My wife and I are spending some time in Berlin prior to our 8 day Rick Steves Tour of Prague and Budapest next month. We will be traveling from Berlin to Prague on the train and ending up at the Main Station in Prague, called Hlavní Nádraží. Our hotel is the Hotel Metamorphis in the Old Town on Malá Štupartská. When reading the Rick Steve book on Prague, in the Prague connections section, we noticed he strongly recommends not using the Taxi system at the Train Station. Instead, he suggests to call a AAA cab or to go across the street to one of the hotels and try to get a cab there. However, when I google map the directions for a walker, the distance is only 1.1 kilometer (around 11 minutes) to that part of the old town. That seems reasonable to walk. Am I missing something about that part of town????
Posted by
PA
2858 posts
This is an easy and safe walk. The only issue with walking is whether your luggage is such that you cannot easily carry it. If you set the map to show the tram and Metro systems you will note that to get to most locations from the train station via public transit you will still have to walk almost as much as directly, hence his advice on cabs if walking is not feasible.
Posted by
OP
Tampa, Florida, USA
7 posts
Larry, thanks. This will be our 3rd Rick Steves tour. So, we've learned to pack light, pack small. While my wife opted for a small roller case, I have a backpack style case. Both are expandable in case we buy something and have to truck it back to the states, but they still can be lifted and carried. That walk should feel good coming off of a 4-5 hour train trip.
Posted by
stevens point, wi, usa
1194 posts
Hi from Wisconsin,
easy walk but pavement is likely cobblestone so luggage wheels take a beating. Nadrazi is the Czech word station. Hlavni means main. Put together it is main station.
wayne
Posted by
Medford, OR, USA
5837 posts
You will be on the relatively flat sector of Prague. An 1+ km walk even with luggage should be very doable unless you have some general mobility issues. I'd be embarrassed pulling a cab out of line for a 1 km fare.
The cobble stones are only a concern if you're pulling rollers with flimsy wheels and/or flimsy foot wear. My rolling duffle has rollerblade type wheels and easily handled its 20 kg load over a similar walking transit across Old Town. And my RS Classic Bag took the journey without incident.
Posted by
OP
Tampa, Florida, USA
7 posts
Got back about a month ago. The train trip from Berlin to Prague was uneventful and a success. We did reserve our seats a few days before when we hit Berlin (9 Euros for two tickets). I would recommend that. On 3 of our 4 train trips, people were having a hard time finding seats together. They were fairly long (Frankfurt to Berlin, Berlin to Prague, Budapest to Munich, and Munich to Frankfurt) day trips and people were getting on and off throughout the day. So, people were sitting in seats that were not reserved only to be told and hour later or so, that that seat was now reserved by someone who just got on. We used the 5 day Eurail and it was easier than I thought it would be. The walk from the main station in Prague to the hotel in Olt Town was short, about 20 minutes. My wife had a small stroller and I had a backpack. I had no problem whatsoever. When crossing streets, she had to pick up a couple of times but most of the walk was on sidewalks. All in all, quite easy. And, Prague is now one of my top three places in Europe. Hands down. Just remember the word Pivo (beer) and everything will be okay.
Posted by
pittsburgh
162 posts
Hey Jerry, glad you had a great time in Prague. I will be returning there for a third visit this Dec and I can almost taste the Pilsner Urquell, Gambrinus, and REAL Budweiser even now!
Just to be curious, what are the other two top places in Europe for you?
Posted by
Prague
34 posts
Jerry, so glad you posted after getting back. I was wondering how that walk from the train station would go. Would not have thought to recommend it, so this was good news.