Praha Preparations

More from Douglas (http://www.arellanes.com/wordpress/):

If you have teenagers coming, it might be good to show them that the club in the movie “xXx” isn’t a club at all, but the ancient Gothic Tyn Cathedral. If you’re interested in clubs, you might want to check out the Roxy, on Dlouha trida near Revolucni, and the Central Lounge on Soukenicka also near Revolucni. Both clubs are within staggering distance of each other.

Other good clubs to check out would be Radost FX, near I.P. Pavlova metro. Radost has a vegetarian restaurant, which is still a bit of a rarity out here. Just remember that your pork levels have to be high enough in order to be allowed to exit the country .

A bit further afield, (but depending on whether your tastes go to electronica or not it may be worth the trip) would be the Akropolis in Zizkov (disclosure: I’m a resident DJ there). It’s very close to the TV tower. Near there, at namesti Jiriho z Podebrad (the green line metro stops there), my good friend David Holeček has just opened his excellent bar, Černa kočka bilý kocour (Black Cat White Cat). Best mojitos in town, IMHO.

I will definitely keep all of those places in mind in trying to complete my bucket list!

Something that I have been wondering about and am glad to have a decent answer to is money. As Douglas states:

Nowadays there are literally thousands of Prague merchants who accept credit cards, and the big benefit of using a card (aside from not having to carry cash) is that you’re not charged for the currency transaction. Every gas station, department store, supermarket and hotel takes plastic, and most touristy stores take ‘em too. It’s about 50-50 downtown with restaurants, so it’s better to have cash available there just in case.

There are certain transactions that require cash (both licit and illicit), however, and if you insist on having cash, I’d recommend using an ATM (or bankomat as the Czechs refer to ‘em). Just about every Metro station has at least one ATM (many have one at or close to each exit), and there are at least ten I can think within 1km of the Old Town Square. Usually, the fee your bank charges for using a non-friendly ATM is going to be lower than what you’d pay to the change booths or to the banks.

One other ATM tip (aside from not pulling out more than you really need in a day) is that if you’re not careful, you’ll get 2000 crown notes. These are generally unloved in most stores and restaurants (at least the four-fingered-one-eyed putyky I frequent). So try pulling out 1600 CZK or some other variation.

I hope I can remember these things by September, like the 2000 note part. I think as of right now my plan will just be to use my credit card to buy things and then pay the bill directly from my bank account online.