There is a sense of movie magic and make-believe in Prague's back streets, writes Angela Long
IN PRAGUE, THE question arises after about an hour of walking around the old city centre: where does the film set end, and the real city begin?
The ambience of the castle area, down to the Charles Bridge, looks so perfectly fairytale that it seems only the demands of Hollywood could sustain such a place. One splendid vintage building after another presents proudly; Gothic, Baroque and Renaissance styles say "what's a few centuries between friends?" Spires push genteelly to the sky, beside domes and terracotta roofs.
Even the cobbles underfoot are orderly. Greenery splashes here and there. Picturesque red trams chime by.
Is Tom Cruise going to appear on a rope and swing across the scene like Tarzan in a black polo-neck?
It's only when the visitor hops on one of those trams and takes a little ride that modern reality intrudes: Tesco. The city of the golden spires has feet of commercial clay, after all.
Famously pretty, Prague still surprises the first-timer by living up to the reputation. We were lucky enough to get a fantastic run of weather at the end of September, which was fortunate as it had been bucketing only the week before.
The Vltava, the mighty river which flows through Prague and is the focus of much Czech nationalism, was sparkling and alive with riverboats.
Charming wooden crafts chugged around the river while a guide on board described the notable sights, with beer and coffee supplied by staff in traditional sailor costumes. Cute.
The magnet for tourists is Hradcany, the castle and surrounding area.
Prague was also the city of Franz Kafka - he spent most of his life here, living in an apartment with his parents until he was in his 30s. Australian poet Debra Shulkes, who has lived in Prague for five years, likes to go to the Cafe Louvre, at Narodni Trida 20, one of Kafka's many haunts, also favoured by Albert Einstein.
Like many Prague venues, it was forced to close during the Communist era because of its "bourgeois" character, but reopened in 1992. The service is a tad off hand, but one has to stiffen the upper lip and think of Franz. At least there were no cockroaches (unlike on Turkmenstani television news, where the appearance of the Kafkaesque insect recently led to 30 news staff being sacked).
"Prague is very seductive, at least for expats. It's easy to stay a very long time without really noticing. I'm not sure about whether this is a good or bad thing," says Shulkes.
For a profound experience with more depth than the usual city break, take a bus or hire a car and go to Terezin, about 60km from the city.
This, under its German name of Theresienstadt, was the Nazis' "showplace" concentration camp. A whole small town was taken over, as well as a barracks on the outskirts.
Admirers of the late great German writer WG Sebald will recall that much of his novel Austerlitz dealt with what happened at Terezin.
As we visited on a perfect late summer day, with unmarked blue sky and gentle sunshine, the contrast between today's scene and the horrors that went on at this place was extreme. Former concentration camps elsewhere - Auschwitz the outstanding example - are so popular now that with their coffee shops and memorabilia that there is something faintly Disneyesque and grotesque. Terezin plays it straight.
On a lighter note, there are lots of other excursions which can be taken out of Prague, but for a short break you're better off enjoying the many pleasures of the city, drinking beer or lingering in a coffee shop, back and forthing across the Charles Bridge.
You might be in a movie.
The best places to sleep, eat, drink, shop and visit while you
are there
Places to stay
Highly recommended is DC Service. We were collected at the airport and taken to a massively minimalist apartment in the castle district. It was called St Michael's Residence, on Novy Svet, Praha 1. Comfy, cool and warm at the same time! It costs from €120-€160 for two people a night, and breakfast is provided at a sweet-looking hotel nearby. See www.visitprague.cz
We also checked out the Hotel Jan Neruda, 44 Nerudova St, Praha 1, named after a 19th-century Czech writer. It's right in the thick of things near the castle, and has been renovated and decorated in an attractive modern style. Rates range from €113 a night low season to double that in the high season.
If you're on a budget, the Residence Mala Strana might be worth considering, Melnicka 9, Praha 5. Mala Strana is the real centre of the city, and the residence is an original old Prague building renovated with 35 bedrooms. Each room has its own kitchenette, TV and radio.
If you're not on a budget, the Savoy Hotel, at Keplerova 6, Praha 1, has all the solid attractions of the famous name, including a complimentary mini-bar. Which, if you're paying from €340 a night for a double deluxe, or €1,500 for the Presidential Suite, would be welcome.
The Golden Well, U Zlate Studne, is a funky white nest marching up the hill by the castle walls. It is a number of separate houses, with illustrious former inhabitants including Emperor Rudolf II and the astronomer Tycho Brahe. The houses were combined and renovated a few years ago, and now have the latest decor, jacuzzis, etc, all for rates starting around €200 a night.
Places to eat
If you are nervous of unidentifiable food, eastern European capitals have in the past provided scant culinary temptation besides the wonderful world of the capsicum. But in Prague itself, there is the very good Square restaurant, bang next to the tram terminus in Malostranske Namesti. They do lots of tapas, cocktails, good modern vegetarian options and main meals that would put Temple Bar to shame.
