Central Europe Trip Report

[west&east]

I am posting a detailed trip report on my personal blog (in my signature block) for the Central Europe ABD July 5 trip. I am so grateful for the DIS boards that I will also post it here (but you will have to visit the blog to see the pictures because I don't have a way to cross post those).

We traveled with our two children (ages 11 and 15) as well as my inlaws. Overall, this was an incredible way to travel together as a family with the grandparents as well. I loved seeing a unique, beautiful part of the world. We reunited with old friends and made new ones. We made awesome memories and are inspired to take more land tours. ABD did not disappoint me so it will be hard to try any other company.

 

[west&east]

I was so fortunate to travel with Adventures by Disney (ABD) on their Central Europe itinerary this July. I first discovered ABD reading trip reports on the DISBoards about two years ago and dreamed about it ever since. When the 2014 itineraries were announced last May, we decided to take the plunge and book the Central Europe trip with our 2 children (ages 15 and 11) and my in laws.

ABD's are undeniably expensive, but we were able to save a bit in several ways. First, we booked through Costco Travel. For each reservation, we will receive a Costco Gift Card for about $700 shortly after our return home. Because we had 3 reservations for the 6 of us, this definitely adds up. Also, we were able to purchase the four round trip tickets to Europe for my immediate family using frequent flyer miles. Tickets seems to be about $1400 each so this was another substantial savings. Finally, we used hotel points to book our pre and post night stays.

My family loves to cruise. We weren't sure how a land tour would go, and I was a bit concerned about packing for 12 days away from home and repacking for several hotels. I purchased four sets of packing cubes from ebags.com. I can't believe I have taken a dozen cruises and countless other trips without packing cubes! They definitely helped us stay organized and helped with packing and repacking.

Our family invested in the Global Entry program before our trip. This is a trusted traveler program through TSA. With Global Entry, you are directed to the quicker TSA PreCheck line so you can keep your shoes on, and you don't have to take liquids or electronics out of your bag. More importantly, re-entry into the USA is a breeze as you simply put some info into a kiosk and you are on your way, avoiding the hundreds of people in line with customs and immigration. Our Global Entry is good for five years, and was already well worth it.

We began our trip with an overnight flight to Frankfurt from Charlotte on US Air. None of us slept very well, but the flight was fairly comfortable and we enjoyed the wide range of audio and video entertainment at our seats. Once in Frankfurt, we had to gather our baggage and recheck it on Czech Air as that leg was booked separately (using Chase Sapphire Reward points!). All went smoothly and we landed in Prague about 9:30am.

I had reserved transportation from the airport to hotel with Prague Airport Transfers based on recommendations from TripAdvisor. Our driver was waiting as we left the baggage claim area and helped us load our luggage into a clean, comfortable van. I think we may have had the smartest driver in Prague- a young man working on his Master's Degree in Economics. It was only his third day as a driver, a job he took to work on his English. He was informative and friendly on the 45 minute drive to the Prague Marriott. It was a great welcome to a beautiful city.

Stay tuned for more about the Prague Marriott and how we spent our days prior to starting the Adventures by Disney tour!

 

[Cousin Orville]

Looking forward to your trip report. My family will be visiting Prague and Vienna this Christmas.

 

[disneyphx]

Looking forward to it! love seeing other peoples impressions! and having great memories brought back!

Michele

 

[Calfan]

Just caught up on your first 3 blog entries. Still so much fun to re-live the trip. Now that I have finished my trip report, I can sit back and enjoy everyone else's reports and perspectives.

 

[west&east]

(for photos visit https://mypathunwinding.wordpress.com/2014/07/23/abd-central-europe-trip-report-part-2-the-prague-marriott/)

For once, I didn’t procrastinate. I booked two nights at the Prague Marriott back in September 2013 using Marriott Reward points. As is typical of most European hotels, the Marriott did not allow 4 guests per room. We were lucky to have plenty of points to book two rooms for two nights at 30,000 points per night per room. Several months later, the hotel was changed from Category 6 to 7 and the cost per room went up to 35,000, but our original room rate was honored.

We arrived mid-morning and were happy to hear that one of our two connecting rooms was available. Since it was the room with the two double beds, we were able to all comfortably nap for a bit before heading out to explore Prague a bit on our own. We were able to check into our adjoining king room a bit later. Both rooms were clean, new and spacious. We definitely could have slept four comfortably in the double room but enjoyed the extra space, bathroom and privacy of the two rooms. We were also excited to find a 110 voltage outlet on the desk in each room. As a family of four with numerous electronic devices, this was a great feature.

As Marriott Gold members, we were also provided free internet and access to the Executive Lounge which was a great perk since breakfast was not included with our reward stay nights. The two story lounge served a hot, full breakfast, had an amazing coffee/ espresso machine, and was stocked with water, juices and soft drinks throughout the day. