A new blog, by a French expat living in Prague / Un nouveau blog, par un expatrie francais vivant a Prague.Bio Zahrada – cafe and organic shop October 31, 2008
Posted by harlockcz in Café, Food & Drinks, Prague, Recommended.1 comment so far
Bio Zahrada – cafe and organic shop
Belgická 33 (20 metres from náměstí Míru)
Prague 2, Vinohrady
tel: 603 752 468
This is a little place you should visit to help it grow.
Charming and simple, the environment is calm, and the prices are fair. The people receiving you, like their job (always a good start to be welcome). They are convinced of the product they sell and this is not so often the case so I got the feel of mentioning it.
I went there and look forward to go back even if I am not a Bio addict. My view on the Bio products would be that it cost more for less goods, but I realized that I was wrong.
The shop is a coffee place, the coffee place is a shop. This is one of those places that refuse to be just one thing and to last forever like that. As Human being, not done in only one piece but build up from various feelings and experiences, this place brief the soul of the owner. It you need a coffee you will get it but with this coffee you will get the passion that they had in searching a special selection.
Try it and give me you feed back.
Prague: too expensive, or too cheap? August 20, 2008
Posted by larchiviste in Prague, Press.2 comments
Prague: too expensive, or too cheap? (CBW, 18-08-2008): Prague has been a tourism goldmine for years. The growing Czech crown has shown, more than anything else, that nothing lasts forever. Restaurant, shop, hotel and travel agency owners consider the current tourist season as the deepest crisis since the 2002 floods. CBW found that the growing currency is by far not the only factor to blame.
Poor services blamed for significant dip in tourist numbers August 6, 2008
Posted by larchiviste in Press.add a comment
Prague sees significant dip in tourist numbers (Radio Prague, 05-08-2008): Prague’s reputation as a tourist hotspot has been viewed as a given for years. But now, new statistics reveal a serious slump in visitor numbers. The reasons are the strong crown and apparently poor services. Can Prague reverse this trend? Or are there serious troubles ahead?
I’m also quoting:
“(…) the problem with Prague is that we cannot give to visitors a service that corresponds to the price levels we charge. So we became a deluxe, expensive destination, but our level of service is not deluxe!” (Tomio Okamara, member of the presidium and spokesman for the Association of Tour Operators and Travel Agents of the Czech Republic)
Let’s go outside (Prague) #3 August 5, 2008
Posted by larchiviste in Good, Recommended, Restaurant, Weekend.Tags: Brandýs nad Labem, Labe, Stará Boleslav
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A new one day trip outside of Prague that I would definitely recommend for the summer:
Brandýs nad Labem-Stará Boleslav, a twin-town on the River Labe
Many buses from Černý Most or Českomoravská (metro B) or from Letňany (metro C) to Brandýs n.-L. (from 15 min / 13 km / 18 Kč – as always can be less if you have a Prague transport pass). Maybe an option could be to stop first to St. Boleslav and then walk back to Brandýs n.-L. (this is what we did, but only because we missed our stop).
In Stará Boleslav do not miss the Romanesque Church of St Wenceslas where the Prince Wenceslas – patron saint of the Czech Lands – died a martyr’s death.
In Brandýs nad Labem do not miss the castle, once property of the Austro-Hungarian Emperors, nicely restored but the work is still continuing, hopefully it will include the gardens. You can visit the inside as well, but the collections are not as nice as for example the ones in Nelahozeves, mainly due to the recent history (price is 80 Kč, visit in Czech but they had a print out description of the tour in English). And I would definitely recommend the very nice Italian restaurant in the castle, “La Trattoria Toscana“, with a terrace and a view on the river.
You can finish the day by a nice walk along the river Labe that separates the two towns, but the place seems to offer many outdoors activities, including biking, boat trips and horseback riding…
Again, this list will continue to expand as we try new locations, or receive new tips. So feel free to share yours!
