Ahoy Czechia!
I stayed in the Ibis Hotel during the first few nights in Prague but decided to extend my stay, hoping to do an extra day trip to a town called Karlovy Vary. I was interested to see the place featured in the movie Last Holiday where the actress Queen Latifah’s character Georgia decided to spend her remaining days on Earth. This was after being mistakenly diagnosed with having a rare brain condition and only having a few weeks left to live. She decided to spend her last funds on a luxury holiday in the Grandhotel Pupp to meet her favourite famous celebrity chef Didier.
However, unlike Georgia, my ending was not that grandiose coming away with her good health, a fortune, and the man of her dreams. Instead, I wasn’t able to travel to Karlovy Vary at all as I ended up spending all my day searching on the internet for a hotel, as well as visiting nearby B&B accommodations for another place to sleep. Ibis Hotel was apparently fully booked for the extra night.
Nonetheless, I had a fantastic time exploring the other side of the Old Town; and in the end, I’m glad I found Mosaic Hostel, which was situated near the famous Wenceslas Square. I could say it’s one of the best hostels in Europe that I had stayed in so far. It has the comfort of a massive room despite being a shared accommodation with ten other ladies. Another factor is the hostel’s close proximity to metro/tram stations, restaurants, and some of the city’s points of interest, which are just a few minutes away by walking.
In one of my ‘beer drinking’ sprees, I had a chance to photograph the statue of the revolving head of the famous Czech writer Franz Kafka as it rotates. Maybe I should have taken more care to take a presentable shot to show his recognizable face. One of the best discoveries I had during my last night’s stay in Prague was to go bar hopping in hidden places such as underground bars and restaurants. There was this one place where there’s only one enough space for one person in the passageway. As I went down the narrow stairs, I was surprised that there were many people inside. To me, it was probably once a bomb shelter that was then converted into a high-end modern place to hang out.
It was an interesting place at the same time it was scary to that you are several metres below ground. Probably, it’s one of the things for a tourist to experience when they’re visiting Prague unless they are claustrophobic.
One thing that pleasantly surprised me was the number of friendly Vietnamese to be seen in the country. In fact, they are the largest immigrant community in the Czech Republic.
Another thing that I liked about Prague, aside from the city’s famous fairy-tale-like surroundings, was the affordable prices. Food, public transport, and accommodation were relatively cheaper compared to any of its neighboring European cities unless, of course, you stayed in five-star hotels. However, for a budget traveler like me, when travelling to Central Europe, Prague should not be missed.
Ahoj!
Please see below my other blog about my travel to Prague.
