I Do, and Now I’ve Got a Plane to Catch

by Brett Atkinson on

Here’s the ideal solution for those couples that always seem to flit past each other in the whirlwind of a busy life. Get married at the airport.

In a promotion organised by innovative British airline easyjet, Czech couple Miloslava Vopelkova and Robert Hruska won a wedding at Prague’s Ruzyne airport. I’ve spent a few hours at Ruzyne, and while it’s more spacious and modern than a few other international gateways I could name, (bonjour Paris-CDG and howdy LAX), it’s certainly not where I’d choose to spend one of the biggest days of my life.

Still, the bride and groom look very happy, and can now look forward to an all expenses paid honeymoon around Europe.

I’ve just got two questions. Did they have the wedding reception at the excellent Pilsner Urquell pub that’s part of the airport, and who’s going to pay their massive airport parking bill after once return from tripping around the Continent?

Click here to watch the happy nuptials.

Thanks to Micke-Fi on Flickr for the moody pic of Ruzyne.

The Truth About Taxi Drivers in Prague

by Iva Skoch on

The cab drivers in Prague really are that bad. The problem has gotten slightly better after the Prague mayor dressed up as an Italian tourist and saw for himself how much they rip off foreigners. But it is still not nearly good enough.

The thing is, they don’t only overcharge foreigners. It occasionally happens to locals, too, if they don’t pay attention to the hyperactive meters. Sadly, a lot of them prefer making an extra $10 today than get return customers tomorrow.

It is necessary to stress here, however, that this ONLY happens with cabs you hail on the street. If you call (or have your hotel/restaurant call) one of the established taxi services, such as AAA or City Taxi it will not happen.

The official airport taxis all charge the same, about $25-30. There is also a bus that takes you right to the subway for less than a $1. Public transportation is definitely the way to travel in Prague.

Prague’s Hotel for Hipsters

by Iva Skoch on

The days when Prague was the mecca of backpackers are long gone. They have slowly been out-priced and replaced with the “weekend-trip city-dwellers” from Western Europe, especially the UK. Few new hotels have been quick to respond to this trend and cater to the semi-affluent Western hipster who comes just for a few days (and doesn’t mind that virtually everything in the hotel is branded.)

At the chic Icon Hotel in Prague’s city center (where you get into the room with a fingerprint) the staff wears Diesel clothes, gushes over the oh-so-comfy Hastens beds, guests are encouraged to use Apple computers and iPods and bring the Navirent GPS systems when walking around town.

Friends recently stayed there when visiting Prague and loved the 120 Euro Urban Secrets package, complete with champagne breakfast and the above-mentioned GPS system. They also confessed they would run and buy a pair of Diesel jeans immediately because they liked it so much. Just kidding. At least I hope so.

Watch for The Gap/IBM hotel in the neighborhood near you. It’s only a matter of time.

Not so PC: Guidebooks About Your Own City

by Iva Skoch on

Sometimes you got to wonder how guidebooks get away with it: in a world so PC you can barely make a generalization about anything at all, the essence of guidebooks these days is, in a nutshell, all about making bold statements based largely on generalization and cultural stereotyping. That is, after all, how they make them fun to read.

It’s actually quite funny to read a guidebook about your own city or country. In the TimeOut guide on Prague, I liked how the author summarized the Czech culture: “Czechs continue to drive like lunatics, drink beer for breakfast and insist that grey pate made from mutilated chicken organs really does taste good.”

Or this one: “Czechs are famous for inviting near strangers into their houses, their liquor cabinets and even their beds.”

There you have it. Although that is probably not how most Czechs would like to be described to the rest of the world, it is hard to disagree with the message. Plus, who cares about what the locals think, they are not the ones reading it. Although, arguably, they should.