We had an incredible opportunity to meet one of my daughters in the beautiful, historic city of Prague, the capital of the Czech Republic or Czechia. She was on choir tour with her college, singing in stately cathedrals and participating in a decades old choral competition. We met her at the end of her tour with our spunky youngest daughter, freshly turned nine. We found it to be a very family friendly city.
Our first stop was Prague Castle, which is actually a complex of historic buildings. For 39 Euros we were able to grab a family ticket (a discount over buying individual tickets) that lasts 24 hours. Since we arrived early in the morning we were tired after touring St. Vitus’ Cathedral, St. George Basilica, and Golden Lane, and utilized the 24 hour feature. The Cathedral is beautiful, but be sure to ask the employees the stories of some of the statues and monuments inside. They are happy to share and it gives meaning to many of the beautiful but unexplained ornaments you will see.
We liked St. George’s even more than the cathedral. It is centuries older and feels that way. It’s less ornate and more worshipful. It takes less time to get through and you can sit in the pews and take it all in for a few minutes. Golden Lane was once privately owned army barracks or apartments built along the medieval city hall. These later were bought and sold as tiny houses and businesses. They have now been restored to some extent and refurnished to show examples of what they would have looked like and how artisans lived through several centuries. Go well before closing as the employees kick you out pretty quickly at 4:00 p.m. There are also lovely souvenir shops in Golden Lane.
By that time we were starving and found traditional Czech food with an incredible view at Lobkowicz Palace. Though we did not tour this privately owned museum, we enjoyed the food and headed in for an early night at our adorable AirBnB, right next to the U.S. Embassy. It was spacious, comfortable, and felt in step with the cobblestone streets just outside.
On the way back we took a walk to see the Astronomical Clock with its little show on each hour, got side tracked in the very touristy Old Town – which definitely has appeal for kids – and grabbed an ice cream filled chimney cake (more on those when we get to the Budapest portion of our Central Europe vacation). I also grabbed a quick Thai back massage, my new hack for dealing with long flights and walking fatigue (just be cautious – if it feels seedy, it probably is).
The second day was for finishing touring all of the buildings included in our Prague Castle ticket – namely the castle itself! As you find out touring Europe, these are not Disney castles. Palaces are large houses and castles are fortresses. There is a glorious throne room here and then lots of other practical uses for a castle. The most fascinating set of rooms were the justice and court rooms. It was here we ran into the very window of the Defenestration of Prague! We had read about it in Biblioplan history earlier in the year. This is what I love about traveling – to see the things that we read about in person brings the stories to life! The window was high up and we could imagine the pile of poop at the bottom that saved the lives of those thrown out the window.
The rest of the day was spent in driving to the nearby town of Mlada Boleslav to hear our daughter in concert with PBA Concert Choir. The following day, with a 20 year old added to our family activities, we took a Welcome to Prague Walking Tour (2 hours and 45 minutes) tip-based tour that covered all of the Prague highlights. When visiting a new city, we like to take a walking tour as soon as possible. It helps orient us to the major sites and landmarks, explain the monuments, and help us find our way to the can’t miss spots for tourists. 100 Spires City Tours was the company, though we booked through GuruWalk. Our guide, Lucie, was excellent.
Though our kiddo was consistently the only child on any of the tours that we took, she is a trooper and the guide kept it interesting enough for her. There was a bathroom and coffee break in the middle (it was to be out last cool day) and she had her very first matcha all to herself – big highlight of the day! The tour covered the Jewish Quarter, the John Lennon Wall, and Charles Bridge, all sites on my list, among many other things.
We visited the Vytopna Restaurant where your order is brought to you on toy trains, especially for my youngest daughter. An upscale burger spot, the food was good, but a little pricey. Her excitement made it all worth it. The restaurant is right next to Wenceslas Square, which is supposed to be a lovely sight. The entire square was under construction, so there was nothing to see.
Climbing the Petrin Tower (the mini-Eiffel) was our big activity for the next day. This is a smaller tower inspired by the Eiffel in Paris. It is on a big hill with beautiful trails that lead up to and from the Tower. We rode the bus up to the monastery, walked a bit through their gardens, and from there it was a short walk to the Tower. We opted to walk up the stairs to the top. It was not a difficult climb for either us or our nine year old. The views were beautiful, of course. Use the bathroom at the base before you head up! There are snacks and gelato sold back at the bottom of the tower if you need incentive to get going. We walked back down through the shady trails in the public park.
Our evening activity was the Wow! Black Light Show. Though in a run down old theater, it was lots of fun for kids. Its all done with music and dancing, so there is no language barrier. Though the printed program provided explanation of some deeper meaning about your inner child, the plot was basically a guy having a weird dream in which he faced his fears. Our favorite part was the audience participation – I don’t want to give any spoilers away, but it is interactive, very casual and fun, and something different and unusual. It was very late at night, but the streets feel very safe, we were still adjusting to the time change and not minding late nights – and a 9:30 p.m. show (lasting barely an hour) is a mysterious and wonderful thing to a kid on vacation.
Seeing the Astronomical Clock at night was even better. We were able to get close because the crowds were thinner, by the way! The final activity was a dinner and show at Folklore Garden. Prague is very walkable and we only took public transportation a few times. This spot is out of the downtown, but still very much within the city. This is, again, completely created for tourists, but nevertheless, a really fun evening. That type of thing doesn’t bother me, having lived my entire life in a tourist hot spot. It may not be a place for locals, but to be immersed in the traditional folk music and dancing, where else would you go? It is perfect for kids. My 20 year old had lots of fun here, too, as they kept pulling her up for trying out the traditional dances.
The unlimited beer refills caused perhaps a bit too much fun for a few young tourists, but it was more entertainment than a problem. They do seat you at family style tables with strangers, but it was fine. The food is good, nothing very fancy, but then again, Czech food is all pretty much meat with potatoes, brown sauce, and bread dumplings. My foodie daughter had spent two weeks in Central Europe before we got there, most of it in Czechia, and was pretty tired of the cuisine by then. The strudel was lackluster, but we had not yet been to Austria and didn’t know how fabulous it could be. The evening is really about the music and dancing and Folklore Garden delivers on that.
Beware the raunchiness in many of the basic souvenir shops. They have no qualms here about putting some strange things right next to toys. In the end, our favorite parts are always walking around, seeing the magical sites of an unfamiliar city. The Charles Bridge is worth a walk across both in the day and again in the night. While Czech food is not going on our top ten list, the coffee and pastry shops, a stellar matcha shop, and hilariously, the toy train restaurant, according to my nine year old, were the food highlights.
Prague’s walkability and old quirkiness make it a really fun family destination. The crowns and royal jewelry display at Prague Castle were delightful wonders. Make sure you know the story of Good King Wenceslas (yes, from the Christmas carol) before you go, because he was a Duke of Bohemia and is honored everywhere there. I could not find any good books to read with my little one, except the gut-wrenching medieval story The Boy of Old Prague. Read it, but prepare to cry.
Next week, on to Austria!
