Prague in December or March??

[Maricat]

Hi Ray,

I have loved reading all of your updates about living in Prague, and have always been very intrigued by this city.

Yesterday, I happened upon a travel special through Nordique tours for 4 nights/6 days in Prague including air travel and hotel for $479!! So.. I am coming.

My only dilemma is this: The only two weeks that my travel partner can go are either the last week of December, over the Christmas or New Year's holidays, or the middle week of March during spring break.

I know that the weather is likely to be better in March, but hate to have to wait so long, and would love to take advantage of the built in days off at work around the holidays.

Have you been through a winter there yet? Would we be able to bundle up and still enjoy sight seeing in Dec? Also, I am aware that many sights may be closed during this off season.

We are also considering adding to the trip and going to an additional city.. either Budapest, Vienna, or Berlin.

Any feedback appreciated!

Thanks,

Mari

[BigRay]

Hi Mari,

That deal sounds amazing! I don't think you will be disappointed any time you come, for this city is extremely beautiful all the time.

I have not been here for a winter yet. I arrived in March and it was cold, especially for a California boy like me. My second day here I was greeted to about a half-inch of snow when I woke up. It stayed pretty cold all through March and into the beginning of April. However, last winter was supposed to be extreme. It seems like weather everywhere these days is "extreme," and past seasons are less likely to be good indicators of current weather. For example, this summer here was incredibly hot. Uncomfortably so! I would rather have a cold winter than some of the heat we had during the summer.

As for sights, in good weather Prague is truly magnificent. There is so much greenery and flowers in the town that it is wonderful. In the winter, this will all be gone, but the best of Prague is still readily available. The squares, architecture, Charles Bridge, etc. are all still incredibly beautiful, and you won't have to fight through hordes of tourists.

So I guess if you are not afraid of cold weather, December should be a good time. They have a lot of great Christmas traditions (ie, eating carp, which they sell on the sidewalks at Christmas-time) that I am eager to see and should be fun. I hear that New Year's here is absolutely crazy.

That said, it looks like my family will be meeting me in Paris this year for Christmas, but I will be back for New Year's. Keep me posted on your plans, I'd love to meet up!

Cheers,
Ray

[Maricat]

Thanks so much! The deal really is amazing.. it came to $595 with tax for the r/t air and hotel (Hotel Denisa).

It turned out that Christmas was completely sold out, so I have booked us for March 11th through the 22nd.
I think it will work out for the best as I am an Arizona girl, and thus do not enjoy the cold! Plus, it will give me something to look forward to through the winter.

We will have four nights in Prague (the 12th to the 16th), and then are trying to decide what other city or cities to go to... between Krakow, Budapest, and Berlin. Any recommendations here? Other suggestions for locales? Places to stay?

I would definitely love to meet up! It would be great to have a "local" in Prague.

Thanks again,

Mari

[Maricat]

Hey again,

I wanted to add one more thought we are considering to get your opinion on.

Since we are not "cold weather" people, we thought that perhaps it would be a nice jaunt to go to Venice if we could find a minimal travel time/not excessively expensive way to do it.

With the special, we were unable to book open jaw tickets, so must return to Prague for a 7am departure on the 22nd. If we left Prague for Venice (or anywhere else) on the 16th, we would plan to return on the 21st and stay the night somewhere cheap for our early departure the next day.

I looked up EasyJet, but it appears that we would have to fly to London first to make a connection to Venice. There did not appear to be any direct connections from Prague. The tickets are inexpensive, but looks like about six hours of flight time. Does that sound right to you? I also looked up RyanAir and some others, but couldn't find a route there either. Are you aware of any other local carriers that fly to Venice?

Alternatively, we could take a night train. Have you done this route? Looks like a ticket this way would be around $240 round trip?

Anyway, we are just brainstorming and have lots of time to plan, but are just a little wimpy when it comes to bad weather so wanted to look at all options.


Also forgot to say.... Paris for Christmas sounds wonderful! Hope you have a fantastic time with your family!

Mari

[BigRay]

Hi Again,

Just as a side note, you may get lucky in March and actually have some decent weather.

