spoke English and were incredibly friendly. The way it works at the Bohemia Bagel, you first decide what you would like to eat and then order it at the cash register and pay. We all shared plates of eggs and bacon, a scramble, the best hash browns I have ever had, and delectable blue berry pancakes! This is the one place, since I have been in Europe, that I have had a regular cup of coffee!! It was called bottomless American-style drip coffee.....we all know that I have been loving all the espresso....but good-ole American coffee tasted great!! Fyi...the Bohemia Bagel offers Wi-Fi for those with their own computers (for free) and computers to use (for a fee).

After breakfast, we did some more sight seeing before heading back to the Marriot to check out. Once we checked out, the valet brought our car from the garage, and we were on our way back to Pápa. The drive home felt exhausting, but after about 4 ½ hours, we were home.

Prague is an absolutely incredible city. The lights at night are intoxicatingly magical. We all enjoyed ourselves immensely.

We now have only 4 days left until our Best of Europe tour with COSMOS!!!!