Prague: New Town

We stayed at the Marriott Executive Apartments at Longin Center in Prague.  We like to stay at Marriotts when we can because we accumulate points there (those really came in handy when I was stuck at BWI!).  They also had a parking garage which was good since we wouldn't be using our car all weekend and wanted it to be secure.  Although we liked our apartment, the hotel was located in Prague's New Town, which was a bit of a hike on foot from the Castle and Old Town, which we liked better.  New Town had a very busy, more modern vibe and didn't feel too different from other big cities I have been in.  It is the Old Town and Charles Bridge area that is truly unique and gorgeous.  If I had to do it again, I would look for an apartment closer to that area of town.

This is King Wenceslas Square.  Remember him from the Chamber Singers' Christmas song?  ;-)  He is the patron saint of this region of the Czech Republic.

There is an interesting mix of old and new in this part of Prague.  The big signs look kind of funny on the old buildings.  We also noticed while driving into Prague that there are a lot of billboards on the side of the roads--something we do not see in Germany.  See the Budweiser sign below?  There is a story about Budweiser in Prague...I am linking the Wikipedia story here.  Budweiser was first founded in Prague, but when it was exported to the US, Anheuser-Busch bought the trademark for use in North America.  So, now there are two different Budweiser brands that can only be used in their own respective countries...something like that.  Jim can explain it better. :)

They use streetcars in Prague.

Interesting mix of new on the left and old on the right

The train restaurant that I wrote about in my Good Eats in Prague post is located in New Town right near Wenceslas Square, so it was convenient to eat there on our last day right before we checked out of our hotel.