By Claudia Fischer & Roger Holliday

Our Fischer/Holliday eastern travel specialists return to Prague 10 years after their first visit for Gemütlichkeit. This time around the key to their hotel room actually operates the lock.

Katerina Hajkova, the two-stripe receptionist at the Hotel Adria on Prague's Wenceslas Square, would easily win any "fastest finger" competition on "Millionaire."

Faxes are answered the instant they arrive. If not sooner. Want a good seat at the Opera? No problem. A minivan tour to Theresienstadt? Arranged. The schedule for trains to Pilsen? Got them right here. Restaurant reservations? Easy.

And so it goes with Katerina H. Attractive. Smart. Multilingual. And very, very quick.

Admittedly, we were there in late February, long before the tourist hordes descend to blot out Prague's Old Town cobblestones and blur its dreamy landscapes. But we suspect that Ms. Hajkova's attentive expertise runs the full 365/24/7 and isn't just a wintry blip on the efficiency meter.

What a difference a decade makes.

When we first visited Prague in the summer of 1990, moments, relatively speaking, after the bloodless Velvet Revolution had rolled back more than 40 years of communist domination, "fast, efficient and attractive" were nowhere to be seen.

Certainly not at the dumpy Wenceslas Square hotel (see Gemütlichkeit, Feb. 91) we had to virtually bribe our way into. And where the door frame of our Spartan room collapsed on us when we tried to lock up.

Not at the dreary, dirty train stations. Nor the barren Soviet-style department stores. Or at the official Cedok Tourist Offices where the dobry dens (hellos) were sullen and the signs read "No Information Here."

Forget too, any idea of fine dining. Or sometimes just dining, period. Restaurants were either closed up tight, or mere waiterless movie sets posing as restaurants. The only way to fill your tummy was to search out some smoky, somber, ill-lit pivovar (beer joint) serving dismal platters of boiled beef or duck and dumplings. Brown stuff and white stuff as we got to calling it. And where the only things to die for were the cheap frothy mugs of Pilsner Urquell and Budvar you washed it all down with.

Anyway, 10 years later, Team Hajkova and the clean, totally renovated, businesslike Hotel Adria, seem pretty representative of the greater good that's happening throughout tourist Prague. Where drab is definitely out and the city dubbed "Golden," while not yet plus-perfect, is once more living up to its name.

We understand Gemütlichkeit readers are here principally for the inside scoop on digs and dining, not standard guidebook travel babble or lengthy historical backgrounders but one should not go to Prague without learning about its turbulent past. While this is true of any destination, the multiple and complex dramas that make up the Czech story require special attention.

For without it, how can one ever properly appreciate the architectural splendor that has made Prague Europe's most beautiful and sensuous medieval city....despite decades of victimization. Nazis. Communists, et al.

Ignore the past and the impression one might take away, at least in the busy summer season, is of a crowded, noisy, (albeit drop-dead gorgeous), metropolis filled with the dazzling trappings of capitalism gone mad.

McDs, B-Ks, KFCs and American pizzerias have erupted, pimple-like, on every corner. Illuminated signs scream world brand names from the tops of tall buildings. Shops are filled to the gunnels with cheap Bohemian glass and other tschotckes. Massed bands of tourists tread a well-worn trail with their brolly-waving guides who spout endless dates, times, numbers and names. Instant facts. Instantly forgotten.

 But forget the past and you'll wonder at some of Prague's incongruities, too. Like the morose mien of so many of its seniors....next to the joyous foot-stomping rhythms of a youthful New Orleans-style jazz group. A pervasive, almost tangible, fatalism...alongside a sports-mad country that lives for its soccer and hockey. A surfeit of grizzled retainers in museums, art galleries, churches and public toilets....cheek by jowl with the heartiest two-fisted beer drinkers in the world, 160 liters per person, per year.

To start to understand how the Czechs have reached this dichotomous point, one must go back 50, 100, 500, even 1,000 years. At least to good King Wenceslas (actually a prince), the country's patron saint who sits atop his steed on the broad boulevard named for him.

Or to King Charles IV who founded his University in 1348 making it the first seat of higher learning in the Holy Roman Empire. And then built an enchanting bridge across the Vltava.

