Prague/Budapest Untour, Summer of 1999
by Dorothy and Bob Marcinek, Omaha, NE
You will fly into Prague, may have a stop over somewhere. An Idyll Rep. will meet you and transfer you to your Apt. You will have an orientation , I think its the next day. After the orientation if you wish to take the city tour you may, if not then you're on your own for the next 6 days. On the 7th day you will be transferred to the Prague Airport (arranged by Idyll) and off to Budapest where you will be met by an Idyll Rep. The next day should be the orientation and city tour. After your time in Budapest is up Idyll will arrange to transfer you to the Airport for home. If you have an early flight out of Budapest be sure that the Idyll Rep. is aware of it so you can be picked up on time. Our flight departed Budapest at 7:00am and we were picked up at 5. This is very important to remember.
If the Czech Republic and Hungary are on the euro (money) system you should have no problem with needing to exchange to local currency.
We stayed in the St. Agnes Apt. in Prague located in the Old Town. If one wanted to know how some of the local people lived and still do, this Apt. will do it. I know there are nicer Apts. available but since we made our reservations not more than a month in advance and this was the only Apt. left.. It was clean, had a hand held shower, not very good water pressure, bed was located in an alcove, That’s where the ceiling slants and you had to get into bed one at a time.
This may all sound so negative, but you know we made the best of it. I think sometimes we forget where we are and what these people had to endure for such a long period of time.
The location was good, couple blocks to grocery store, 3 cafes within a block, the tram 3 or 4 blocks away.
The Apt. was located on the fifth floor and you use the elevator, which was rather small, had to make two trips with our luggage. (you don't know my wife)
In Budapest, we stayed in the VACI Apt. which was on the Pest side of the Danube It appeared to have been remolded, very, very clean, a little larger, nice location, hand held shower.
Easy walking to shops, cafes, banks and a Catholic Church just a block away, 6pm mass on Saturday. About 4 blocks to the market, two blocks to the tram and metro and store..
Both Apts. had small kitchens but ample. There were no face cloths in either Apt. My wife cuts up old towels into face cloth size and we just threw them way as used. [editor’s note: the lack of face cloths in prevalent in Europe, Mrs. Marcinek has the right idea in bringing her own cloths]
This Apt. was near a busy street and the noise from the traffic might bother some people. We were too tired from being out all day that it did not bother us. By now most of the local people can cope with the foreign tourist, however, some may seem aloof and might not want to help when asked about something. Some will never forget what they went through and it will be hard for them to adjust.
There are many places to eat in Prague. The hard part is which one to choose from. I do not like to recommend where to eat as tastes differ. The first night we ate at a small cafe about a block from the Apt., about four tables on the main floor and some in the basement dinning room. Dorothy had roast duck, dumplings, sauerkraut, one beer and coffee. I had roast pork and the rest. The bill come to about $10.50 UDS without tip. Most of the time the tip/service is included in the bill. Dorothy being from Czech background and I Polish this type of food was what we were brought up on. I will recommend one place and that is the Binarda's Inn located at Prokopska 10/297. As you cross the Charles Bridge turn at the first left street and keep to the right around the corner and up about a half block. We had the Chateaubriand for two with vegies, served on a chafing platter, 4 beers, 2 coffees and 1 apple strudle. I figured $30.00 UDS without tip. This was the most we paid for diner. Most of the time it would be between $11.00 and $15.00 US for two.
From reading the chat line I'm sure you're aware of the need to protect your money etc.
One always hears about pickpockets. We never come in contact with any but that’s not to say they were not around. In Prague one man come up to us and wanted to sell us Czech Crowns at a discount, you know what the rest of the story would be if we did.
Prague is a walking city, flat in most places but with some cobble stone. Take comfortable shoes. We put in many miles walking.
Internet. There are a few available with very good English speaking young people. The one we used was located in a cafe between the Powder Tower and the Municipal Building. There should be a sign outside by the outdoor tables. There were about 6 terminals at that time and may have more now. Dorothy e-mailed our daughter at her work every 3rd day. Dorothy paid but the cost was very reasonable. To call from the main postoffice in Prague was .55 cents per minute and from Buda. .65 cents per minute. Phone cards can be used, however we never tried them.
We attended the Opera "Rigoletto" at the National Opera House in Prague(this is where the dress clothes come in). It appeared there was a different opera each night. The box office opens a 12 noon. We paid 600 crowns each,($17.00) ea. which I thought was very cheap. We sat on the side in one of those boxes like you see in the movies about half way to the stage. From looking at the seats I think the 2nd or 3rd balcony would be just as good.. You will have a choice of no less than 5 or 6 concerts to attend each nite if you wish. They are held in churches, museums, libraries and even vacant rooms. They run $9.00-$20.00 UDS and start anywhere from 6-9PM. In the Old Town there are people handing out flyers which will show the cost, time and place. Some that hand out the flyers will also sell tickets, ask for a senior rate, couple bucks off but we got one. Dress for these concerts are very casual. We also attended the Laterna Magika performance of "Odysseua" .A couple years back this was a hot topic on the chat line on how to get tickets. We went to the box office about noon and they told us to come back around 4 to see if tickets were available, and they were. We are not into concerts as such but we enjoyed what we attended. Sightseeing. Again this ones choice. I will recommend the National Museum in Prague. This is not a museum of art, statues and pictures. This is a museum of zoological exhibits in seven rooms on the 2rd floor. There are over 5,000 species of animals. There is one room devoted to birds with a model of the extinct giant Moa Bird. Another room contains over 300 species of mammals from around the world. There is one room that contains more than 10,000 specimens of rocks and minerals. There was a fee but I can't remember how much. There is one display of beetles ranging from smaller than your little finger nail to as large your hand. We did take one tour outside of Prague and that was to Kutna Hora, 5 hours, $15.00ea. The reason we took this is we thought it would include the Bone Church in Selc. The little I know about the Bone Church is that in the 13th-14th centuries there was a plague and Husite War which left many dead, up to the tens of thousands and not enough room to bury everyone so they just piled dirt over the dead. Years later some person dug up the bones and they are on display in this church. There are bones made into crosses, leg and arm bones stacked in fenced in areas, skulls handing around the altar. Some of us paid the driver a little to stop at this church as it was not far from Kutna Hora, most on the tour did not go in. It wasn’t the nicest thing to see but this is what had happened during this era. Going into the church there was a sign, "no pictures allowed" but in smaller print it said for $5.00 you can take pictures.
Internet in Budapest.
I'm sure there are many but the one we used was located on the Pest side at 1052, Budapest 5th District Kecsketmeti Street 5. Had about 15 terminals and English speaking help. Again, price seemed to be reasonable.
We were told that con artist dressed as policemen will ask to see your passport and especially your money, citing the reason that your money may be counterfeit. By no means give them any money as they are slick enough to give you back some phony stuff. Always carry extra copies of your passport and even if they are real policemen show them the copy. If they ask about the original tell them its locked in the Hotel safe. A little white lie helps at times.
Both my wife and I really like the Idyll Untour concept.
Couple 3 years ago we were on a bus trip to Ireland, Get up a 7, have breakfast, be on the bus by 9, stop at 4 or 5 and do the same thing over again. Its not our cup of tea.
By going with Idyll you are free to do and go as you please.
This will be the last of my notes and I'm sure that once you go with Idyll there's no other way.
Bob