An uncomfortable housing experience in Prague
Written: Jul 25 '00
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Product Rating:
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Pros: good hotel discovery
Cons: seedy housing alternatives; crime in the city
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| whitty's Full Review: Prague |
Last summer, I came to a shocking self-realization: I was no longer a low-maintenance, easy-going college student. As a working mid-twentysomething, I had gotten used to the luxuries of a private bath, clean sheets, a paycheck -- and who would have thought -- decent beer.
This realization came to me while traveling Central Europe with a good friend from college last July -- specifically, when we were in Prague.
Eager and excited
Donned in brand-spanking new EMS backpacks, money belts strapped around our waists, and Lonely Planet tour books in hand, we stepped off the plane in Munich ready to exhaust Europe in a hostel, backpacking sort of way.
We spent our first few cities in hostels -- none of the hostels were anything to write home about, but they were cheap, and they served their purpose. (A bed at budget cost.)
As we were leaving Vienna en route to Prague, my friend explained to me what the hostel situation was like there.
The hostels and pensions were, at best, "sketchy". (Sketchy? After two nights in our dirty and noisy hostel in Vienna, I wasn't sure how to interpret this comment. ) They were dirtier than most of the other surrounding cities, and not completely safe.
My friend went on to explain, as an alternative to staying in a hostel, we would rent an apartment from a Czech citizen. They were even cheaper than the hostels, more spacious, and offered more privacy.
After speaking to several people in Vienna who had come from Prague, this seemed to be the way to go.
How it works
Czech citizens approach students and travelers coming stepping off the train from various cities, and offer an apartment and a set of keys for the right price. They sometimes have pictures of the apartment, and a map of Prague to show where the apartment is located. If anything seemed sketchy to me -- this did.
But my friend had been to Prague twice before, and she had slept in apartments under similar circumstances, so I promised her I would keep an open mind.
The arrival
As we stepped off the train in Prague, we were bombarded with residents with pictures and offers of plush apartments in ideal parts of the city.
We started to speak to one older couple, and they seemed honest. We began to follow them out to their car, where they were going to drive us to their apartment. (As I walked outside, all I could think was, "Gee, Mom WOULD NOT like this.")
They started to speak to one another in Russian. It just so happens that my traveling companion is fluent in Russian, and understood every word they were saying.
Now I'm not going to tell you anything shocking about how they were planning to steal our money and drop us off in a dumpster somewhere. But they did discuss how there were other students staying in the apartment -- something they had not disclosed to us, and how the apartment was outside of the city -- something else they had not communicated.
We weren't sure whether it was because their English was poor, or they were trying to scam us, but we chose that moment to leave them and go back in the train station. (We told them we were not interested and they yelled at us as we walked away from them.)
Back in the train station, we were approached several more times. We made a decision and went with one man on the subway.
Once we got to his apartment, we discovered that it was a two-bedroom apartment. He told us then that we would be getting more roommates. We weren't happy with this, but were still willing to stay.
Then he told us that we were not allowed to LOCK the apartment door at night. When we asked him why, he said he needed the apartment to be unlocked in case there was an "emergency" and he needed to come in later on.
That was enough for us. We had paid him for the first night, and he left, but we decided to find a hotel.
On our way out, we ran into him again, this time bring up our supposed "roommates". They were equally as nervous and doubtful as us, and also decided not to stay.
Great, affordable hotel
Thankfully, the end to our Prague housing search was a happy one. We actually stayed right on Vaclavske Namesti (one of the main streets in the city - a great location within walking distance of everything) at the infamous Hotel Europa. We paid roughly $70 US a night for a small room with a shared bath.
The hotel is somewhat dark and has an old European feel to it, but that actually makes it somewhat charming.
In conclusion
I have since heard that most of these apartment offerings from local citizens are genuine, and are not a problem. But I have heard a few, not many, stories where travelers were robbed.
I would imagine that five years ago, I would have been more easy-going about the whole thing. In retrospect, I can say that had we stayed in one of those apartments, it would have been fine. But for the comfort of feeling safe, and to have a clean room, paying for a hotel was worth it.
I would caution any student or traveler visiting Prague and planning on renting an apartment from a local, to go with their instincts, and not stay anywhere they don't feel comfortable. The cheapness factor doesn't make up for the feeling of discomfort.
Recommended:
Yes
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whitty
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Location: Philadelphia, PA
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