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Let’s go outside (Prague) #2 July 30, 2008
Posted by larchiviste in Good, Recommended, Weekend.Tags: Benátky nad Jizerou, Dvořák, Nelahozeves, Smetana, Toy museum, Tycho Brahe
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Here are some additional one day trips outside of Prague that I would definitely recommend for the summer:
Nelahozeves castle, Dvořák’s birth house but also the new marina for a boat tour (or just a beer by the river)
Train from Masarykovo nádraží to Nelahozeves-zámek (direction Kralupy n. Vltavou, 33 min / 32 km / 46 Kč)
There is a great restaurant in the castle, we were nicely surprised (and of course try the Lobkowicz wine!). For the visit, we took the long tour but I’d recommend the visit of the second floor only – first one was not that interesting (I took it in Czech – way cheaper - and payed a small extra 60,- CZK to have a print out description of the tour).
Benátky nad Jizerou, the castle and the toy museum
Bus from Černý Most (metro B) to Benátky nad Jizerou (25 min / 31 km / 38 Kč)
Small and pleasant town, strangely litteraly meaning “Venice on Jizera“… Nice castle on the hill that at one time belonged to the Emperor Rudolf II, and hosted the famous astronomer Tycho Brahe, and much later the musician Bedřich Smetana. I do recommend the toy museum - maybe more a private collection than a museum though - but with some great pieces – children (and grown up) will love it! For the food, we went to a pleasant restaurant (downer part though, you need to walk 10 min. pass the castle walls opposite from the city gate, and walk down the park), but our first attempt there the waiting time was 2 hours! Hopefully beacause this is a popular place for a Sunday lunch… Finally, I’d recommend the nice cukrárna on the square (upper town) for a typical Czech desert. My advice: take some cash with you since there is no ATM in the upper part of the town…
The list will continue to expand as we try new locations, or receive new tips!
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Tesco will offer ‘English service’ July 25, 2008
Posted by larchiviste in Prague, Press, Retail.1 comment so far
Tesco will offer ‘English service’ (Prague Monitor – Hospodářské noviny)
Tesco customers in the Czech Republic are soon to enjoy some of the services common in the UK, including shopping for groceries online with home delivery, and Tesco-issued credit cards.
Getting to know you July 12, 2008
Posted by dem in Café, Prague, Recommended.Tags: Café, fast food, Prague
1 comment so far
It doesn’t matter where you are in the world or what you are doing, if you visit a place often enough the people working in that place should, at least, start to recognize you; this usually brings on a whole new level of service and service interactions no longer take on the automatic, scripted sterility. And so it is that my local Coffee Heaven sees far too much of me during the week and we have now progressed onto the next level of service, the relaxed, natural interaction that adds that something else to the whole proceedings.
Now I would like to point out that Coffee Heaven is slightly different in Prague in that it does seem to employ people who at least make an effort to be polite, or at least it seems to be a ‘good’ employer in that the people working there are encouraged to do so and they gladly oblige by being, well, pleasant; there have been one or two exceptions, but in general this is one of those beacons of change that is doing well (another is the fresh fruit drinks bar, which I will write about some time).
So when I wander in of a morning I am greeted with an even more pleasant smile and a ‘dobry den’; the coffee is waiting for me before I have even paid and we all wish each other a pleasant day, it makes the day start so much better if it is this way.
How quickly the tides turn…. July 11, 2008
Posted by wordsmith101 in Prague, Restaurant, Stay away.1 comment so far
Czech Republic’s reputation in customer service is not outstanding, however, for the most part with a little strength and patience one is able to survive. However, there are certain points in time where all the bad managers, rotten customer service specialists, inept bank clerks, nasty waiters, insolent taxi drivers, and idiotic bureaucrats decide to converge on you in orchestrated effort to ruin your mood, test your patience and raise your blood pressure. Thursday and Friday of this week saw one of those ‘bad service’ streaks, where I felt that the customer service fairies had it out for me. At the recommendation of the co-authors of this blog, this post is a concerted effort to purge myself of any bad customer service mojo, and to start the weekend fresh, blessed by smiles and helpful hands.
