2025 DE-CZ-FR Prague By Train From Karstein

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Prague by train from Karlštein, CZ

Why we take the train into the city

One thing we have learned while visiting cities around Europe is that it is much easier, safer and more interesting to find a motorhome parking place outside the city but close to a railway station or a good bus service to the city. We first adopted this method when visiting Tallin after reading reports of damage to motorhomes including slashed tyres when parked in Tallin. On that occasion we found a campsite close to a railway station and had a trouble-free visit to Tallin. We find that taking the local transport adds interest to the journey, especially if the people don’t speak English, it gives Mr C chance to use another language although sometimes that is not easy. After UK rail prices the low fares are a bonus, especially when seniors often qualify for big discounts. Here in Czechia we qualified for half-price travel, so the train trip to Prague cost us less than £5 for two return tickets, a bargain if ever there was one. However, we did have to pay 80p each to use the toilet in Prague, somehow that seems excessive compared to the train prices.

Prague by train

Another hot day to come. We make a packed lunch, fill our water bottles, check we have cash (euros), credit cards and pack our rucksacks for a day out. We walk the 1.1 km to the station, along the road, over the bridge (away from the village) and down the other side of the river to Karlštejn railway station. Here the lady in the ticket office speaking quite good English and we buy two return tickets to Prague.

We cross the line via the subway (unusual here, more likely just walk over the railway lines with heavy wooden timbers if you are lucky)! We have about 7 minutes before the train to Prague arrives. Double decker carriages, very novel for us so we climb in (about 30 cm step up to the train) and go upstairs getting a birds-eye view over the hedges. It takes about 45 minutes to get to Prague and all but the last 10 minutes is passing through rural countryside.

We roll into Praha hl (hlavní nádraží) station (the main city station) and alight here. Out in the main atrium of the station we look for maps and information for tourists… there is neither. Out come my notes and Google maps, we also find brown tourist street signs (in Czechen) which we follow. In reality, you hardly need a map, you just follow the crowds. First along Jeruzalemska (street) and find the Jewish Synagogue (Prague had a big Jewish population before 1936). It is magnificent with its arches and columns, painted in blue and gold. We know we are approaching something important as the crowd we are following all stop and out come mobile phone/cameras! It is definitely worth photographing. To the end of Jeruzalemska to a large square with the magnificent tower of Prašná Brána (Powder Gate), next to Obecní Dŏm the Art Nouveau museum (painted yellow on the outside with wonderful rural scenes of nymphs).

Again the crowd stops and there is much photography. Under the arch of the Powder House (tower) and along small and winding streets with shops to the old town square. about as big as Trafalgar square with a small column in the centre as well as the Jan Hus WW11 war memorial and the small Mariánský Sloup (Marian Column) also a war memorial from 1650. There are some magnificent painted buildings as befitting the capital of Bohemia and two very large churches: Chrám Matky (Gothic church with two pointed spires) and the lovely pale cream St Nicholas Church with two round spires. But the masterpiece of the whole square is the Pražský Orloj (horolog) astronomical clock. It is described as a Medieval timepiece on the façade of the City Hall, as the two blue doors open on the hour, the twelve apostles are displayed circulate around behind the doors while the skeleton rings a golden bell to strike the hour.

There are literally hundreds, maybe thousands congregating in front of the clock. A mass of humanity all wait patiently for the hourly performance when another thousand mobile phone cameras spring into action to catch the moment. At the end of the performance (about a minute) the audience applauds. Magnificent. We find some steps to sit on (there are NO seats or benches anywhere) and eat our lunch. It is a hot and sunny day, 27°C the warmest day so far, and we watch the world of international tourists wandering by. After lunch we walk to the river and find the Charles Bridge, equally packed with thousands of tourists. The only way to cross it is the move en-masse with the body of humanity. We walk 20 m in the mass, take our photographs of the crowds and make our return back through the mass of humanity to the square… enough is enough!

Back through the old Town Square, still with hundreds of people in front of the clock. We retrace our steps back to the station, get an ice cream and wait for the train. We have seen what we need to, our only regret is not going into the Art Nouveau Museum, but the queue for tickets was 50 m along the pavement! Prague was much more expensive than we expected, no doubt prices hiked up for the tourists who have left their common sense at home.

The 15.15 train gets us back to Karlštejn at 16.00, a twenty minute walk and we are back at the campsite for 4.30. It is heaving, packed with motorhomes every which way and that, every cabin taken with people sat outside at tables drinking beer, feral children riding bikes, dogs on long leads and a few other civilised people (like us!) sat under their awnings away from it all. We open a bottle of cold white wine and enjoy our haven of peace (together with the moho opposite us). We cook the German sausage for tea and eat them with large vine tomatoes. Later, the live (amplified) music entertains the adults in the beer hut, the bar (ice cream kiosk) is open and does a roaring trade in beer (the preferred drink of Czechans).

We sit in the warm of the evening, tired from our busy day and watch the three families of about 16 people in the cabins opposite enjoying the first night of their weekend. We leave them to it and go to bed, the music playing till about 11.00 pm.