You must also go back to the massive Old Town Square statue of Czech martyr Jan Hus, burnt at the stake in 1415, the very same century the nearby Astronomical Clock first began ticking and telling its morality tale of "Greed, Vanity, Death and the Turk"...a playlet that brings out crowds of onlookers for every hourly chime.

 But skipping back just 50 years provides enough tragedy to justify a whole population of fatalists.

Abandoned by the Allies in the Munich Agreement of 1938, Europe's "Second Switzerland" was invaded and taken over by the Nazis. Resistance was brutally repressed. Demonstrating student leaders were executed or sent to concentration camps. Universities were closed. Jews were sent to nearby Theresienstadt and other camps.

 When Nazi leader Reinhard Heydrich was assassinated in 1942 by the Czech underground, a period of even harsher suppression followed. Whole villages were annihilated and the deportation of Jews was accelerated.

 Even at wars end, Prague's suffering continued when 5,000 citizens died during a May 5, 1945, uprising against the German occupiers.

Three years later, the Soviets came calling, imposing their own style of repression which prevailed until the spring of 1989.

(For a compelling description of this "Spring Fling," by an American journalist who lived it, we recommend So Many Heroes by Alan Levy The Permanent Press, 4170 Noyac Road, Sag Harbor, NY 11963, tel. 631-725-1101, $28 plus shipping. (Levy is also cofounder and editor-in-chief of the touristically indispensable English language weekly Prague Post that has appeared at news stands every Wednesday since October 91.)

But now Prague has risen to the top of the tourism "must-see" list. Medievally correct. Architecturally splendid. And romantic as all get-out.

And herein lies a major problem. The city has become a victim of its own popularity. Millions of summertime tourists literally drown out the place, making sightseeing a difficult proposition.

Thus the preferred time to see Prague is out of season way out when, as the new pocket-size city guide, Prague in your Pocket, aptly puts it, "The deluge of visitors slows to a mere flood."

Fortunately our February visit coincided with a week of almost spring-like weather. But even if it had rained and stormed and howled the whole time, we would have found plenty to occupy our time.

On the cultural front, for example, Prague has few peers in diversity. And beyond the many museums, art galleries, special exhibitions, nary a night goes by without an opera, concert or theater production somewhere...with prime seats available for next to nothing. And any hint of blue skies brings out instant combos of jazz, pop and classical on street corners, in squares and subways.

If music is not the food of your particular life, and you want something more energetic to warm the cockles of your wintry heart, the Czechs are no pikers on the athletic front either.

As defending Olympic hockey champs they frequently take great pride and pleasure in knocking off the mighty Russians. Their two main teams, Sparta and Slavia, are in action throughout the season. Take in a game. Tickets are cheap roughly $6.30.

Soccer is another Czech passion and the city's AC Sparta Praha club is among Europe's best.

Prague is also a great walking city, conveniently organized into manageable sectors that can be easily covered in a long weekend.  

Several companies (see Prague Facts Section) conduct daily walks, both general and themed. Among the latter include Musical Prague, a tour of Mozart, Beethoven and Dvorak haunts; a literary stroll with Prague's own Franz Kafka; Mysterious Prague follows a trail of legends and folklore; and a good-fun, three-hour evening Pub Tour focuses on the city's ancient brewing traditions, fabulous beers and visits to three or four local taverns you're not likely to find on your own.

Pick up a Prague Walks brochure from any hotel rack or at one of the tourist offices. Failing that, simply turn up most any time at Old Town Square or the Astronomical Clock and you'll likely find a walking tour about to depart.

For the less active there are several bus tours of Prague available, some coupled with a bit of walking. Most of these companies also organize river cruises and day-trips to places like Karlstein Castle, Karlovy Vary and the concentration camp, Theresienstadt.  

But as a good portion of tourist Prague is pedestrianized, the best way to see it is to strap on a good pair of walking shoes (the cobblestones can be hard on your feet) and check out the major neighborhood.

Our suggested sightseeing "musts" include:

Wenceslas Square, site of the pro-democracy demonstrations of 1968 and 1989 and dominated by a statue of the good Saint himself.

Though lacking the excitement and atmosphere of the Old Town much of it was razed in the 19th century to make way for offices and apartments. Wenceslas offers a good selection of restaurants, up-market shopping, the National Museum and the National Theater.

