DAY 1: Arrival, Prague Tour

For all of my working life of 18 years, I had not gone on a single vacation apart from a weekend company excursion to a domestic locality. Then all that changed in March of 2014 when I pounced on a subsidised tour of the less frequented travel destinations of Croatia and Slovenia in Central Europe. My interest piqued in travel, I started seeking more destinations immediately after the trip. My search began with Central Europe again, via Berlin, but I found the city too modern and cosmopolitan and so I gradually looked further south to Dresden (also Germany) and Prague (Czech Republic). Researching Prague is where the "love affair" began..

What ensued was months of planning and often staying up till 2am daily, marking places of interest and seeking the most ideal in terms of eateries, tour guides, accommodation and transportation. Here, I should add that Malaysians holidaying in the Czech Republic for not more than 90 days need not apply for a visa as the Czech Republic is part of the Schengen group of countries, where a Malaysian passport has good standing.

In football parlance, I "ate, drank and slept Prague/Czech Republic" in the months leading to the trip - still do as at time of writing :). What was so interesting about the place that I had to visit for three weeks? In short - the diverse architecture spanning 1,000 years, the myths and legends, historical figures, narrow cobbled streets, night views, countryside, many interesting towns outside of Prague, art and culture, the food ...

However, it was also a highly stressful time especially in the 3 weeks before the intended departure date. I had to grapple with my ongoing throat and feet injuries and these were constantly threatening to derail my plans and result in a large loss in terms of sunk costs on accommodation, tour and flight bookings. These health issues continued to plague me till the very end but I decided I had to do this, bought a few dozen painkillers and boarded the plane at 8:15pm on 29 August 2014.




The siren call of Prague was that powerful...

DAY 1 : Saturday, 30 AUGUST 2014 [Arrival & Prague Half Day Tour]

After two airport transits (at Bangkok & Vienna airports) I finally arrived at Vaclav Havel airport in Prague. Prague is called Praha by the Czechs so let's use that term from here...sounds much more elegant anyway. The flight arrival was scheduled at 7am and was on time, so I had plenty of hours to kill before I could check into the apartment. I pre-booked an airport transfer with the highly reputable Prague Airport Transfers and also requested for a tour guide and car service for 4 hours, with the guided tour ending just before my apartment check in.

The apartment would be the first of four different accommodations during my tour - each strategically located in different sections of Praha.

I ought to kick myself for not having taken a selfie of the 'momentous' occasion of my entry into the arrival hall and, also of the Airport Transfers guy with my name in orange cardboard, which would look akin to this..

Photo from Prague Airport Transfers

The driver, Ludwig, was the most jovial individual I'd ever met, always with a smile even when frequently asked to make detours or stops. This was a general tour, so I was brought to the some of the main tourist attractions plus some locations of my choice.

St Wenceslas monument at Wenceslas Square

"New Town" Hall which is 600+ years old



Jesuit Church of St Ignatius - with baroque style architecture and interior

St Wenceslas church dating back to 13th century juxtaposed against more modern buildings

One of the few modern buildings in Prague central built in the 1990s. Dancing House aka Fred & Ginger or Tančící dům in Czech

My apartment at Opatovická 11 was in a not very flattering location with graffiti everywhere, but the basic amenities were there and cost not too much, so no complaints.

View from entrance to apartment complex

Main entrance to apartments

 

By evening, I was a half-zombie, having not slept at all for 40 hours. But, since the apartment was quite strategically located and I figured some of the nearby landmarks and main attractions from afar would look stunning lighted up, I made my way into the night to find a good location from which to take lots of snaps...and what a payoff it was.

Kranner's fountain, probably 30+ feet high

Prague Castle across the Vltava river



One of the top tourist attractions in Praha, Charles Bridge, illuminated

Prague Castle and Charles Bridge

National Theatre

U Fleku, brewery and bar since year 1499!!

   
Bliss? Not so, I had barely an hour's sleep that night as there was a rooftop party at a nearby building until 5am the next morning... think there is a law against disturbing the peace in Praha but it is said not many of Policei understand English plus I wouldn't have the guts to call them anyway...so, no ZZZs.  




NEXT: Day 2, Full Day Praha Tour