Before I even get into the hostel situation, let's add to the ghetto-ness of this trip by taking an overnight bus from Budapest to Prague on discount coach lines Orangeways. The decision to take the bus actually had nothing to do with money, train tickets are perfectly affordable however time was precious and trains from Budapest to Prague only ran into the daytime (overnight travel sucks, but it does save you time, also money) I couldn't afford to lose a day on the train. The Orangeways bus was ideal, 11:30pm to 7am (that's less than Toronto to New York on Megabus - esp since the bus arrived on time! Early even...) and of course it was cheap (about €20 and €1 to stow a bag beneath the bus). A bit of confusion with where to find the bus aside, it was a decent ride as far as overnight buses go - Orangeways doesn't not stop in the Nepliget bus terminal, but rather across the street at the corner of the football stadium. Luckily their brightly coloured buses are hard to miss. They do show movies despite it being an overnight ride, so if you're sitting right under the TV monitor (like me) and want to sleep (like me), don't forget your eye mask (like me :S). I was able to sleep after a while, plus I got to pocket the earphones they were distributing (mini win!) The bus does make a few middle-of-the-night stops, including one in Bratislava, Slovakia (one of the places I would've stopped if I'd had a few more days).
The Ragtime Hostel was a little challenging to say the least. First off, you need to check in at their sister hostel - Hostel Emma, at which point they took us on a 6 min walk (weary travelers, narrow streets, heavy bags... *sigh*) to an apartment building, up to the first floor to an unmarked door (have to say, some big dude leading me inside a non-descript building to a door with no signage whatsoever and beckons me to go inside... a little freaky!)... which turns out to be a converted space split into a number of rooms and one shared kitchen. That's it though, there is no reception on site. If you want anything you need to find your way back to Hostel Emma. The room itself was spacious enough, the private bathroom a good size, and kitchen had all the essentials. I'm not expecting any miracles for a good bed, the sheets are colourful but on closer inspection made me worry about their cleanliness a bit. The biggest annoyance at that point were the glass-window doors. The door to our room was glass with fabric covering, and it was the room next to the main entrance, I had some noise concerns off the bat. What was even more awkward the bathroom door was partially see-through glass! Uh...I'm not traveling with a partner here! Even if I were I'd still like some privacy while in the loo. Seriously, the way the doors were angled and line of sight, if we shut the bathroom door but opened the bedroom door, a person in the hallway would be able to see the person sitting on the crapper. *smacks forehead* Imagine my level of discomfort from the get-go. To make matters worse, that evening when I tried to take a shower there was no hot water! It wasn't even tepid or room temperature, it was near ice cold and temps were below 10C that night. Thank god it was a hand-shower, and so I washed my hair like I did as a child during Hong Kong summers...head hung upside down careful to aim the cold water only at my scalp and not the rest of me. Hot water finally came back around 1am and lasted for maybe 10 mins. I was so livid I nearly marched into Old Town to see if the Ibis there had any vacancies. However that would've meant forfeiting the amount I'd prepaid to Ragtime, so I stuck it out. The second night was better, the hot water lasted for almost 25 mins before it went tepid for another few minutes and finished off cold again. (I was 2nd to use the shower so I got all the temperature fluctuations.)
Enough with the accommodations though, the city itself was a much more positive experience. For all its shortcomings, Ragtime was very conveniently located. There was public transportation around the corner, a big Tesco supermarket that had a pretty good bakery section (I really enjoyed the random baked goods I kept picking up for breakfast, plus the delicious mango smoothies that were on sale), and it was a short walk to shopping and Old Town. It's a very walkable city overall despite the easy tendency to make wrong turns in the web of streets (it could've been just me, but next to Venice I thought Prague was toughest to navigate without a map - to clarify: I did have a map for both, but sometimes it's nice to put it away or else you wind up staring at it more than the beautiful buildings in front of you). There's lots to see and lots to eat, the first night I decided to get authentic and had Old Prague Ham and beer in the square. Then followed it up with a visit to the Museum of Medieval Torture Instruments, which was right next to the famous Charles Bridge. The clouds rolling in past the castle on the other side were extra creepy that night. I made sure to take lots of pictures. Of all my stops during this trip, I would have to say Prague most embraces the night. Stores were open pretty late by European standards, many tourist traps opened until 8 or 10pm, and of course there were a lot of little theatres with evening shows.
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| View of Prague Castle from the Charles Bridge |
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| Quoting the classics in artwork on the John Lennon Wall |
Prague is definitely a worthwhile place to visit. Having gotten most of the major historical attractions out of the way this visit, I could really see myself making a return trip with friends to do a proper pub crawl and hang out in absinthe shops. In the two days I think I saw most of what I wanted to see, another day and I would've gotten in a couple more art museum/exhibits. If you're gonna do a pub crawl, then maybe factor in another day for your hangover?
Really Nice..
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Thank you.
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