Prague for the Third Time – And It Still Surprised Us
You’d think that by your third visit to a city, there wouldn’t be that many surprises left.
Prague proved us wrong.
This was my third time in Prague and Bernhard’s second. I first visited with my mother in August 2013, then Bernhard and I came together between Christmas and New Year in 2019.
This time, Prague was part of a little family tradition of ours. Every September, my parents usually fly from Romania to Munich and we take a trip somewhere together. We’ve already been to places like Lake Garda, Venice, Salzburg, Chiemsee, Füssen and Berlin. This year my brother joined us too, so the five of us headed to Prague for an extended weekend.
When we finally arrived, Prague immediately felt familiar. I remember saying to myself:
“Finally we are here. Hope that I feel good enough to enjoy this.”
Planning Prague Together
Bernhard was our route planner. He spent time on Google Maps figuring out which places made sense to combine and putting together our routes for each day. We worked together on the rest: booking tickets, choosing restaurants and making reservations in advance.
Planning for five adults definitely takes more energy than planning for two, especially when everyone has different interests.
We drove from Munich and stayed at Ibis Praha Malá Strana, a simple, no-fuss hotel in a very convenient location. It’s not the kind of hotel we’d choose for a longer holiday, but for a few nights in Prague it worked perfectly well.
Prague at Golden Hour
We started with the Powder Tower and Municipal House before making our way towards the Old Town.
Old Town Square at around 7 p.m., with that beautiful golden evening light, was one of those moments when Prague looked almost unreal. The Church of Our Lady before Týn, the Astronomical Clock, St Nicholas Church, the Jan Hus Monument… there is so much to look at.
Later, we saw the rotating Kafka Head illuminated at night—a little preview of the quirkier side of Prague we’d discover over the next few days.
The Museum That Wow’d Us
If I had to choose my favourite experience of this trip, this would be it.
The moment we walked inside, I said to myself and to Bernhard:
“WOW, thank you for bringing me here. This is amazing.”
He was happy too. We started taking photos and Bernhard was even pretending to be James Bond.😄 You probably heard that some scenes from the movie Casino Royale were filmed here.
Munich has some amazing museums too—the Deutsches Museum and Egyptian Museum are two of my favourites—but Prague’s National Museum really wowed me.
Grand. Rich. Almost decadent.
The crystal room was my personal favourite. It’s shiny, extravagant and simply beautiful. Bernhard, my parents and my brother were much more fascinated by the natural-history exhibits, including the huge whale skeleton and mammoth.
We spent around three hours inside and could easily have stayed longer.
We bought our tickets online beforehand for 360 CZK per adult, which I would do again.
Afterwards, we walked over to Lucerna Passage to see David Černý’s wonderfully bizarre upside-down horse.
Too Much at Charles Bridge
After the museum we stopped for coffee and chimney cake.
My parents and brother went for versions with ice cream, mango and other toppings, while Bernhard and I chose the classic one without anything extra.
I would have loved to try one with all the toppings too, but with the digestive issues I was having on this trip, that simply wasn’t possible for me. The classic version was okay—nothing particularly special—but at least I got to try it.
Then we headed towards Charles Bridge.
It was Saturday around lunchtime and absolutely packed. At the Pietà statue there was a huge queue of people waiting to recreate the Depeche Mode-style photograph we had seen all over social media.
The thing is: we wanted that photo too. But in the end we did not take it because the line was too long.
Bernhard and I had been looking forward to taking our own version. But by that point, I couldn’t handle the crowds anymore. I was getting dizzy, I could feel the panic taking over and eventually I told my parents, “We have to go. We’ll meet you later.”
We took a few photos on our way back and left.
Maybe that sounds dramatic to some people, but sometimes that’s simply how my mind works. At that moment, I just couldn’t take it any more.
Knowing When to Take a Break
This trip wasn’t particularly easy for me. My anxiety was giving me a hard time and I had digestive issues on top of it.
It’s a strange contradiction because I genuinely love travelling—the planning, the places, choosing my outfits, taking photos. But sometimes a new environment simply overwhelms me.
So Bernhard and I occasionally went back to the hotel for an hour or two while my family continued exploring.
After Charles Bridge, we didn’t do much. We closed our eyes, took a power nap and just tried to relax. That was really all we needed at that moment.