So, who’s behavior do I take issue with?
Hotel U Prince – Quite often colleagues from outside of the Czech Republic organize training sessions or workshops in Prague, with us as the main organizer or as a liaison. I am always quick to recommend U Prince as an excellent location to host a dinner for training/workshop participants or to just go for a drink. One of the highlights at Hotel U Prince is a rooftop terrace with a view onto Old Town Square, and 3 times in the past 2 months I have made a reservation for a group to enjoy either cocktails or dinner ON THE TERRACE.
On Thursday of this week, I called U Prince midday and made a reservation for 10 people ON THE ROOFTOP TERRACE for 7.30 that evening. The person I spoke with was very polite and accommodating and assured me that all the details were confirmed. Upon arriving at the location, we were told that we did NOT have a reservation, and the scene that followed when they called the manager upstairs was something out of a sitcom and had me thinking that maybe I had accidentally slipped into a parallel universe.
Manager: “I’m sorry, but we do not take reservations for the rooftop terrace, therefore you could not have possibly made a reservation.”
Me: “Really? Because I’ve made reservations here, ON THE TERRACE, three times in the past two months.”
Manager: “That isn’t possible, but in this case I will do what I can to accommodate you. However, you will have to wait a short while. In the future please be aware that WE DO NOT TAKE RESERVATIONS for the rooftop terrace”
Me: “Really?” As I take a step to the right revealing a ‘Reserved’ sign on a table ON the rooftop terrace “Because, it seems that there is a ‘Reserved’ sign on this table.”
Manager: “Oh, aren’t you SOOOOOO clever. Please go downstairs and wait by the entrance, we’ll let you know when a table is available for you.”
Happy that at least they’ve been kind enough to find us a table, we go back down a flight of stairs and wait by the main entrance to the terrace, only to over hear the following exchange:
Couple entering the restaurant: “Hi, reservation for ******* for 8pm.”
Hostess: “Oh yes, please come with me.”
In the end Mr. Manager asked what company we were from, and upon hearing what it was changed his song, half offered an apology. Soon our party settled down to dinner, which had the regular ‘Dining in the Czech Republic’ issues: slow service and nasty waiters. But, it was when they brought us the bill that I was truly shocked:
Me (in a very polite voice): “Do you think that we could split the bill up?” (This is regular practice for the Czech Republic, and if they can’t do it at the table, they will usually simply offer that you pay at the bar).
Waiter: SCREAMING at me – something about how it would take 30 minutes to do so, and blah, blah, blah – really, the substance was irrelevant, as the delivery was truly shocking.
In the end we managed to split the bill into two parts, but at what cost? And, since when do restaurants in 5 star hotels allow their employees to scream at people? Even if I had behaved badly, he should never have raised his voice, and in this case my neutral question should not have elicited such a response.
What do I recommend? AVOID Hotel U Prince like the plague. The cocktails are overpriced, the food is not that great, and the atmosphere, as magical as it may be, is most certainly poisoned when you are berated by the service personnel.
A house to build… some developers to avoid! July 2, 2008
Posted by harlockcz in Land registry, Prague, Real-estate, Recommended, Stay away.add a comment
After running for a year and a half in the “building my sweet home” marathon, I would like to share my experiences.
Law 1
Never think that spending 30 000,- Kč in a lawyer is a waste of money. The time spent to review the contract in details with the lawyer is worth twice the money you spend.
My recommended lawyer:
Stella Holesova, Cabinet d’avocats Onisko & Holesova, Anny Letenske 7, 120 00 Prague 2 / T : +420 222 512 727 / F : +420 222 514 292 (CZ, SK, FR maybe EN)
Law 2
Never be too enthusiastic when seeing the unexpected “best offer of the world“. I have true beliefs in the human kindness… until we reach the business area.