Next to the theater be sure to visit the Cafe Slavia where the unofficial opposition gathered during the communist era and where President Havel wooed his first wife, Olga. Closed for many years due to property wrangles, it re-opened in late 1999 and offers fine river and castle views.

The Stare Mesto (Old Town). Narrow, meandering cobbled streets radiate from the Staromestski (Old Town Square) with its Astronomical Clock and Jan Hus Memorial.

This is an area of beautiful baroque and Renaissance architecture sprinkled with some marvelous restaurants, pubs and cafes.

It is, of course, a popular tourist domain and many shops are filled with kitsch and the ubiquitous glassware. But, because there are a few jewels among the dross, browsing can still be worthwhile.

Josefov, Prague's melancholic Jewish Ghetto, comprises several synagogues, the Jewish Museum and two cemeteries...all that remains of one of Europe's oldest Jewish communities.

It was from this ghetto that three trainloads of children were able to escape German occupied Prague in 1939, thanks in part to Oscar Schindler (Schindlers List). The Pinkas Synagogue contains a permanent exhibition of children's drawings brought from nearby Theresienstadt concentration camp. Most of these children, however, were shipped on to Auschwitz and did not survive.

Hradcany, the castle area on a hill incorporating Prague Castle, St. Georges Basilica and the narrow, shop-filled Golden Lane. On foot it's a bit of a haul or take the #22 tram.

At the end of your explorations, you'll have discovered a city of church towers and golden spires. Of gargoyles and angels. Doors and arches and guild signs. Of crooked, crinkled, cobbled streets. And gracious pedestrian promenades with elegant mansions in pinks and blues. All surmounted, of course, by the obligatory magic castle on a hill. 

A Word on Safety and Taxis

 While Prague has a reputation for petty crime and corruption, walking during daylight hours is perfectly safe. Just take the basic precautions against pickpockets you would in any other major city.  

At night, a bit more vigilance is called for as Prague has quite a swinging nightlife, from smoky bars to up-market nightclubs, dance halls and casinos.

Prague taxis are famous for over charging...and worse. So book through your hotel or, better still, use the excellent and inexpensive public transportation system of trams, buses and subways. 

Prague Hotels

(Editors Note: Many Prague hotels have more than one web site. Additional sites are usually run by booking services which may offer higher prices. Obtain your price quote directly from hotels as well as any outside reservations services.)

 Hotel Adria

While Prague today has no shortage of accommodations, from neighborhood pensions to five-star international high rises, we particularly appreciate the location, comfort and efficient attitude of this Wenceslas Square hotel cited in the first paragraphs of this story.

In a row of relatively bland neighbors, the classic canary yellow exterior of the fully-renovated, five-story building stands out. The spotless interior features gleaming surfaces of steel and glass and a lobby bar affords immediate relief from the outside world.

The 89 guest rooms are fully air-conditioned, comfortably and prettily furnished and contain all the usual amenities. As befits a property catering to a business clientele, guests have 24-hour access to an Internet room.

• Daily Rates: Singles €119 to €165, doubles €127 to €195.
• Contact: Hotel Adria, Vaclavske namesti 26, 110 00 Prague 1, tel. +420 221 081 111, fax +420 221 081 300, email: accom@adria.cz, web: www.adria.cz
• Rating: Quality 15/20, Value 15/20 

Hotel U Cervene Sklenice

One of the few guidebooks that even bothers to mention it calls Kampa Island an "oasis of calm even on the busiest August day." It seems odd the island receives so little attention because in addition to its quiet park and pretty square it is home to a number of excellent hotels and restaurants.

Today, shaded by giant chestnut trees, the park offers panoramic views of the river and the Charles Bridge, while the main square, Na Kampa, is a focal point for lots of low-key activities.

Na Kampa, in fact, was chosen as the setting for several scenes in the 1996 movie, Mission Impossible, and Tom Cruise actually stayed in the only hotel on the square, then known as the Sidi, but now reopened under the name Hotel U Cervene Sklenice.

With only five rooms, it is the smallest and the least expensive of the islands hotels. Furnishings are strictly functional but all is well maintained and comfortable. Each room has private bath, satellite TV, phone, minibar, safe and terrific views of either the river or the square.

Room Number 5 is best for river watching. Or ask for the second floor room facing the square and forever be able to assert, as we do, that Tom Cruise once spent the night in your bed. 

