New Year in Prague
Perhaps, Prague is one of the most popular European cities, where many specially go to celebrate the New Year and Christmas. Prague is a city from childhood, fabulously magical. Before the New Year, this is especially felt.
So, having decided to celebrate the New Year on the Old Town Square, we went to Prague for six days (from December 29 - January 3).
HOTEL. We stayed at Ibis Old Town 3*. Reviews of this hotel among tourists are almost all positive and complimentary. In general, we can agree with this, however, with a few remarks. The undeniable advantage of this hotel is its location. Five minutes walk from the Powder Tower, 10 minutes from the Old Town Square. Near metro station Namesti Republika, shopping center Palladium, supermarket Bila. I think, precisely because of the location, the price category of this hotel is approximately the same as that of 4-star hotels.
The room (double) is small. Large bed, plasma TV with one Russian channel (RTR), decent bathroom, hair dryer, soap/shower gel/shampoo. Towels are changed every day, soap / shower gel is not in a hurry to add, the bed has not been changed even once in five days. Cleaning leaves much to be desired.
Didn't like the lack of a bar in the room. Therefore, looking out the window and looking at the neighboring rooms, you can notice the following picture - there are bottles of water, juice, strong drinks, food, etc. on the windowsills. Window sills replace refrigerators.
Breakfasts are more than standard (sliced cheese, sausages, yoghurts, jams, buns, some fruit, scrambled eggs, sausages, tea/coffee, juice). If you spend more than a week in the hotel, I suspect that this menu will get very boring.
The lobby bar "Rendez-vous" on the ground floor of the hotel does not have a large assortment, but the prices are very high. So if you urgently need to buy mineral water, I advise you not to be lazy and run into a supermarket, especially since it is right around the corner. Water will cost three to four times cheaper.
ATTRACTION. Leaving the hotel and reaching the Powder Tower, go straight to Celetna street. One of the oldest streets in Prague, got its name from the plaited buns "tsalny", which were baked here. The street is almost entirely built up with medieval houses, and numerous shops are among the most expensive. Celetna is also known for the fact that Bohemian kings passed through it during their coronation. Hence the second name - Royal Road. Celetna goes straight to the Old Town Square. Even if you are in Prague for the first time, you will immediately recognize it. The Old Town Hall and the astronomical clock, the Church of the Virgin Mary of Tyn, the monument to Jan Hus - all these Prague sights are located here.
Fairs are held on the Old Town Square during the Christmas and New Year holidays. Grog and mulled wine flow in streams. The famous Czech pretzels - Trdelnik can only be tasted here at the fairs. They are baked right in front of you on an open fire on a rolling pin, sprinkled with vanilla sugar or crushed almonds, and for 50 crowns you can taste the most Prague and New Year's pretzel. A lot of all sorts of trinkets are sold at fairs - balls, pictures, toys, etc. All guides advise buying souvenirs as a keepsake of Prague here - both cheaper and better choice.
Crowds of tourists gather in front of the astronomical clock in the hope of finding a better place and photographing or filming the performance, which takes place every hour from 8 am to 8 pm. Sometimes wedding carts roll up to the Old Town Hall and another performance for tourists begins. Everyone starts photographing wedding ceremonies, evaluating brides and their wedding dresses. We ourselves witnessed one entertaining wedding right on December 31st.
Along Karlova Street, slowly, in a crowd of tourists, we approach the Charles Bridge. Now it is under reconstruction and half of it is in scaffolding. At noon it is not overcrowded, especially on the eve of the New Year. Surely everyone knows about the figure of John of Nepomuk located here. And they know about the wish that needs to be made by placing a hand on the statue of John of Nepomuk (these places are polished to a shine), and which will certainly come true. Only the desire should not be material, and you need to make it once a year. So, actually THIS IS NOT THIS PLACE. For the wish to come true, you need to put your hand on the cross in the place where Jan Nepomuk was thrown into the water (it’s also not difficult to find - polished by tourists).
After passing the Charles Bridge, you find yourself in Mala Strana, located on the slopes right under the Prague Castle. The most interesting attraction of the Lesser Town is the Czech Baroque Church of St. Nicholas. Mala Strana is also called the "Pearl of Baroque Architecture".
You can get to Prague Castle by leaving the Charles Bridge on Mostecka Street, walk to Lesser Town Square, and then go along Nerudova Street to Hradcany Square. Prague Castle is the official residence of the President. The most impressive Gothic building is St. Vitus Cathedral, which began to be built in 1344 and finished in 1929.
It is better to go to Prague Castle without a tourist group, since the guides will limit your time, with words like: “Now you have 20 minutes to see the Cathedral of St. Vita, to be photographed in the first, second courtyard of the Prague Castle, etc. ” This is all very annoying, because in the same St. Vitus Cathedral, for some, even an hour will not be enough to see everything. In addition, you can purchase an audio guide and listen to the entire tour individually.
Coming out to Hradcany Square and walking along Loretanska Street, go to the Prague Loretta - a copy of a real holy hut (Santa Casa) from the Italian town of Loretta. You can also safely go here without a tourist group. Of particular interest is the treasury and the famous diamond monstrance, adorned with over 6.000 diamonds.