The restaurant at the Municipal House Concert Hall on Namesti Republiky is gorgeous. But be warned . . . we would still be sitting there awaiting a waiter, if we had not given up after 25 minutes. And did they have to keep on pushing trolleys of luscious cakes past as their eyes stayed firmly in the art nouveau stratosphere? The Municipal House was where the independent state of Czechoslovakia was proclaimed in 1918.
Kampa Park restaurant is on Kampa Island, in the middle of the Vltava, and is one of Prague's best and well-located venues. Bill and Hillary Clinton ate here, as did Johnny Depp.
Marek Purkart claims the title of first chef in the Czech Republic to receive the Michelin Bibendum award, twice. His restaurant, Mlynec, is in the Old Town and is one of the traditional formal restaurants which the Czechs cherish.
There's plenty of meat and dumplings in the ordinary places the Czechs frequent, but if you are vegetarian there's a few options. Try Albio at Truhlarska 18, open till 11pm. The Albions have organic wines and unpasteurised beer to wash down all the pure delights.
Things to do
The Clock Tower of the Old Town Hall is the cliché Prague attraction, and you probably will want to join the throng to see the show, on the hour, when Apostles trot out beside figures of Vanity, Greed, Death and Pagan Invasion to play and tell the time.
The Baroque interior of monastic library at Strahov, up the hill from the Castle, will take your breath away. Check out the The Struggle of Mankind to Know Real History, the mural on the ceiling of the Philosophical Library.
And the monks' quirky collection of fauna such as shark's teeth and various ancient insects is extraordinary. Strahovske Nadvori, Praha 1.
Listen to the words of Spanish poet Federico Garcia Lorca, to a guitar accompaniment, in the back of a church just near the Charles Bridge.
The strum of the flamenco guitar is not the first thing, or even the second, you'd associate with the Czech capital. But Milada Karez, is a Czech virtuoso of the Spanish guitar, and on this occasion was accompanied by a young soprano, both is suitable Sevillana gear.
The Museum of Communism, situated just above McDonald's is capitalism and communism encapsulated. Na Prikope 10.
The Cubist House is known as the House of the Black Madonna. It holds the Museum of Cubism, a style which the Czechs embraced in the early decades of the 20th century. It's on the corner of Celetna and Ovocny in the Old Town and has a very smart shop on the ground floor.
Hit the shops
The area around Wenceslas Square is packed with shops and boutiques selling a mix of the touristic (Kafka mugs, puppets, "Czech-it-out" T-shirts) and the international, clothes, shoes and nick-nacks. Czech designers are scattered, but try the upmarket area around the old Jewish cemetery, Josefov. A number of own-name businesses here sell interesting designs that are well-adapted to the climate (chunky but stylish winter dresses, for example) and good value for money. Havel's, which stretches between Starometske Namesti and Wenceslas Square on Havelska St, has a bit of everything. Open every day.
A good night out
To get on to the hottest of the 120 dance clubs and 300 bars in the capital, try U Sudu, a subterranean wine bar at 10 Vodickova, Praha 1. There's a series of interlinking rooms and the soundtrack could be hiphop, indie or even Czech folk music.
For late night preening and posing, the Duplex bar, 21 Vaclavske Namesti, at the top of a mini-skyscraper on Wenceslas Square, is the place for cocktails and a great view. Noel's, Anny Letenské 18, Praha 2, is a lovely wine bar and cafe with good free live acts most nights.
What to avoid
The beaten track. Initally, there are some must-sees, but Prague has so much to offer. Get a good guide book and explore. Eastern Yurp, as George Bush calls it, is abundant in both curiosities and elegance. For gastronomic weaklings, go for a light beer, a coffee and concentrate on the visual beauty.
Before you go
Brush up your Kafka.The Trial, Amerika, The castle. Not quite the normal holiday reading, but anyone who has dealt with Eircom or outsourced council parking departments will feel a tinge of recognition in Franz's puzzling answerless world.
Or try Milan Kundera's The Unbearable Lightness of Being, which is set in the aftermath of the Prague Spring, the great bid for freedom from Communism in 1968. Prague, by Arthur Phillips, is set in 1990 and won the Los Angeles Times award for best first fiction in 2003.
Go there
Aer Lingus flies direct to Prague from Dublin and Cork.
Ryanair and CSA Czech Airlines also fly direct to Prague from Dublin.
The journey takes two-and-a-half hours and an average fare would be around €100.
If you qualify for Go4Less (student and youth travel) prices could be half that. Ryanair has its usual variety, depending on when you book.
Prague's airport, Ruzyne, is 15km northwest of the city.
Bus 119 leaves every 15 minutes from the airport and takes approximately 30 minutes to get to Dejvicka metro station at the end of the Metro Line A.
From there it's another 10-15 minutes into the centre.
The simplest way into town is by taxi, which takes about 20 minutes.
www.aerlingus.com
www.czechairlines.ie
www.ryanair.com
www.go4less.com