As far as I know if you are the buyer there is no good deal, you can just buy a land or a house at the market price or more; but if somebody shows you the stars it probably means that he does not want you to see the fraud. Then you have to refer twice more to the Law 1 above.
With those two simple rules you should avoid the traps that sellers like to setup on your way.
Lets talk now about the firms that I dealt with:
OPTREAL: Selling land
They are preparing lands in several areas around Prague. This is not the worst company I saw, but they are hiding some details in the contract like: all the houses have the central canalization but this canalization is going nowhere because they did not create the water recycling unit needed. So they mention it during an informal chat and when you contact the city office about this “detail” (Optreal point of view) the officer replies that the city may request 200 000,- Kč to build this unit… RUN AWAY!!!!
OXES: Selling land
They are preparing lands in several areas around Prague too! I bought my plot from this company. They produced some documents a bit slowly but we finally got everything. Not a bad experience.
CANABA: Building houses
They have a catalogue of houses from which you can work out something and make changes if you prefer. They have a concrete panel technology so the houses are very fast to build. But be very careful! The salesman is really a salesman, he knows nothing about the product. That would be a fridge he would argue the same way!!!! Every time we asked for a detail he replied that he will contact a colleague… They have a terrible standard contract that they are not wishing to modify. After two months of meetings, chats negotiations, we gave up, seeing that we were wasting our time.
WELFAST: Building houses
They have a catalogue of houses from which you can work out something and make changes if you prefer. They are using a classic brick wall system. Technically speaking the salesman knows his products. They are enjoying modifying the house as much as you want. They are really flexible in this but when it is about the contract the things turn bad. We had a very few requests about the contract, some security for us. We met up with the owner of the firm and the chat was good. Every time we asked for some changes they said YES. But when they really had to modify the contract, they refused. Face to face a big smile but no action following this verbal agreement.
Most of the companies refuse to negotiate about the contracts. It is a known fact that you can bring your own contract version and submit it… But they will not accept it.
ECOMODULA: Building houses
They have a catalogue of houses from which you can work out something and make changes if you prefer. Those houses are wooden structured with an isolation technology that respect at least the European rules (which means that you have option to get over isolation). They are very fast to build and the house includes really ALL. You can setup up your complete house and the day they deliver you can live inside. That is a really pleasant point. When it is about negotiating, you may fall from you chair! They are open minded to the customer needs and they are trying to arrange the maximum for you. This is the level of service that you can expect from a company but that you don’t easily get. But Ecomodula does support you. No surprise then if I tell you that I am going to sign with them for the building of my “sweet home”.
Czech souvenirs July 2, 2008
Posted by larchiviste in Gifts, Prague, Recommended.Tags: Crystalex, Jiří Pelcl, Vicenza
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Traditional question from anyone coming to visit you in Prague: what should they buy as a souvenir?
Czech crystal, jewelries, puppets, wooden toys, Easter eggs, spa wafers, beer or Becherova? The list is not short, but are these items really something you would recommend to a friend or family? And if yes, where would you send them to find the desired souvenir? Difficult question…
Our favorite tip nowadays, since we actually have purchased some of these items ourselves and use them on a daily basis, is to buy Bohemian crystal glasses. Not the tacky/touristy ones, but instead the Vicenza drinking set (Crystalex) by Jiří Pelcl, for which he was awarded the National Design Prize in 2006. Great design, elegant modern/traditional mix, affordable and useful (less than 500, Kc for the set of 6 glasses). These can be purchased in several places in Prague, sometimes in museum gift shops. One nice address though (we’ll review it soon in a separate post) is:
Modernista
Celetná 12, Praha 1 – Staré Město
tel: 224 241 300
e-mail: modernista@modernista.cz
What is your typical recommendation for a Czech souvenir (why, and where to find it)?