THEATERS, CONCERTS, MUSEUMS. Walking through the streets of Prague, you will probably be repeatedly approached by local barkers and offered to listen to classical music in one of the many churches. The repertoire, as a rule, is the same everywhere - Bach, Mozart, Vivaldi, Strauss, Pachelbel. Ticket price from 400 to 900 kroons. We attended one of these concerts. It took place in the Obecní dů m (Public House) on Republic Square. The Public House is a beautiful Art Nouveau building next to the Powder Tower, currently used for concerts. On the first floor there is a French cafe and a restaurant. Tickets are very expensive - from 800 to 1000 kroons. The concert lasted a little over an hour and it can be said that most of the listeners were disappointed. I especially remember the words of one of the Russians: “Well, this is a scam!!! ”. By our standards, this is really a scam - we are used to the fact that at the Philharmonic a concert lasts two hours with an intermission and calls for an encore, but here - 50 minutes and goodbye.
So advice, if you really want to listen to classical music, better go to Rudolfinum - the concert hall of the Czech Philharmonic (of course, if you're lucky, and you buy tickets).
Prague is considered the "City of the Black Theatre". The principle of this theater is very simple - the actors in black suits are invisible against a black background, so the objects they work with seem to come to life and move by themselves. Black theater is a synthesis of musical, dance and pantomime. We visited the IMAGE theater on Prague Street and were delighted. I think if you choose one of the many black theaters, you will not regret it.
Many probably know that it was in Prague that the premiere of W. A. Mozart's opera "Don Giovanni" took place. It happened at the Estates Theater and since then this opera has been the visiting card of the theater. For 900 crowns you can listen to arias from this opera. To be honest, the performance leaves much to be desired, but the very fact of visiting the Estates Theater, where in 1787 Mozart conducted the premiere of Don Giovanni, is very encouraging.
Right on the Old Town Square is the gallery of Alphonse Mucha and Salvador Dali. For 250 kroons you can see the expositions of two artists at the same time.
SHOPS, SOUVENIRS. Personally, my opinion is that Prague is not the city where people go for shopping. The assortment in shopping centers is the same as ours, prices, if they differ, are not much. I don’t know why go to Prague, snoop around shopping centers and end up buying the same Marks and Spencer, MANGO, NEXT, Salamander, Bata, etc. All this can be bought from us. There are many shops on Wenceslas Square, many expensive boutiques on Paris Street. At the end of December - January in Prague is the season of sales. In the city center, the largest and most famous shopping centers are KOTVA, PALLADIUM (on Republic Square).
What I think deserves attention is the shops where you can buy exactly Czech goods - glass, crystal, pomegranates. I really liked the BLUE store - the number one tourist brand in Prague. Even at RUZINE airport there is a shop in the duty free zone. Glass products of the most incredible colors - glasses, vases, jewelry, etc. The prices are very moderate.
Moser Praha - company store on the street. Na Prikope is really expensive.
And, of course, Czech grenades. They can be seen everywhere, all showcases are decorated with jewelry with these small stones of bright red color. The cheapest grenades are in the company store on Parizhskaya Street (although the choice there is not very large).
RESTAURANTS, CAFE. Prague is a gastronomic paradise. On the one hand, Prague cuisine was greatly influenced by Germany, hence the various types of cabbage, sausages, sausages. This is a Western influence. Eastern Czech cuisine is simpler, but also more high-calorie - it's fried meat, pork ("boar's knee"), fish (baked carp, trout), dumplings.
If you want to try the national Czech cuisine, with huge portions and wash it all down with light or dark unfiltered beer, you are in Nonomě stský pivovar (on Vodič kova 20 street). This restaurant is 70% filled with Russians, the waiters can speak Russian without any problems. Even if you are very hungry, do not order a lot - you just won’t eat everything, or if you eat, you won’t be able to get up from the table. The portions are not just big, they are huge. The disadvantages of the restaurant can be attributed to the fact that the staff has become impudent. The waiters are brave Czech guys, they like to include a tip not 10%, as is customary everywhere, but 20%. Like, so what if there is only one bill - I served two, therefore the tip amount doubles in proportion to the number of visitors served.
Restaurant TRITON, located on Wenceslas Square. Very interesting interior in the form of a Stalactite cave. The menu is quite gourmet, however, the cost of a check for one is about 900 crowns.
NEW YEAR. Once again, I am convinced that when planning to celebrate the New Year abroad, do not book a New Year's celebration at a travel agency. You can always figure out and choose where and how to meet NG on the spot. In this case, you will not overpay. And don’t worry that it’s hard to book a table the day before – we actually went to a restaurant 2 hours before New Year’s Eve and there were empty seats, while we didn’t book anything in advance.
On the Old Town Square, starting at 8 pm New Year's program. A lot of tourists, music thunders throughout the square, everyone hugs and congratulates each other on the New Year. So, you can celebrate the New Year on the Old Town Square. Exactly - you won't be disappointed.
Prague looks a little dreary right after the New Year holidays, the streets smell of bleach (they are washed there after a noisy celebration), in some places they do not have time to remove the garbage, tourists leave already on January 1 - they roll their suitcases along the cobblestones to taxis and buses.
Prague begins to “empty” already on January 2, there are half as many tourists as it was on the eve of the New Year, even the Charles Bridge is almost free at noon, before the astronomical clock there are fewer and fewer people who throw their heads back and wait for the performance.
It’s not a lot of sad to leave, but leaving Prague, I know that I will soon come back here more than once.
