Prague 2017 - A Guide to Going on Holiday with your Best Mate
 |
Prague 2017 - Completed it mate
|
Not a creature was
stirring, not even a mouse;
As Shay and Ethan were
exchanging their presents,
After a long taxi
home, down St. Marks Crescent.
Certainly, the first half of Christmas Day was far from
‘magical’ or one ‘for the kids’. A long day at work, accompanied by a few too
many Christmas spirits, led to an early departure from Atik Windsor on
Christmas Day. Two taxis and 45 minutes later, me and Ethan Taylor were
exchanging gifts in my own kitchen; Ethan was the lucky recipient of a
personalised Chelsea third kit, the last in the shop I’ll have you know,
whereas I received whiskey from the ever-mature Ethan T.
Waking up the next morning afternoon, I opened my
Kopparberg drinks bundle, the customary Lynx Africa gift set and a nice pair of
Ray Bans, not Roy Bons, from the parents. Christmas dinner in front of the
Queen, a Toy Story binge, a fairly standard Bottomley household Christmas with
guests, this year in the form of two young cousins and an uncle. For once,
however, my mind was diverted away from the Boxing Day football, and instead my
suitcase was slowly being filled with more and more clothes from the wardrobe.
I wonder what it could have been…
Ah yes, that was it, Shay and Eth’s trip to Prague (or
PRA-GU-E if being sang to the tune of the famous John Urry song from the fantastic Maidenhead United support). Five days, two 18-year olds, you can probably
imagine...
We’re the famous Shay
and Eth and we went to [Insert generic Czech Republic/ Prague reference here]
So, how come? Well, after an ‘eventful’ ordeal in Turin,
where yours truly was involved in a bomb scare and subsequent stampede
(certainly a story for another time), a phone call to my best friend suppressed
many fears; while I won’t go into too much detail, his actions, time and effort
was one of the truly greatest acts of heroism and friendship I have ever
witnessed in my life. While an eye for an eye may make the entire world blind, a
holiday for a thank you certainly wouldn’t!
But why Prague? “Why not?” is my answer; Ibiza and Magaluf
were certainly out of season, and Amsterdam felt like an idea for another time,
so to the chilly, cultural and pub-full Prague we went.
Day 1
Our flight was not until 7:00pm, so we woke up relatively
late, enjoying a Harvester BBQ Ribs in the process. A quick glance at the
Maidenhead score (1-0 to the Magpies, get in) before a journey to London
Heathrow courtesy of Ethan’s dad, Mike. A couple of pre-flight pints for a
fairly uneventful journey, although, to be fair, we were not flying with
Ryanair, so our pilot was not an optional extra…
Arriving at the hotel, Hotel Astoria Prague, for about
11:00pm local time. For any would-be Prague visitors reading this, I cannot
recommend this very central hotel enough, providing you like the view of a large
shopping mall and spontaneous random visits by the cleaner. A quick trip to a
local club, followed by an even quicker exit from a ‘quirky’ Chapeau Rouge,
before a short walk home for the night.
Day 2
Waking up at a modest 10:00am, we headed for a quick
breakfast before heading to a five-story Nicholson’s Centre. Also known as the
Palladium, the shopping centre was full of designer shops at unfortunately
designer prices. We didn’t stay for too long, knowing that it was only a
two-minute walk through “Big Boots” as Ethan had aptly named the shopping mall
opposite our hotel.
 |
| Turns out they don't do Digestives in Prague... |
Wednesday was our activity day, as we had no clue of how fit
we would be to complete physical activities after the late nights out we had
planned. We settled for Top Gun Prague, where we would get to shoot different
weapons ranging from a Glock to a Dragunov. Ethan just pipped my total of 106
by a mere 61 points (oops), despite my promising start on the Magnum revolver.
The opportunity to shoot a Desert Eagle, practically a pistol with the damage
of a weak sawn-off shotgun, was all too tempting, and a large hole will forever
remain in our complimentary t-shirts where the bullet landed. A thoroughly
fantastic experience, 10/10 would recommend to a friend, all at an affordable
3000CZK each.
 |
| SNIPER GET DOWN!! |
We headed home to get showered and changed, where we decided
we would head to a sports bar down the (narrow) road to watch Newcastle play
Manchester City before heading to a club. A nice bar, albeit very busy and a
neckache if you’re sat on the wrong side of the TV. It was also one of the more
expensive bars we headed to, 129CZK (approx. £4) for a pint of Magners.
Feeling refreshed, we headed to Karlovy Lazne (also known as
Karlovy Les-knee when you’ve had a few too many). The club will go down on the
Shay Bottomley List of Great Nightclubs; 5 stories, different genres of music,
plenty of space, friendly customers and an oxygen bar, handy if you feel that
standard breathing isn’t just quite enough. We would return later in the week,
leaving feeling impressed by the Alcohol
Mist balloons that were on
offer for 80CZK (about £2.50).
Day 3
Thursday would be our exploring day, culminating in a
pilgrimage to a Tesco Express. Waking up at 1:00pm, despite the cleaner’s best
efforts to wake us at 10:30am, we decided to explore Prague, more specifically
the famous Wenceslas Square. A trip to Tommy Hilfiger for Ethan to pick up a
smart belt, and a Lacoste shirt pour moi, in what was a rather step-heavy day.
Certainly, Wenceslas Square was impressive, especially remarkable considering
the history of the city which was formerly occupied by the Nazis and the USSR.