Prague Zoo July 1, 2008
Posted by larchiviste in Babies, Pets, Prague, Recommended, Weekend.1 comment so far
Keeping up with the theme of cool things to do around Prague, another place I would recommend to visit during the sunny days to come (hopefully) is the Prague Zoo.
The new buildings are well thought (and contrast with the oldest ones, fortunately to be rebuilt soon), including my favorite: the Indonesian jungle, with the twilight zone where bats are flying freely. Another cool attraction: the lift that links the two parts of the zoo and offers a beautiful panorama of Prague (15,- Kč). Very fun!
But it’s also worth checking the gorillas, lemurs, giraffes, tigers, etc…
U Trojského zámku 3/120, 171 00 Praha 7
phone: 296 112 111
e-mail: zoopraha@zoopraha.czTo get there: Bus 112 from Nádraží Holešovice (metro C) to the terminus (Botanicka Zahrada) – there is a free zoo bus during the summer too – or walk from the Stromovka park to Troja using the pedestrian bridge over the island.
Entrance fees: 150,- Kč for an adult is not cheap, and the annual ticket could be worth purchasing at 500,- Kč . Note that there are some discounts for families.
Opening hours. It seems that they also offer night guided tours during the summer, but we haven’t tried that yet.
Let’s go outside (Prague) June 30, 2008
Posted by larchiviste in Biking, Hiking, Recommended, Restaurant, Weekend.Tags: Dobříš, Jevany, Karel Gott Museum, Louňovice, Okoř
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Sometimes one only needs to travel 30 kilometers from the center of Prague to feel like being in a completely different country, with nice(r) people and a totally different approach to service and prices…
Yesterday we went for a walk in the Jevany area, just a few kilometers from Prague, right after Říčany (south-east). Beautiful place with nice paths in a protected forest along lakes and ponds, a nice restaurant, and even some swimming for the daring ones (not me).
Really the perfect place to spend a sunny Sunday afternoon, hiking, biking… or swimming (again, not for me)!
Louňovice & Jevany
To get there: If you don’t have a car, the easiest is to get from metro station Depo Hostivař on to the Bus 381/382/387 to Louňovice Na hrázi II (21 km, around 35 minutes, and 26,-Kč or 14,- Kč if you already have a Prague transport pass) or further to Jevany.
The restaurant where we stopped to have some nice food for a very reasonable price, smile included: U henců.cz – Nejlepší restaurace v okolí Louňovic
The protected area: Voděradské bučiny
And finally, for the fans, this is also the place where you can find: Gottland, the Karel Gott Museum :)
Other 1-day trips outside of Prague that I would definitely recommend for the summer:
Bus from Vítězné náměstí (Dejvická, metro A)
Lunch/dinner/even sleep at the pension & restaurant
Dobříš, the castle and French park, Karel Čapek’s house
Bus from Na Knížecí (Anděl, metro B)
There is a good restaurant in the castle
If you have any others to share, please let us know!
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Prague culture threatened? May 7, 2008
Posted by larchiviste in Prague, Press.add a comment
What would be the future of a city not offering any original and varied cultural events, exhibitions, festivals, etc? And what would be the point of this blog if we could not review or share our experiences in attending such events as citizens of this city?
CITIZENS’ MOTION: PRAGUE MUST PROTECT CULTURE
We the undersigned citizens of Prague turn to you with apprehension regarding the future general conditions of the City in which we live and work and which receives a share of our taxes, because we fear a liquidation of cultural life not only in the City’s centre but in general. Aware of the fact that it is the cultural organisations that have a major urban-forming character, we submit the following motions for the City Assembly to consider (more).
For the French speakers, it even made the French national news today: Menaces sur la vie culturelle pragoise (Le Monde, 05/05/08).
