Final questions (I hope!)

Firstly thanks to those who have helped me by responding to prevoius posts.

My final couple of questions are:

1) We are staying at UZlate Studne (near castle) and will be collected at the airport by the hotel car. I plan to spend the rest of the day in the castle area. We%26#39;re there for 4 days in total so with the first day taken care of, is it possible to buy a 3-day transport pass on our second day and if so where? I know that the general advice tends to be to buy at the airport upon arrival but that isn%26#39;t ideal as we won%26#39;t need it the first day.

2) Restaurant advice. I have some ideas of lunch from Peb 7%26#39;s earlier response to a similar question but where would be good for evening meals - either near the castle or within walking distance or easy to find by metro? Is there a good Indian restaurant or Italian or Thai nearby or somewhere with good Czech cuisine?

Also I was looking for something special for the Saturday night with a good view. I have looked at Kampa Park but the menu was a bit fussy for me although given the great reviews, I haven%26#39;t ruled it out. Ideally I want somewhere relaxing, not overly attentive (the trip is a surprise birthday present and my boyfriend hates anywhere overly fussy and formal) where we can enjoy a nice meal and a great view. We%26#39;re going in October so it will be dark. There was a recent similar post but I can%26#39;t for the life of me find it - so apologlies for asking the question again. Also Brewsta, if you read this, could you post your website for food - I think it was on the same post which I can%26#39;t find!

Thanks!

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the Klasterini Pivovar at the Strahov Monestry up above the castle is very good,been there a couple of times on my last visits and food was excellent,very good Czech cuisine and they make their own beer St Norberts which is also excellent.

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you can buy a 3 day public transport card at the airport (when you come out of customs, across the arrivals hall on the right is a stand saying %26quot;metro - tram - bus%26quot;. the pass is valid for 72 hours from when you first use and stamp it, not from when you buy it. but where you are staying, I would not bother with a public transport card. the only time you will need public transport is maybe when you go up to the castle (but you are right underneath it so the walk is not too far unlike people who have walked from the old town), up the petrin hill funicular and coming back from the old town (but then the public transport only goes from starometska metro station to malostranska metro station at at night, but the time you have waited for a tram / metro, you could probably have walked across the manesuv / charles bridges. you need to do the same 5 minute walk from the metro / tram station to the hotel however you get across the bridge. I would instead buy 4 or 6 single tickets at 14 crowns each from the public transport booth and see whether you need them. alternatively, you can buy tickets from tobacconists or at malostranska metro station.

if you feel kampa park is too formal, try hergetova cihelna on cihelna street about 10 minutes walk from the hotel which is a bit like kampa park lite. excellent river view (but probably not in october as the terrace may be closed), less formal food and outlook. or walk 10 minutes up the castle hill and try the restaurant cowboys. square on malostranske namesti is also worth visiting. all three do czech options on the menu.

brewsta%26#39;s excellent prague restaurant review website is the following:

http://czechoutchannel.blogspot.com/

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Funny, I just added a post on Hergetova Cihelna this afternoon.

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not worth the money unless you are a tourist was the conclusion I read and would concur with

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Thanks everyone!

Glad to hear we%26#39;re within walking distance - it%26#39;s hard to judge these things on a map and we like to walk and explore cities so I think Prague will be perfect for us. Thanks for explaining the card, Peb 7 too!

I really like the sound of Kogo at least one night. Would any of you be able to let me know which one (Havelsky? or the Stlovansky Dom) would be closer or better? I was on their website but struggled with the map!! Like the look of their menu!

Thanks guys.

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havelska is nearer, but only by a couple of minutes walk. havelska is more laid back; slovansky dum is more modern and has more of a wow factor, but is often busier

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Thanks Peb 7, your help is invaluable!

Final question (I promise!!) - I have booked to do the Strahov museum private touur at 10am on a Saturday morning and am doing the tour 2 of Karlestejn at 3pm. I had told Strahov that I needed to be in Karlstejn at that time so I am trusting that the monastery tour is 2 hours or less.

Question 1 - do I need to make a reservation on the train?

Question 2 - is the best way to walk to Schmirov station from Strahov - and if so how long roughly would that take or is it better to get public transport?

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you have done well to book the two extended tours at both strahov and at karlstejn

have not been on a private tour of strahov and so cannot say how long it will last. would expect this not to last more than 90 minutes.

trains go from smichov station (smichovske nadrazi) to karlstejn at 34 minutes past the hour and the train takes 34 minutes. therefore the latest train you can catch is the 1334 train which arrives at karlstejn at 1408. you then need to walk up the hill to the castle. the train before that leaves smichov at 1234.

If the tour of the strahov finishes by 12 noon, you should have enough time to get to smichov station. you can either catch the 22 or 23 tram from pohorelec nearby the monastery and change at malostranska metro station for the 12 tram to take you to smichov station, or if you are a brisk walker, what is probably quicker, you can walk down the hill from the strahov monastery to malostranske namesti and catch the number 12 tram to smichovske nadrazi. cost per person one way is about 1 pound fifty. 50% more for 1st class.

If you really are paranoid for time and have a fear that when you arrive at the station there is a huge queue for tickets, go to the strahov station the day before, see the layout of the station and where the karlstejn trains go from and you can buy your ticket for the next day in advance. these are suburban trains and so your ticket is valid for any train - you do not need to specify which train you are going on, just that you need a day return

trains to karlstejn do not need to be booked in advance and you cannot reserve seats. there is one class on the train but a first class ticket does allow you to ask any second class passenger to give up their seat for you if the train is full.

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you may ask at the hotel to arrange a taxi from karlstejn train station to the castle if you don%26#39;t have the time to walk up there...

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20 to 30 minutes walk from the station to the castle and an easy walk - just follow the crowds. in addition, the taxi cannot get all the way up to the castle. with the train arriving at 14.08, you should be at the castle in time for your tour