Sign in with Facebook
Marie Cibulkove 8, Prague, Bohemia, 140 00, Czech Republic
Check Rates and Availability
of people enjoy staying here
9 Opinions
Divoka Sarka
Republic Square
PRAGUE
The "father and son" pose, Prague
my family is planning a trip this summer to munich, germany. we would very much like to spend some time in prague first and then rent a car and drive to munich. we wonder if this trip would have alot of complications with border crossings and huge expense.
we are united states citizens and speak a tiny bit of german, do many people speak english or german in prague?
The drive is relatively easy and very scenic, with lots of great possible stops. Surprising to many, the Czech highways are in great shape, and easy to drive on. However, I highly recommend that you don't try to drive through central Prague, but that you rely on the excellent public transportation system. Many citizens of Prague speak English, but as you get closer to Germany (in the Sudantland) German is the second language of choice. The border crossings are usually not a problem. Just make sure that your rental car agreement allows border crossings.
Border crossings are not a problem. You won't even have to stop the car at the border. However the problem might be finding a rental agency that will not charge you an arm and a leg for a one way cross border rental.
May I add that to drive on Czech highway, one must have a sticker displayed on the windshield. As we drove from Germany to Prague, we bought our sticker right after we crossed the border. I wouldn't know where to get it coming from the other direction. Maybe in gas stations. The hotel staff should be able to help you with this.
The younger peoples of both countries generally speak english. We have been here in Germany for over three years and we manage with our limited knowledge of the different European languages.
I just realized that if you will be driving a rental car with Czech plates, you may not need to have the sticker.
You only need a permit for driving on the autobahnen, as these are private highways in Czech Rep. However, there is no Czech autobahn on the Prague to Munich route. No permits are required for driving on all other highways.
The other issue you might run into (this happened the last time we did a similar trip a few years ago), is that the car rental company at Munich Airport had restrictions on the cars that they would let you rent for trips to the Czech Republic. German brands - VW, Mercedes and BMW were not permitted, but GM and Ford were. Reason being the high level of vehicle theft in certain countries and insurance associated with that risk.
If you are heading directly through the Czech Republic and Germany, items have been covered. If you do like we did and go through Austria as well, you will also have to buy a permit for Autobahn use there.
You can certainly expect a hefty premium for one-way rental, and for travelling in more than one country.
www.viamichelin.com will give your routes and estimated timings.
As for language in Prague, you should understand that is a tourist-popular city with budget flights from around Europe making it a hugely popular city break for Europeans. You should thus have no real problems using English and/or German, although it is always courteous to learn and use the basic coutesy words in Czech (please, thank you, sorry etc). A small phrasebook/dictionary is useful for menus, signs and so on.
All around in the old part of the city were statues of collored bulls. Seems all major towns in Europe want to have such statues to color up their centre. In Berlin I saw bears all around and in my hometown you find lions. Seems Prague is the city of bulls.
On the wall of the town hall there is Orloj clock, a work of Ganush master. The clock was made in XV century. Legend says that the city government asked the master to build the most beautiful clock in the world. When the work was done, Ganush locked himself up in the workshop. In the city everyone began to tell that master decided to make new clock that will be some more beautiful than previous one. The government decided to blind Ganush. But then master went to the clock and broke it. When bell tolled last time and clock stopped, master Ganush died. Clock was repaired years later.
Prague is divided in zones, the most central zone is obviously Prague 1, but do not be afraid of being too far from the centre if you are supposed to be in Prague 2, 3 4 exc. I stayed in Prague 5 and I was in the centre just after 15 minuts walking, Prague is much smaller than London, so, being in Prague 3 does not mean you are from the centre as if you were in third zone in London.
Although Prague Castle, ith its throngs of tour busses and bullhorn enabled tour guides is far from off the beaten path, I wandered into one section of the castle and found the armory. Oddly enough, despite several thousand tourists in the castle, I was the only one there. As I left, I found one British couple idly wondering if what lay insiode the simple door was worth seeing. IT IS!
The armoury has a few exhibits of military paraphernalia, but what strikes the visitor most is that it is also a memorial to two rather obscure wars, the Austro-Prussian Danish War, and the Austro-Prussian War. Inside you find detailed accounts of battle, uniforms and displays of battles, and exhibits dealign with the politics, hospitals, newspapers, and customs of the times. Without doubt, this turned out to be the single most interesting thing inside Prague Castle and possibly in Prague. Very little tends to be known about these two wars, the latter of which was fought on Czech soil, so it seemed that every single display fascinated me. It was in this ar that the Austro-Czech armies found to their dismay that breech-loaded rifles really could shoot much much faster than muzzle-loaded rifles. Don't leave Prague Castle without visiting the armory.
Kafka's Grave
Kafka isn't buried in the Old Jewish cemetery which everyone visits...he's in the New Jewish cemetery, in an untouristed and sort of out-of-the-way part of town. Easy to find off the tram, though. You will be asked to wear a yarmulke if you're a man.
Also worth a visit: the small, lovely Russian Orthodox church in another part of this cemetery, with glittering mosaics on the exterior walls.
Sponsored Links
Similar to Hotel Coronet
Near Hotel Coronet
Cheapest in Prague
Great Hotels for Less
Q: Prague public transportation "Hello VT; I'm so confused how the 1 day or 3 days pass works. It says that you have to validate the pass/ticket before..."
A: "You validate it once and then it is good for the 24/72 hours on all public transport whether metro, bus or tram."
Sponsored Links
Latest Prague hotel reviews
Sponsored Links
Sponsored Links
We've found that other people looking for this hotel also know it by these names:
Address: Marie Cibulkove 8, Prague, Bohemia, 140 00, Czech Republic
Check Rates and Availability (from our partners)