As for Venice, I personally would not go that far to spend 5 days or so in Venice. I have never gone from Prague to Venice, so can't say much about the night train, but I'm sure it would take quite a while. I like taking night trains, but I try to avoid super long ones. As for flights, I do not know of a carrier that goes direct. If you are set on Italy, though, you may want to look at flying to Rome (I would think there is a direct flight) and heading south to the Amalfi Coast. Since it is quite a ways south (but only 2 hours by train from Rome), you will likely have good weather. I was there in March two years ago and the weather was great. I really enjoyed my time there and would highly recommend it. Regardless, if you get to Rome, you will have plenty of options.

Picking a place to go is a lot of fun for me. I would recommend reading up on possible destinations and see what interests you the most. Berlin is only a 5-hour train ride from Prague. I was there in July and had a fantastic time. Growing up during th Cold War, it was amazing to me that I could sit in a French cafe in former East Berlin on a beautiful summer day. Berlin is a large city that never sleeps and I have been giddy with excitement the two times I have been there.

Krakow is about 9 hours by train from Prague (which includes a long wait at the border) and is supposed to be beautiful, though smaller than Prague. I have not been there yet, but look forward to getting there soon. Budapest is about the same distance away. I have only been there once, in 1994, and don't really remember too much. For me, the excitement at the time was just being in Budapest, a place I never thought I would get to in my life. At the time I felt it was the road less travelled and just getting there and feeling so far away from home was exciting. (Unlike now, no one really had email or the internet then, and international phone calls were EXPENSIVE! ;D )

Anyways, I am sure you will have a blast wherever you decide to go. Please keep us posted and I will try my best to answer any questions.

Cheers,
Ray

[Maricat]

Hey there,

Belatedly popping back to say thanks again for the above advice, and you are absolutely right.. reading about destinations is half the fun of planning a trip!

After brainstorming with my travel buddies, we have come up with the following itinerary.

March
11th - depart US
12th - Arrive Prague
13th - Prague
14th - Prague
15th - Prague and fly to Koln, Germany - stay one night
16th - Fly from Koln to Venice
17th - Venice
18th - Venice
19th - Venice
20th - a.m. train to Innsbruck and spend day, catch NT back to Prague
21st - Prague
22nd - Fly home

The flights are on German Wings, which flies from Koln to pretty much everywhere. You can also fly to Stuttgart from Prague.. and the flights are cheap!

I realize this may sound a bit ambitious, but we think its pretty doable also with the short flights.

Anyway, thanks again for all of your feedback, I will get in touch when our trip gets closer so we can plan to meet up for a Pilsner Urquell in March! ;D

Mari

[Kim]

Sounds like a blast, Mari! I'm jealous!

Gotta ask though, why the one day in Koln? Are you just flying there as you have the flight leaving from there? Just curious!

Kim

[Maricat]

Hey Kim,

Thanks! Needless to say, I am very excited!

German Wings does not fly directly from Prague to Venice unfortunately; nor do they have a flight from Koln to Venice on the same day as we fly there from Prague.

Koln is their main hub from which all other city flights originate, and the flights seem to go every other day. So... this way we get to go to Italy (where its a bit warmer!), and get the bonus of checking out a smidgin of Germany (where I have never been) as well! The flight arrives there around 4pm, and then leaves for Venice around 4pm the next day, so we will have a solid 24 hours or so to explore Koln.

Mari

[BigRay]

Hi Mari,

Your itinerary looks great and I am sure you will have a great time. Just so you know, Florence is only two hours away from Venice by train, making it really accessible, in case you were interested.

Anyways, I am sure you will have a blast. Please do keep me posted and I would love to show you around when you get to Prague.

Cheers,
Ray

[Maricat]

Thanks for the feedback on our itinerary, and the tip on Florence. I have been there once before, but my travel buddies have not, and that is one city that I would love to return to! I could stare at the David for hours on end, and the best pasta I ever had in my life was sitting in front of the Duomo. YUM!

Am currently searching for cheap digs in Venice, which do not seem easy to find!

That is wonderful of you to offer to show us around Prague, and we will definitely take you up on that offer! ;D

Mari