At first I felt guilty about taking breaks, but everyone understood. And they actually gave both Bernhard and me more energy for the evenings.
Five adults don’t need exactly the same schedule. Sometimes we split up, did what interested us and met again later. For us, that worked much better.
That evening we reunited and went up to Prague Castle around golden hour. It was much quieter by then. Some attractions were already closed, but we’d visited the castle and cathedral before anyway.
We simply walked, enjoyed the views and took some beautiful panoramic photos.
After such a busy and crowded day, I think we all needed that little break from the crowds.
From Reels to Real Life
One of the things we were most excited about was finally seeing places we’d previously only seen in Reels.
We started our third day at Grotta. It’s smaller than social media might lead you to believe and definitely an influencer magnet. There were people taking photos, filming and even doing professional photoshoots.
But we loved it anyway.
It’s a strange and beautiful place, and we were really happy that we finally got to see it ourselves.
Afterwards, we headed to Palladium Shopping Centre and picked up some Czech chocolates and treats to take home.
Then Bernhard and I went back to the hotel for another break before heading out again—this time just the two of us.
Prague From Above
By then I was feeling better and we were really happy to be there.
I was a bit disappointed that my parents and brother couldn’t join us, but now they were the ones who were tired and wanted a break.
But that is life. I understood.
Bernhard and I love rooftop bars. We try to visit one in almost every city we travel to, so the Dancing House rooftop was a MUST for us. Bernhard was especially excited.
We found seats outside, ordered a Negroni and a gin and tonic and enjoyed the view over Prague.
Trust me when I say that the views here are simply stunning.
Prague Gets Quirky
After leaving the rooftop, Bernhard and I continued walking through the city.
We finally got to see two more artworks we had previously only known from social media: Slight Uncertainty Man and Woman as well as Man Hanging Out.
It was exciting to finally see them in person after spotting them so many times in Reels.
Later, we met my parents and brother again near the Astronomical Clock and had dinner together.
One Last Prague Morning
We still had a little time before driving back to Munich, so after checking out and leaving our luggage in the car, we headed into Prague one last time.
We stopped at the colourful Lennon Wall and also had a look at the nearby Wall Pub, where we found a fun Beatles and Yellow Submarine artwork in the courtyard.
From there, we continued to one last piece of quirky Prague: David Černý’s Crawling Babies.
They ended up being one of Bernhard’s favourite discoveries of the entire trip, and they’re really cool for pictures too.
Our favourites were pretty clear:
Bernhard: Crawling Babies.
Me: National Museum. 😄
What We’d Do Differently
Prague’s public transport impressed us again, especially the metro, which Bernhard thought was extremely well organised.
We bought 24-hour paper tickets for 150 CZK each and validated them before our first journey. You can check current prices and ticket options on the official Prague public transport website.
We also paid by Visa everywhere we went and didn’t need to withdraw cash. Whenever the terminal offered us a currency choice, we chose CZK.
One thing we would definitely do differently?
Charles Bridge. Never again on a Saturday lunchtime.
Next time, we’re going early.
Until Next Time, Prague
Three visits and our list still isn’t finished.
Next time we’d love to see Strahov Monastery and its famous library, explore more of the Jewish Quarter including the Spanish Synagogue, and finally visit the Magical Cavern on Petřín Hill.
When I came home from this trip, I felt relieved.
I wasn’t feeling well, and part of me felt guilty because I hadn’t been able to enjoy Prague as fully as I wanted to.
But I don’t regret going.
I couldn’t eat everything I wanted to eat. I needed breaks. I left Charles Bridge when I wanted to stay.
But none of that made me regret the trip.
I don’t really believe in regrets. I did what I could at that moment in time.
And if Bernhard asked me tomorrow if I wanted to go to Prague for a fourth time, my answer would be:
Yes, absolutely. There is still so much to see.
After seeing Prague in summer, during the Christmas season and now in early autumn, one thing hasn’t changed:
Prague is always a good idea.
Have you ever loved a trip even though you didn’t enjoy every single moment of it? Or is there a city you keep returning to and somehow always discover something new?
We’d love to hear about it.
Until next time,
Irina & Bernhard
Practical note: Prices mentioned in this article are what we paid during our trip in September 2026 unless otherwise stated. Prices and conditions can change, so we recommend checking the official websites before your visit.