There is a small restaurant open March to October. No elevator.

• Daily Rates: Doubles average roughly $135 per night (dependent on the season)
• Contact: Hotel U Cervene Sklenice, Mala Strana Kampa, Praha 1
  
• Ratings: Quality 10/20, Value 13/20

Archibald

A few doors down, Archibald U Karlova mostu, has 26 rooms on three floors (again, no elevator). Each stylish guestroom has a view of the river or square and is individually decorated with well-chosen antiques, framed prints and oriental rugs over hardwood floors. The hotel is only two years old so everything is fresh and bright. Four rooms have bathtubs, the rest showers. All bathrooms are tiled.

• Daily Rates: Singles $150 to $230, doubles $170 to $250 
• Contact: Archibald U Karlova Mostu, Na Kampe15, 118 00 Prague 1, tel. +420 257 531 430, fax + 420 257 533 168, email: nakampe15@archibald.cz, web: www.archibald.cz
• Rating: Quality 17/20, Value 18/20 

Hotel U Pava
(Editors Choice)

Two other hotels, while not technically on Na Kampa, are so close both in distance and ambiance that they qualify for full membership status.

The first, U Pava (At the Peacock), is just the other side of the Charles Bridge. The early 18th century building, originally a seminary, was scheduled for demolition in the early 1990s when Karel Klubal and family took over and produced a fine new hotel. Last year 16 new rooms were added.

The style, offbeat elegance and eclectic flair of the hotels decor is evident throughout. The lobby is fairly restrained with a fireplace, deep leather chairs, painted ceiling beams and oriental rugs over a stone floor, but watch out for the odd Greek column or gilded cherub.  

The deluxe guest rooms in the new part are both opulent and dramatic with unexpected design twists.  One feels like a medieval great room, another has painted stucco gargoyles. Number 205 is a large corner room with a five-star castle view and handsome murals.  

There's more clever decor in the corridors, where floor to ceiling murals have been painted by local artists.

Standard rooms are smaller and less flamboyant but nonetheless very pleasant. In the new section is an elevator as well as a guestroom suitable for handicapped travelers.

A small (max. 12 persons) restaurant has a vaulted ceiling, fireplace and leather club chairs.

• Daily Rates: Singles $166 to $190, Doubles $247 to $294
• Contact: Hotel U Pava, U Luzickeho seminare 32, 118 00 Praha 1, tel. +420 257 533 360, fax: 420 257 530 919, email: upava@romantichotels.cz, web: www.romantichotels.cz/upava
• Rating: Quality 17/20, Value 17/20

Hotel Certovka

This 21-room hotel, also just off Kampa Island, opened in July of last year and is named for the creek it overlooks.

Its ample guestrooms are nicely furnished in good quality reproduction antiques with pleasing color schemes. Bathrooms have both tubs and showers and fluffy, thick towels, but we found the atmosphere somewhat standardized and a bit unnecessarily formal.

Two observations: prices are quoted only in U.S. dollars and German marks and the framed prints on the guestroom walls have price tags on them.

• Daily Rates: Singles $174 to $200, doubles $231 to $266
• Contact: Hotel Certovka, U Luzickeho seminare 2/85, 118 00 Praha 1, tel +420 257 011 500, fax +420 257 534 392, email: reservations@certovka.cz, web: www.certovka.cz
• Rating: Quality 12/20, Value 13/20

To reach Kampa Island, either take the steps down from the Castle end of the Charles Bridge or cross the river on the Legii Bridge and walk along the water to the island.

Prague Restaurants

The dining out scene in Prague has changed dramatically since 1990. There are now more than 2,000 restaurants representing a wide variety of cuisines and styles. Remnants of the long, dreary communist past are in steady decline.

To give you an idea of what things were like in the old communist days, each proposed new menu item had to be relentlessly tested by the Ministry of Health before it could be served to the public. To avoid a nightmare of bureaucratic red tape, most restaurateurs simply stayed with the pre-approved, government dishes detailed in Recipes for Warm Meals and Recipes for Cold Meals, volumes I and II.

But with all the privatization and modernization, visitors can still run into places stuck in the old mind-set regarding food quality and, especially, service. Which brings us to...

