September 11, 2026

September 11, 2026

Friday

Praha, Czech Republic

The plane landed on time at 08:15. We are understandably tired. Not really looking forward to boarded control, luggage claim, finding a cab to the hotel, and all that goes with the first day in a new city. The walk to boarder control wasn’t too bad, still a good half mile. The line and number of people at boarder control was unbelievable. There must have been 500 people waiting to be processed.

Then I noticed – a separate line for people holding EU passports. We are required to enter any EU country on our EU (Italian) passports. No line. Walk up to the machine, insert passport, gate opens, step through, stand and face camera, a few seconds later the second gate opens. Done and dusted.

The baggage claim was different. We had time to use the restrooms and look around. Apparently, Uber is big here. Lots of advertising. Bolt is apparently here was well. Bolt is the European version of Uber and usually 10-15% less. Baggage carousel 14 was packed with bags. It made sense, the bags were coming from China, one other city and our flight. The people from the other two flights were standing in line at boarder control.

It was probably a half-hour before our bags showed up. There were a few of our fellow passengers waiting. Every once in a while an Asian person would come and claim their one or two very large bags. Trolleys are free, so we packed the bags on a trolley and headed outside. Once we cleared customs I opened my Uber app and ordered up a car to the hotel.

It should be noted here that when we left Kansas City the temperature was in the 94°F (35°C). It was very hot and very humid. Praha is currently 53°F (12°C). It is a lovely change. This is why we “follow the lack of sun” when we travel. The Northern Hemisphere in March – September, the southern hemisphere September – March.

We ordered an Uber XL because of all the luggage and the tendency of car to be small. What we got was a Toyota Prius+.  Our driver Javoxir was very nice but didn’t speak a whole lot of English. The ride from the airport to Hotel Haštel in Old Town Praha was CZK709.99 ($35.50US). Rome2Rio and even Rick Steve’s book suggested it would be $40 - $55.

The Hanslík family has owned and operated the hotel since its establishment in 1726. The owners, Kristian and Jana, can be found in the office managing reservations and planning for the future. Jana enjoys keeping the hotel décor matching each season. Kristian is teaching his sons the business.  Their eldest son even works at the reception desk.

Hotel Haštel is a quite off a quite square section of the old city away from the traffic but within walking distance of all the major tourist attractions. It is a small hotel with just 31 rooms. Like most places in the center of the city the entrance to the hotel is simply a doorway opening on to a small reception area. The actual rooms are upstairs. The hotel was apparently a hopping place in the 1920’s.

There is a small bar just to the left as you enter which serves as the breakfast room in the morning. Up a couple of steps and you find the staircase leading upwards and, more importantly, an elevator big enough for two people and their luggage. If you continued walking down the corridor you come upon a common sitting room with tables which will work for playing canasta.

Fortunately for us, our room was ready when we arrived. We went up and almost immediately collapsed on the bed. We took an hour and a half nap. After removing our compression socks, yes we are old and wear them, we changed into non-flight mode clothing and headed downstairs to find some lunch. It had gone 13:00 when we approached the front desk to inquire about some place for lunch.

She recommended two places, both serving local Czech foods. The first was kitty corner to the hotel - Lokál Dlouhááá. She said it was very good and a local place. However, she warned us that at this time of day it maybe very crowded. The second was  called La Degustation. We walked to the first one a could see people lined up not only inside but outside as well. We decided the food might be good, but we can try it another day.

We walked to La Degustation. Much larger place, more open seating plan. We walked in and were seated. The table had daily menus, but the were only in Czech. I had not downloaded Czech for Google Translate, so we were given the regular menu which was in English. The full name of the restaurant is La Degustation Bohême Bourgeoise.

Mary ordered a beef steak with bread dumplings. I ordered the veal veiner schnitzel. Mary’s steak came in a heavy gravy with four slices of bread. They are technically considered dumplings because the bread as no crust. It was very good by all reports. The schnitzel was excellent and they served it with cranberry sauce, my favorite was to eat it.

Very good Czech Beef - Drank it instead of cole.

My Viner Schnitzel

After lunch we walked towards Staroměstské náměstí (Old Town Square) and the Pražský orloj (Prague’s famous Astronomical Clock). The clock was created in 1410 by the clockmaker Mikuláš of Kadaň and the astronomer Jan Šindel. It is installed on the exterior of the old town hall. A popular legend says that Master Hanuš built such a magnificent clock that Prague's city councillors feared he would make a better one for another city. To keep it unique, they blinded him. In revenge, Hanuš had a helper take him into the mechanism, where he jammed the gears, and the clock remained broken for a century

The clock is not just a clock for telling time. In 1490 a calendar dial was add and Gothic sculptures were added to the façade. Nearly three hundred years later figures of the Apostles were added during a major renovation. The 1939 Hitler occupied the Sudetenland (Czechoslovakia at the time). Prague then suffered six years of a very harsh Nazi occupation beginning in March 1939. In 1945 the Prague Uprising occurred and the clock and town hall were badly damaged by fire. The clock and town hall, both being considered national treasures, were restored in 1945.

We watched the clock strike 14:00 and then headed back to the hotel. We used the common area room on the ground floor/half-basement to play a game of Canasta. We were struggling to stay awake. Half afraid to fall asleep at 16:00 and wake up at 02:00 with nothing to do and facing a full day of touring.

We knew we couldn’t stay awake until 21:00, my normal bedtime. So, we compromised and decided an hour nap was probably called for. We went back to the room and climbed into bed being sure to set an alarm for an hour. Good thing too, because we would probably have slept until the middle of the night.

We got up about 18:00 and went out for a walk. We walked north to the Vltava River, to where the Štefánikův Most is, a bridge crossing the Vltava. Then turned west walking along the river. We could see a number of tourists taking the river boat sunset cruise on the quay. We continued to walk along the river until we reached the Pražská konzervatoř (Praha Music Conservatory). There were a number of signs indicating several concerts over the next few days. There isn’t one on Sunday, tomorrow is a long day, maybe we will be able to go on Monday.

We turned and walked south towards Staroměstské náměstí (Old Town Square). We stopped at L’Osteria Palác Kinských and had apertifs for our dinner. We ordered the antipasti della casa assortment and bruschetta. This was accompanied by one of the good Czech beers for me and a glass of wine for Mary. A light dinner to help us sleep through the night.

After our antipasti we headed back to the hotel. We settled in for the night. Managed to stay awake until it had gone 21:00. When it was lights out.    

Buonanotte and Ciao,

Enrico and Maria