Splurge! March 31, 2008
Posted by larchiviste in Hotel, Recommended, Restaurant, Spa, Weekend.Tags: Kokořín, Liběchov, Mělník
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If you are looking for something special for a surprise/romantic mini-break not far from Prague, I would strongly recommend you to visit the Rezidence Liběchov, 8 km from Mělník and only 30-45 minutes drive from Prague. We spent there two great weekends in the past year, enjoying both ‘romantic’ and ‘anti-stress’ weekend packages.
Great hotel, rebuilt in the spirit of the 30s, beautiful rooms, great wellness area, a very recommended restaurant, and of course a great service – the word actually does mean something there. You pay for it, that’s true (see room prices and weekend packages), but everything is quiet, calm, intimate, and full of little touches that make the stay so special: fresh flowers in the room, flower petals on the bed, candles, fresh fruit or cheese plates… And somehow you do feel at home, smartly dressed for the 5 course gourmet dinner, or simply walking to the wellness center in bath robe and slippers. Spending 2 hours with your other half in the wellness center (so far the best I tried in the Czech Republic, much nicer than Pupp’s) and enjoying the whirlpool, saunas, massages… it’s really like a place out of time.
Rezidence Liběchov
Liběchov 121, 277 21 Liběchov, Czech Republic (map)
Tel. 00420 315 650 000
Fax 00420 315 650 009, 315 697 982
recepce@rezidence-libechov.cz
If the Rezidence does not get a (truly deserved though) 10/10 is because of the ugly power station built in the valley on the other side of the river that somehow spoils the view in the West direction. Hopefully the view in the East direction is great (ask for a room with THIS view) and is the start of a beautiful region to explore: the Kokořínsko protected area, with its forests and unusual landscapes, traditional farms, and the so romantic Kokořín castle…
Anyway, I am pretty sure that we will visit the Rezidence a 3rd time. The question is when :)
Buying a property in the Czech Republic March 18, 2008
Posted by larchiviste in Real-estate.add a comment
While writing the previous post, I found this article:
How to buy a house in the Czech Republic in Twenty four (Easy?) Steps
Land registry office in Prague March 18, 2008
Posted by larchiviste in Good, Land registry, Prague.2 comments
Having to deal with Administration is usually difficult, and being a non-Czech speaking foreigner in Prague makes it most of the times (always?) impossible. But there is one official institution that really seemed to me to be completely different than others: the Land Registry office in Prague.
I had to go there a few times when dealing with my apartment purchase and now reconstruction (it’s kind of mandatory to validate the ownership – see for example this article). I was usually there right after the opening time (8 am) and it never took me long to get the document I was looking for (usually less than 30 minutes for the whole process). They have a ticket system to queue, and even though all is in Czech, I could found out easily what to do, where to queue, and where to go buy the 100 CZK stamps needed. Surprinsigly a very efficient place, in a new building, with nice people ready to help - so it must be true, there is hope! 
Katastrální úřad pro hlavní město Prahu
Pod sídlištěm 9/1800, 18214 Praha 8 (map - subway: Kobylisy, line C)
Tel: 284041111 / Fax: 284042022 / e-mail: kp.praha@cuzk.cz
The office also has an on-line Land Registry database (in Czech only) where to look for who is owning what in the Czech Republic. This does not have any legal value though, it is for information purposes only. In the case an official document is needed (usually a “List vlastnictvi“), you need to go to the office above. Note that the maximum validty of that document is 3 month.
To search for a specific address in the on-line Land Registry database:
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select in the left side menu “Informace z KN“: “Parcela” = parcel, “Budova” = building, “Jednotka” = unit (e.g. BUDOVA)
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choose the city “Obec” (e.g. PRAHA)
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choose the cadastral territory “Část obce” (eg. ZIZKOV)
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choose the building number “Číslo budovy” (usually a number which is on the official address, preceding the street number)
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finally click on the “Vyhledat” button to get the details. Voila!
