Czech Republic - a little kind of country. Of course, we didn’t have the good fortune to stay in it longer, and to draw some conclusions on the basis of the days spent in it (day in Prague) - this is very bold, but I will still try.
Insofar as Polandfrom which we entered the Czech Republic, closer to the borderI started to change a lot, we didn’t notice the transition between countries. Even arguing while we were driving, are we in Poland or are we already in the Czech Republic? Our doubts were dispelled when the pointer to Prague began to flash.
The content of the article
Where to stay in Prague
Hotels in Prague is better to book in advance, so I will recommend you Hotel Mars or Pension U Lilie, a little different for the price, but both are good. And the first is straightforwardly cheap and not in the center, and the second, on the contrary, in the center near the embankment, but more expensive. Who is more important. This time we decided to spend the night in a hostel, the four of us made it even cheaper.
Road tax
Entering the Czech Republic means you need urgentlyrush to the first gas station and look for a subscription to the mandatory payment of "road tax", which gives you the right to freely use their excellent roads, without paying them, as in other European countries, every Nth km. A kind of voluntary-compulsory contribution costs 250 crowns (about 315 rubles). We decided not to risk and check, and what would happen if we didn’t buy one, even though we were in the Czech Republic for a little more than a day, so how pious citizens paid for a subscription for 10 days (this is, unfortunately, at least) and proudly stuck to the glass Mandatory sticker proving our compliance. By the way, there is no information about payment on the way anywhere, and if a person has not read about it on the Internet, then how he finds out about it is not clear ...
Prague
Our main and only goal this time in the Czech Republic was its capital itself, so with the help of our friend at the time, our loyal friend GPS'a, we went there and sent our wheels.
Roads in the Czech Republic, although they are considered autobahns andthey expanded right up to two lanes, but still a little worse in quality than in Poland, and less tidy or something. On the other hand, entire fields of solar cells began to appear, which could not but please the eye.
The suburbs of the Czech Republic do not say that they are very different from the Polish. The same well-kept houses, lovely courtyards, clean, neat. More often came across tiled roofs.
Czech Republic and houses with a tiled roof
The presence of the machine and the treacherous disappearance of the signalGPS makes it easy to get lost in an unfamiliar city, which is a great opportunity to get closer to non-tourist areas, which we did in Prague. Circled on almost Moscow courtyards, ride on almost St. Petersburg embankment. The facades of buildings in the center of our two capitals, only the coloring is more fun, and very often on the roofs there are some squiggles, finteflyushki, turrets. Generally, when we walked through the old Prague, we noticed how much attention was paid here (or rather, rather, was paid) to small details. If it is a gate, they are necessarily carved, if it is a lattice, then it is very open, if it is a lantern, then with a figure of a lion. And paved pavements laid out with small (5 cm diameter) paving stones. Such small decorations give Prague an incomparable sweet grace.
Plain street in Prague
Old Prague and almost St. Petersburg Quay
Prague, but how similar to Moscow
Old Prague and nice house colors
Embankments of Prague with trinkets on the roof
In Prague, there are many many roofs with such small towers
Czech Republic, the center of Prague
Unusual building in the center of Prague
Center of Prague, Old Town
Center of Prague, Old Town
Prague is a romantic city
And it was also funny sometimes to meet our people.trams on the streets. True, they are more new and well-groomed, like everything else, in general. We were struck by the unusually clean air in the center of Prague and pleasantly pleased bike paths.
In Prague, run our ..., oh - their trams
Bike paths go along the embankment of the Vltava River in Prague
In the river Vltava swans swim, and for some reasonI believe that they got there on their own, and not brought on purpose, because along the way, we often observed lakes in which wild swans swim, fields on which wild deer graze quite calmly.
And in the very center of Prague in the river Vltava swans are begging
And in the very center of Prague in the river Vltava swans are begging
I know that if I do not write about it myself, thiswill surely appear in the comments, so I’ll make a reservation that in the Vltava River in Prague, along with the swans, there was a baby car seat. History, however, is silent as it got there.
And how nice it is to go to a clean public toilet in the city center and speak English to the worker sitting there. Trifle, but how convenient!
The same toilet in which we had a nice chat in English
Embankment of the Vltava River and an unusual sculpture on the wall
Embankment of the Vltava River, the center of Prague
In Prague, "Shame" ("Pozor") on every corner almost! Every exit of a car is a “shame”, every sharp turn is also a “shame”, everywhere, in general, where attention is needed. In terms of language, the “echo of Poland” was still observed - in some places we were more willing to respond in Russian than in English.
One of the "disgraces" of Prague
As far as they allow me to judge my modestknowledge of history, the Czech Republic has never been part of the USSR (unless it belonged to the social. camp). And it is not entirely clear why, then, along with the traditional local ones, you can also find purely “Russian” and “Soviet” souvenirs in the form of dolls, earflaps, sickle and hammer and other similar symbols throughout the city. And yours and ours, it turns out.
By the way, there are a lot of ours here! It is enough just to stop somewhere in old Prague and listen - it won't be a couple of minutes before you hear the Russian language!
And in Prague, they know and honor us.
Parking in Prague
Illness of any large city is a problem withparking spaces in the center, while at the same time motorists do not encroach on the holy territory of a pedestrian (pavement) and do not put cars on it, as we do. In our hostel, we were frightened that, they say, if we leave the car with foreign numbers for the night just on the street, we will surely get into it and clean it out, and if we don’t leave anything valuable in the car, it’s all the same, in the morning we will find it with a hacked lock or broken glass. I didn’t want to risk it, so we found an inexpensive and somehow protected parking.
Hostel in Prague
Pleasantly pleased with the cost of hostels in Prague. At first they thought to spend the night at the hotel, but passed by the hostel and decided to come in to see. As a result, we got a very cheap (10 euro per person) room, but very cozy and cute. In the morning you can even make breakfast in one of the two kitchens, in the lobby there is free Internet, but on very brake computers. Generally, this is an old converted residential building. There are two apartments on the floor, each with three rooms and two showers with toilets. Plus, the fact that he was right near the waterfront.
Hall of our hostel in Prague
One of the kitchens in our hostel in Prague
Night Prague
Night old Prague deserves special attentionand a separate article, perhaps. All the beautiful carved buildings are skillfully illuminated, and as a result of the mixing of fabulous architecture and different saturation of light, an extraordinary spectacle is created, which you can admire forever!
Center of Prague, magical Prague Castle in the evening
Evening Prague Castle in Prague.
Unusual lighting of old Prague
Old Prague in the evening, Charles Bridge
Amazing uncle, who played on glasses with water. Old Prague, Charles Bridge.
Streets of old Prague in the evening
The center of Prague, the old town in the evening
But we had only one day planned in Prague, so the next morning we moved again to our independent travel in Europe.
Our glorious four in Prague