However, I felt that to truly understand the history, you would have to book
one of the many tours on offer which we decided to pass on. A trip to Tesco to
restock supplies of Red Bull, croissants and cider (no dodgy digestives this
time!), before getting a tram home.
For the record, I detest trams with a passion. Dangerous,
obstructive blocks of metal that should belong on the train tracks and NOT on
the city streets of Prague - I for one have been a near-victim of a tram whilst
crossing the road in the past. Nevertheless, this was cheap, and saved a half
an hour walk home, and I didn’t even need a young person’s railcard!
We headed to Hooters for dinner, recommended by our good
friend Ant Osborn - TripAdvisor claimed there was a telly with the sport on and
so there was. A steak for me and fish and chips for Ethan, and a large pitcher
full of local Kingswood cider for very good 200CZK (approx. £6). Eth also got
an introduction into the sport of darts as well as the legend known as Phil
Taylor (no relation to Ethan), who was in the last 16 of his final ever World
Championship bid.
 |
| Mmmm.. |
Cross Club was our destination for that night, another tram,
this time across the river, to a heavily recommended club on both TripAdvisor
and our complimentary handbook guide. We arrived, admittedly over dressed, to
find out that the guest list was full and there was little chance of getting
in. Bugger.
Another tram back to Old Town Prague, this time to the Over
21-only M1 Club, so we were quickly turned away. A bar next, which I’m unsure
of the name of, but that alone probably tells you of my thoughts of the place,
so I will leave it that...
Out we went, now 700CZK poorer, to One Club Prague. Just
around the corner from our hotel, so we didn’t have to worry about directions
and/or Ubers home. Underground, with cheap double vodka Red Bulls that would
become a staple of our Jägermeister-less holiday, as well as a fancy light
display and an up-and-coming local DJ. A good place, but also quiet, as student
night hasn’t made it to the City of a Hundred Spires, so we headed home
relatively early after deciding we’d try to wake up for breakfast.
Day 4
We woke up at 1:00pm, so we missed breakfast AND lunch. Our
last full day in the Czech capital, so we raided the mini-fridge for croissants
with a trip to McDonald’s behind the big Boots. Our night would be spent at Club
SaSaZu, meaning another tram, until we realised that was closed for the night
and our hopes of a night out with 2498 people were somewhat dashed.
Instead, we went in search of a nearby bar that our friend
Will Parsons, a fellow Maidenhead United supporter for me, recommended as he
had been a mere 4 days before we left. Irish bars are always popular, and The
Dubliner was no exception. Great atmosphere, lively music (a personal
favourite, albeit not lively as such, named Dirty Old Town, was played) and
friendly staff and regulars. This was not actually the one Will had
recommended, but it had the darts on telly and was further from our hotel, so
we could come back to the other one later.
Ethan’s name sake Phil won his quarter-final in the World
Championship, which did not please the Scottish Anderson fans to our left one
bit. An ‘entertaining’ encounter with a Welshman about his time in Darlings, which
caused the Czech local to his right to leave in disgust. The best pub we’d
visited in my opinion, a 10/10 night out had the former Berkshire County Junior
Pool player had the courage to challenge a girl on the pool table and
subsequently ruin another lad’s date…
 |
| Ethan enthralled by his new favourite sport of darts |
With Club Susannah (SaSaZu translated into the language of
Magners) out of the question, we set off to Karlovy Les-knee for one last
hurrah before we returned to the UK. A quick stop at Caffrey’s Irish Bar,
Will’s recommendation, before hitting our beloved nightclub.
 |
Costing more this time, about 500CZK, but well worth the
entry fee – Karlovy Lazne was rammed. Retrying all the rooms, as well as a quick
rendition of “Maidenhead’s staying up” in the vinyl room (the Peaky Blinders
stag do were less than impressed), before settling on a club classics room
mixed with a more modern taste. We met Selim, a German lad, who took advantage
of a bouncer shortage and shared his cigarettes with the rest of the dancefloor
to smoke indoors. A couple of
Italians gave feedback our dance moves to mixed success, whilst their friend
tried to fight off a lad who looked determined for one last kiss good night. We
left, at five in the morning, with our heads held high…
Final Day
Out of the hotel at midday, a rather proud achievement for
the pair of us considering the night out we’d just had, and a bit of
sightseeing. Low on funds, we avoided the Museum of Communism, which as a
history student currently writing 4000 words on Stalinism was one thing I wish
we had time to do. We took the customary picture on Charles Bridge, not Berger,
and popped to a Thai cuisine where Ethan introduced me to Chicken Pad Thai.
Gorgeous.
Vaclav dropped us to the airport, where Ethan and I spent
the last of our Czech monies on Absinthe. The flight to London left without a
hitch, and before long we were back in the comforts of our own home… until we
went out later that night!
So, would I do it again? For sure, Prague is a very small
city, so we managed to complete everything we wanted to do within the five days
as well as a bit extra. It’s also very cold; writing this during the “Beast
from the East,” I checked the weather in the Czech Republic to see the
temperature at a very toasty -15C. But, I will say this, the place itself is
fantastic, and we were lucky to be located in such a central area where we were
no more than a two-minute walk from a bar, club or some form of public
transport. Certainly, Prague is a must do for those who haven’t already.
But going abroad with my best mate again? 110% I would.
Although I’m not mystic, I can guarantee ‘Shay and Eth Tours’ will become a
staple of our lives, with many more stops on the road to come. I couldn’t ask
for a better lad to spend five days on the beer in a foreign country with
(cheers bro), which made for some of the best memories of my life. Roll on
Zante…
Comments
Post a Comment