Wanderings: Easter in Prague

Apparently, we picked the wrong Easter weekend to go to Prague.

I am told that had we travelled last year (as I originally intended – but it’s a long story) we would have worn t-shirts and basked in the first spring sunshine. As it happened, we travelled to Prague on a weekend when it rained and snowed intermittently and we were wrapped up in winter coats and scarves – but it couldn’t spoil my birthday weekend away.

Below is just a selection of a many hundreds of photographs from the trip, along with some useful trips for doing Prague with the kids.

Prague (Praha in Czech) was on my list of places to visit for a few years now. It’s one of the precious few old towns that didn’t suffer Nazi bombings during the World War II, so there’s still a lot of really really old buildings and wonderful architecture (although sadly a lot of it outside the immediate tourist spots is covered with graffiti).

Having had a really busy few weeks before our trip, we ended up not planning much, but rather just rode the trams, walked the city streets and explored whatever came our way, relying on a few tips we had from our AirBnB host and a new photographer friend I met via Instagram.

 

 

Here are some useful tips for visiting Prague with kids:

Take a stroller or other mode of transportation for the little one! My 4 year old has been out of the buggy for over a year now and I refused to let him into it again (and figured our Micro scooter would not be very useful on cobbled streets), but on second thoughts buying a cheap umbrella stroller would have saved many a moan about achy feet. Luckily one morning I was able to leave my two men behind to have a child-free morning to roam the Old Town uninhibited, which really helped my sanity :)

Use public transport – it’s easy and cheap. Prague airport is easily accessible by a combination of bus and subway, and trams can get you virtually anywhere in the city, so if you have a transport-obsessed child, take full advantage of it and make the trip fun for them.

It’s not really crowded unless you’re travelling at rush hour, and you can buy a 1 day, 3 day, or a weekly pass which is valid on all forms of transport, including a funicular railway at Petrin Hill (the “special tram” as my son called it). Don’t forget to validate  the paper ticket at first entry, and then you don’t have to do anything unless there’s an inspector.

Live where locals live. While it is probably cool to stay in one of the central hotels and have everything on your doorstep, I found that living just a few miles away from the centre opened up new opportunities and enabled us to see things we would not have otherwise.

I’ve been obsessed with AriBnB recently and I’ve found this amazing apartment there. We could not have been happier with the experience. We got to see both the tourist side of Prague, and the more local places, including a wonderful child-friendly organic restaurant that’s really off the beaten track with not many tourists knowing about it (recommended by our host).

 

Think off peak. Most tourist areas will be swarming with tourists come 11am, so it is really worth getting up early to visit some of the more popular spots.

The Old Town had several Easter Markets going on, with everything from food and gifts to live music and even a petting zoo but it really got too busy by lunchtime – so pick your timings carefully.

Same goes for the Prague Castle. The first time we got there it was well past 4pm, and the streets were empty and we got real sense of peace and of the old architecture and were able to enjoy ourselves. The next morning, however, when we got to the castle it was so busy with food and souvenirs being sold on every corner, and crowds of people, that we have actually turned around and left!

 

Playgrounds! There are many wonderful modern playgrounds dotted around the centre of Town, including one at the bottom of Petrin Hill and also on the riverside overlooking Charles Bridge and the Old Town. Grab a take away coffee, and let the kids run off the energy to keep everyone happy (it amazes me still how my little one’s achy feet disappear immediately as a slide or a climbing frame coming into view :)

And don’t forget about Krtek (The Little Mole). It’s a wonderful character created by Zdenek Miller with many books and even a TV-series based on his adventures which was really popular when I was growing up in Russia. Now my son adores him and I bought him a little stuffed friend in one of the Toy Shops in the Old Town (you can also get books in English, and various games like Krtek dominoes), and you can (there isn’t much talking so no translation necessary).

 

 

All in all, despite the chill, we really did enjoy ourselves. Prague reminded me of St Petersburg, my home town – it had the same sense of calm, especially when we took the less touristy paths, and similar architecture.

I leave you with a few more pictures from our weekend away, enjoy!