Visiting the Czech Republic

[rjkobbeman]

Thanks for sharing.

My wife and I love to visit Europe. The Czech Republic is where we want to visit next.

Prague is of course the obvious tourist place to go. Do you have any recommendations? We are of the "get off the beaten path" types... and try to avoid the BIG tourist areas if possible. We like to immerse with the locals as much as we can.

 

[czechsonofagun]

Well, RJ that calls for a long answer. Let me just put down some ideas, I am not sure what your passion is.

- there is a church downtown, one of the bests organs in Europe and every Sunday 10AM there is a free concert. Here is more

- Kutna Hora is a town near Prague, huge church It was silver mining town and St.Barbora is the saint for miners.

- Moravia is the east end of CR - you can go there to see wine cellars and have merry good time.

- Castles are everywhere, like Karlstejn, Konopiste Konopiste is full of game trophies - thanks to Ferdinand d'Este and you could play golf on the hill cross the river from Karlstejn

- you could take a boat ride on the river in Prague, definitely way to ssee the city

- Prague zoo is truly amazing - but you dont go that far to see animals

- to see the city from different angle - Vitkov is great, also the TV tower in Zizkov, or get up to the piedestal of former Stalin's statue

- you can follow the river bank from Vyton - Prague 4 to Karlin and see a lot and eat local food and drink Czech beer

- Plzen (Pilsen) is town west from Prague - pilsener originated there

- Ceske Budejovice is south of Prague, the original Budweiser is brewed there

- Karlovy Vary is bath town west of Prague, beautiful too

- Prague 2 Vinohrady you can find some nice and not so nice but authentic pubs with beer and local food - worth exploring too

+ there are the typical turist places like Brewery U Fleku, Charles Bridge, Castle, St Nicolas. If you are up to it, you can climb the tower of St. Nicolas, the communist police had a listening post there and it is an amazing vew

I could go on and on, there are hikes to take in mountains or follow river near Prague but I am not sure what your preferences are.

 

[kudzu04]

My wife works with a woman from the Czech Republic. She has shown us pictures and video tapes of the country. Very nice. Her husband is also Czech - he and I hit it off when I showed him my collection of CZ firearms and a couple of pictures of the CZ motorcycle I had as a kid (that thing was great). I will not bring up the amount of Pilsner Urquell we go through :drool:

 

[Egon]

I will not bring up the amount of Pilsner Urquell we go through

Good choice of brand!:thumbsup::thumbsup:

 

[czechsonofagun]

Good choice of brand!:thumbsup::thumbsup:

When I was in Toronto, I saw Kozel in a store. Even half liter bottles, it was quite a surprise.

Here, a funny commercial Exaggerated I think

 

[jimmyj]

Very interesting and thanks for the pics and stories! I have never been to Europe, although my wife and I both have ancestry in Germany. We want to go one day and see lots of Europe but it will require a goodly amount of time.

I noted in your comments :
- Plzen (Pilsen) is town west from Prague - pilsener originated there

- Ceske Budejovice is south of Prague, the original Budweiser is brewed there

Well now, those would be sure visits for me!

Regarding Czech beer, the LCBO stores in Ontario have quite a few brands, I try any new one I see and like them all so far!:thumbsup:

 

[ToadHill]

Great commercial ! I love the opening music, Henry Purcell Funeral music for Queen Mary. The opening line has always made me laugh, "Man that is born of a women, has but a short time to live and is full of misery."

 

[brin]

Prokop,

Thanks for the beautiful pictures..looks like you and your family had a great time.

What would a typical Breakfast , Lunch and Dinner be there...It would be interesting to know... I know when my wife and I travel abroad we always make it a point to avoid the Americanized restaurants and seek out the local places instead...so I am really curious..

Thanks

 

[czechsonofagun]

Good choice of brand!:thumbsup::thumbsup:

Prokop,

Thanks for the beautiful pictures..looks like you and your family had a great time.

What would a typical Breakfast , Lunch and Dinner be there...It would be interesting to know... I know when my wife and I travel abroad we always make it a point to avoid the Americanized restaurants and seek out the local places instead...so I am really curious..

Thanks

Now that's an interesting question I go with home food, hotel food is similar but different like everywhere

Breakfast:

tea/coffee, sliced bread with butter/margarine and honey or preserve. Sweet rolls, donuts, sweet bread - similar to hawaiian bread I ate in MI once
Or any combination of above. My family traditionally has toasts with garlic and salt every Saturday morning.
But if you had a hard night, the typical pickup food is tripe soup and beer, LOL at least in my college days it was.


Lunch:

Very Czech - baked pork with dumplings (potatoe or flour) and saukraut

chicken plus potatoes, or breaded cheese fried in oil with fries - very good Or beef and rice with some kind of a sauce to go with it. Vienner schnitzel is an option too with mashed potatoes.
Typical students lunch is slice of meatloaf with mustard and bread. You can buy it in one of those small street eateries.

Dinner:

letki - potatoe pancakes, or soup and bread or leftovers from lunch or any dish from the lunch list. Pizza, cassaroll...


The original quisine is quite heavy, it changes slowly and some families eat more light food and vegetables. Fish is gaining, they eat a lot of carp, especially for Christmas dinner - yuck

 

[Uncle Doug]

Great photos. On you friends home building, is building material and labor expensive? Do more people build their homes themselves with money as they can afford? We have a large Chec population in east Texas, love the music and food.