http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/ Welcome to Been there. Your tips on the places you know - that you love, live in or have just visited - are what make this guide. http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/33926 I visited Prague last fall and took the book and printed off a free self-guided tour from the book's website. I learned more interesting things about Prague from that book than the guided tour I paid for there. Things such as Burcak, where to find it, and that it's only served in the fall. Luckily, it was fall when I visited. I also found the pig's knee restaurant described in the book. The book had enough history/background of the sites listed in the tour to make it a good compliment/replacement for a local tour. Just as the tour says, it will turn your trip into an adventure. It's definitely worth packing for a weekend trip.]]> http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/33926 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/32941 This delightful shop, tucked away on an arcade leading off Wenceslas Square, seems to hark back to a time where nice young ladies donned hats and gloves each day before leaving the house. Perhaps this is due to its impressive stock of TONAK hats – world renowned felt hats of the highest quality. TONAK is a Czech manufacturer with a legacy stretching back to the mid-19th century, which is borne out in all of its creations.
Model Praha stocks top hats, fedoras, ladies headwear (suitable for weddings and the races) and a small selection of fur.
The ladies who work here are charmingly patient, and speak enough English for everyone to get by without too much difficulty.
A great place to invest in a little piece of Czech fashion history, starting at a very reasonable 450 czk.]]> http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/32941 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/32683 Instead, go to the National Museum site at the Vitkov Memorial in Zizkov. This site is home to one of the biggest equestrian statues in the world and a very interesting exhibition about 20th century Czech history.
A steep climb to the top is rewarded by a great view over the city, from the roof-top viewing platform or the very good café.]]> http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/32683 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/32398 Fast forward 150 years and the tea drinking, which took off at the end of the 19th century but subsided under the communist regime, has flourished once more. Prague boasts innumerate independent čajovny as well as one small tea chain, each with distinct character and appeal but all offering a wonderfully relaxed environment in which to while away a few hours.
Čajovny serve čaj in abundance – fresh loose teas from across the globe. Most offer extensive menus (around 60-80 tea varieties is a standard) and some offer hookah with flavored tobacco.
Čajovny are casual, hippified places, popular with Czech students, offering a relaxed, chilled-out vibe. A great antidote to an afternoon of sightseeing!]]> http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/32398 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/32120 Although the café closed for several years under the communists, its interior underwent considerable reconstruction in the 1990s. Today visitors will still get a feel of the grandiose café scene that existed at the beginning of the last century, as they walk up the wide staircase with marble walls and an iron handrail. The main room of the café, overlooking Národní below, boasts high ceilings, large windows and huge mirrors, which makes this one of the most splendid locations to drink caj or kava in the whole of Prague.
Louvre does offer full savoury meals, including soups, salads and pancakes. However, the best reason for a visit is the magnificent coffee and cake menu. Their homemade cakes, strudels and waffles will satisfy even the sweetest tooth – the blueberry cake on linz dough with vanilla ice-cream (65 CZK) keeps me coming back again and again.
An impressive drinks menu makes Louvre a winter time favourite – hot chocolate with rum and whipped cream (59 CZK) will keep you warm when it’s cold outside.
For good quality coffee and dessert set in historic opulence, look no further.]]> http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/32120 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/24465
In retaliation for Heydrich's death the Nazis killed the entire male population of Lidice while the women and children were all sent to concentration camps.

Seven parachutists, including two of the assassins, hid in the crypt of the Prague church but were betrayed. 800 Gestapo and SS soldiers tried to storm the church and flood them out and were held off for 14 hours. Three died and the remaining four shot themselves. Holes from the bullets can still be seen in the crypt wall. The crypt now serves as the National Memorial Of The Heroes of the Heydrich Terror.]]> http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/24465 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/11831 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/11831 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/3415 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/3415 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/3155 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/3155 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/7428
But the most moving experience of national defiance that we had was at the spot where Reinhard Heydrich's assassins (Czech paratroopers flown over from Britain) were gunned down in the Church of St Cyril, just off Charles Square.

You first notice the bullet-scarred wall where the church was besieged in 1942, when German troops mounted an assault on the Czechs who were hiding there. Surrounded, they took their own lives and the crypt of the church is one of those places where you feel the hand of history.

The cafe next door to the church acts as a wonderful museum that honours those brave parachutists.]]> http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/7428 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/5545
Enter through the main gate and walk to the right side of the ceremonial hall within. There you will find a sign pointing to Kafka's grave. Follow the direction of the sign until you reach the sector 21 sign. Turn right at this sign and head towards the wall. Turn left when you get to the wall and walk until you reach the end of the sector (also marked by a sign). Kafka's grave is next to the sign, facing the wall.

Mounted on the wall is a memorial plaque to Max Brod, Kafka’s friend who published his work after his death. Non-Jewish men - don’t forget to take something to cover your head (I used a baseball cap which is better than nothing).]]> http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/5545 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/5541 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/5541 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/5464 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/5464