Francouzska Restaurace

The stunning art nouveau Municipal House, built in 1911 and recently reopened after a painstaking renovation, is a must on any trip to Prague. After a look around the premises one day, we decided to try the three-course "quick lunch"  in the elegant "French" restaurant just to the right of the buildings front entrance. A perfect chance, we thought, to study the architectural splendor of the room as we enjoyed a good meal. As it turned out, we had more than ample opportunity for study; the "quick" lunch took an hour and a half.

We breezed through the starters, a choice of consommé or something called "chicken mosaic pat," but when it came to the main dish, veal ragout, the system fell apart. After a 30-minute wait the veal finally arrived. With full ceremony, waiters moved portentously through the dining room, bearing plates under enormous silver domes which were removed with a flourish to reveal, ta da, brown stuff arranged around a mound of mashed potatoes garnished by a single potato chip "artistically" stuck in the center.

Obviously trying but haven't quite got it.

Also on the ground floor is Kavarna Obecni dum (Municipal House Cafe), just as architecturally interesting as the main dining room but more informal. Good for a light meal, a snack, a cup of coffee and some first-class people watching.

Plzenska restaurace on the lower level is less formal still. Essentially a tavern, the decor is still remarkable. Tiled murals, wooden benches, gleaming fittings and stained glass windows combine for a charming atmosphere.

• Contact: Francouzska Restaurace, Obecni dum, Nameski republiky 5,11001 Praha 1., tel. +420 222 002 770  
• Rating: Quality 9/20,  Value 11/20

Bellevue Restaurant

For those who tire of goulash and dumplings, the chic, widely-known Bellevue is considered Pragues best restaurant. Located on the river, its window tables and outdoor terrace offer water, bridge and castle vistas. Reserve two or three days ahead and ask for a view table.

The fare is mostly international jet-set staples the likes of Russian and Iranian caviar, foie gras, Norwegian salmon, and aromatic French cheeses, but with a few Czech specialties and game dishes notably a filet of venison with a creamy cranberry sauce mixed in.

The Bellevue (formerly Parnas at another location) is expensive by Prague standards. You'll pay about $63 per person without beverages.

•  Contact: Bellevue Restaurant, Smetanovo Nabrezi 18, Old Town, Prague 1, tel. +420 222 221 443, fax: 420 222 220 453, email: bellevue@praguefinedining.cz
• Rating: Quality 15, Value 13

U Dvou Kocek

U Dvou Kocek never shows up on anybody's list of recommended restaurants in Prague but we wouldn't miss it. "The Two Cats" holds a warm place in our hearts because back in 1990 when meals were as hard to come by as hotel rooms, we were welcomed there with something akin to open arms.  

A 1990 Fischer/Holliday quote, "Dinner was disappointing. Undistinguished braised pork, a large number of dry, heavy dumplings and a generous helping of very pureed spinach. Still, it was food and the total cost of 100 CSK ($3.23) for the two of us included quite a lot of beer!"

 Happily, all that has changed.  There's now a full Czech menu, lots of good beer and an aging but enthusiastic accordionist works the crowd but the atmosphere hasn't changed much at all from the working class bar its always been. Which is to say you still can order plain braised pork; the general concept is the same except now it's topped with a sprig of limp parsley.

Still, U Dvou Kocek is a dependable, inexpensive spot ($10-$20).

• Contact: U Dvou Kocek, Uhelny trh. 10, 110 00, Prague 1, tel: +420 221 014 354, 224 229 982,  Fax: +420 224 212 665, E-mail: luciepechova@seznam.cz, No credit cards
• Rating: Quality 8/20, Value 10/20

Velvet 14 Restaurant

This restaurant is next door to Hotel Na Kampe 15. The lunchtime set menu for roughly $10 featured a choice of potato or onion soup, a Bohemian meat platter with sausages, a potato pancake, potato croquettes, two kinds of dumplings and sauerkraut. The fish platter came with carp, pike and trout with boiled potatoes and more croquettes. For anyone left standing remember, this is only lunch dessert possibilities were apple strudel with ice cream and thick pancakes topped with wild bilberries and whipped cream. Whew.

• Contact: Velvet 14 Restaurant, Na Kampa 14, phone: +420 257 530 451
• Rating: Quality 13/20, Value 14/20

(May 2001)