Cyberink: Travel: Prague

I had not set foot in Europe before my flight out of JFK Airport on March 1, 1996. Needless to say, travelling alone, I was nervous. I had no idea what to expect. Landing in a foreign country -- where they spoke very little English -- having to exchange my money, find a place to stay . . . nothing was planned. What would happen?

I'll admit, I wasn't quite prepared for the cold weather. (Thank to my sister, Becky, in Albany, who insisted that I purchase a pair of insulated boots before I left.) It was sunny when I landed, albeit cold. The money changing at the airport went as smoothly as it could have gone. After visiting the airport's currency exchange window, I felt skeptical . . . wondering if I had been tricked into a bad exchange rate. (It wasn't until days later that I realized that the best, most fair exchange rates were at Prague's airport.)

Phones, Phone Cards, and Initial Confusion . . .

I must have some sort of "Foreign Accent Deficiency" ("FAD")or something -- because foreign accents and me do not do well together. I try my best to understand! Honest! But even domestic American dialects (East Coast, Southern, etc.) can sometimes make my comprehension difficult. Applying this to the Czech's English accents exponentially compounded the matter.

After arriving at the airport, and moving quickly through customs, I whipped out my Let's Go: Eastern Europe and, after struggling for a moment determining how to purchase a pay phone card, and then subsequent confusion using the card on the pay phone itself, and figuring out how to dial the number, I got through to a "pension" (a hostel-like hotel).

The pension representative who answered the phone seemed to understand me, but their English accent made their responses very difficult for me to comprehend. When I finally understood that she was saying there were rooms available, I said "Okay! I'm coming! Bye-Bye!" and hung up the phone.

Bucking my immense backpack aloft -- I lumbered over to the cab island -- and provided the pension's address ("Dykova 20, Prague 10") to the next driver in line. He understood me, helped me in -- and thus, began my Prague experience.

Driving Into Prague

The drive from the airport was at first boring . . . the ugly airport district urban sprawl made interesting only by strange music blaring from the radio -- the cabbie singling happily along in his native Czech tongue. Within five minutes, however, we rounded a hill, driving past an ugly high-rise district, and the Castle came into view. With the Vltava River and Charles Bridge ("Karluv most") situated below it, Prague's magic was upon me.

A Place To Call My Own

I arrived at the Pension Dykova (Now Pension Java) only to discover that the taxi driver insisted that I pay him $25 US. (Later, I was to find out that an 80-cent Metro ride is available to and from the airport citywide.) I begrudgingly paid him, knowing full well I had made the first traveller's mistake on the list: forgetting to ask a cab driver (before getting into the cab) to tell me the approximate fare. (It would take me a while to remember this cardinal rule -- a few weeks later I would pay a greater penalty for the same mistake in Budapest.)

I checked into the pension (for a pleasing, managable $7.00/night), and was assigned to a room with five beds in it. I unpacked my belongings, and watched the snow fall outside. What was I to do? I smoked a cigarette and drank a Coke. I was exhausted by the day's 12-hour travelling ordeal.

I was still hungry but didn't have energy to go out, find a food store (or restaurant) and get acclimated from a cuisine perspective. So . . . My Prague breakfast on Friday, March 1st, 1996? Cookies, crackers, cheese, coke, and cigarettes.

I hadn't really planned on how my body would adjust to a 9-hour time difference. My body was telling me that it was 11:00 p.m. (New York Time) -- but it was 8:00 a.m. Prague time. Was I supposed to turn in for the night? I decided to take a nap -- and ended up sleeping well into the afternoon. (Here's a good source of information on time zones and global time differences.)

Prague's Old Town

My Insight Guide to Prague had a nice walking tour of Prague's Old Town, and I noted from my Prague street map that my accommodations were just a short walk to the "Námestí Míru" Metro stop -- just four stops from Prague's Old Town.

My tour of Prague's old town started at the "Muzeum" Metro stop, where I followed a various narrow, cobblestone-paved streets, through arched alleyways, toward the old city center. The walk was fantastic, and I came across a marketplace -- with vendors selling clothing, hats, bootleg cassette tapes, and even marionettes. Walking a bit further, I suddenly found myself in an Prague's ancient square -- with it's incredible astronomical clock, fountain, statuary, and small shops, I was enchanted.

Here's a picture of me at the Old Astronomical Clock (Staromestsky Orloj) in Prague's old town ("Staré Mesto"). (The red lift in the background was there because they were working on the clock the day I was there.)

Prague's Sights (Museum, etc.)

Exiting the Metro line at Prague's "Muzeum" stop, one is immediately confronted with the beauty and enormity of the central museum building that lays at the north end of the square. Entry fee is minimal, and one can easily spend days viewing the vast collection of art (paintings, sculptures, tapestries, etc.). One room that I found particularly interesting housed a large collection of "Red Era" busts (as shown in the photo). Enjoy the photo, folks, since photography is forbidden. (I had to sneak it without a flash.)

Although initially thrilled by the large collection of rock samples, there is really only so many rocks that even the most avid geological buff can view without growing weary -- and so I limited my stay in the sciences wing.

Friends I Met in Prague

Almost a week into my Prague stay, I ran across Katrin Tesch (left) and Nathalie P. (right), of Koln, Germany, while I was checking out another hostel. They mentioned (in very good English) that they were looking for a better place to stay, and so I told them about the Dykova pension that I was staying at. We bid eachother good-bye, and parted ways.

That evening, to my pleasant surprise, I ran across Katrin & "Natha" at the Dykova pension. We smoked Natha's French ("Gauloises") cigarette's -- and we made plans to go out that evening (once my friends David & Ray were settled in) and find a good drinking establishment.

Good Prague-related Links

Good Books About Prague

All photos on this website by Paul R. Wade (except photo of clock courtesy of Kincl & Hauner)

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Prague (Praha), Czech Republic

Cyberink Prague Contents

Introduction: I Arrive & Get Situated