Fast Food, part 2 January 28, 2008
Posted by dem in Restaurant.add a comment
If there is one thing that is a certainty when considering “good service”, this definition changes depending on the time of day, where you are, the weekend the person behind the counter had, etc. Now before making the observation, I want to make is perfectly clear that I have experienced lousy service from Honolulu to Auckland (and I don’t mean the Pacific route), and it generally comes under the heading of one of the aforementioned reasons. If it is a Monday in Sydney, you can be guaranteed that someone, somewhere had a lousy weekend and is now passing their experience on to you.
Having written how fabulous fast food places can be, it is now time to write about the fact that they also have off days, and that these off day seem to happen more and more regularly, and not just on Mondays, and not just to me. Take this morning’s breakfast encounter as a great example. The server must have had a bad day and she was passing it on to everyone. In fact the whole serving staff must have been out on a collective bad weekend because they were all passing it on to the customers. So even the Mac can is not a guarantee of a fabulous time whist parting with your money.
Sad 
One additional observation, has anyone else noticed that you no longer get “help yourself” sugar, milk, stirrers, etc? Maybe a case of too many people helping themselves for the week’s supplies at home.
1st Czech STARBUCKS: 1st Day Review January 22, 2008
Posted by juliusmiko in Café, Good, Prague.3 comments
Whether you like Starbucks coffee or not, this is a personal choice.
It is more about a new element that started to integrate into the Czech culture.
Malostranske Namesti, as the first location of Starbucks Cafe opened to public this morning (22 January, 2008).
Here are the first observations:
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Opened yesterday for VIP and the press
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9:00 am today, opened for public and press was there too
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at first a longer q however it was not overcrowded inside
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prices for latte: tall 75, grande 85, XL 95
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no extra for soy milk
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coffee taste is average (normal Starbucks coffee)
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seating ok, split on two levels including basement
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everyone speaks English (staff and customers)
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it’s non-smoking
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free WiFi (tested on the spot by journalists)
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iTunes Store wireless access via iPhone/iPod to be implemented within 12 months
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next store to be opened in Palladium in February, more to come soon..
Rating is 8/10 two points down, one for prices, second for the taste.
Buying a Prague public transport pass January 8, 2008
Posted by larchiviste in Could be better, Prague, Press, Transports.Tags: bus, metro, public transports, train, tramway
2 comments
I just spent 45 minutes this morning queuing to purchase my new public transport card… I cannot say that this is the most effective system (and I’ll pass on the friendliness of the selling person – or better said lack off – who was doing other things at the same time – such as recounting her bank notes – which slowed down the process even more), but it could easily be improved since most of the people in the queue are usually tourists or foreigners who don’t have to stand there and could be buying their single use tickets:
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at the vending machines,
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or go to a Relay or any other Trafika-style shops if they don’t have cash or change,
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or even send an SMS (see how to – in Czech…) using the newly introduced system.
But all this would be possible only if the instructions were clearly indicated, in English at least, and not have the only “Ticket” sign in the area above the little booth. I also still don’t get why the vending machines cannot offer the purchase of periodic passes, and why they don’t accept bank notes or credit cards yet…
Here are two articles found on the subject:
Customer service changes still in transit: Prague transit operator Dopravní podnik hl.m. Prahy (DP) says it wants to make changes in its system to be more customer friendly, but trying to find out exactly what they envision is about as difficult as trying to read a tram route change sign that is printed only in Czech. (Czech Business Weekly, December 17, 2007)
Metro should work on reducing lines for tickets: Did anyone mention having a better system to issue monthly or quarterly passes? The lines go on forever, and just as your turn comes one of the TWO windows will close and the clerk will not return. I am certain they have my photo posted so that when they see me, one window will close. (Czech Business Weekly, January 7, 2007)
New year, new resolutions… and new tariffs as well. When most of the other cities of Europe are trying to cut down the traffic in the city centers or even re-introduce tramways, it’s a bit sad to see that Prague goes this way, encouraging drivers and not the public transport system…
For (some) information, routes and time tables, see the newly redesigned Dopravní podnik hl. m. Prahy (DPP) website.
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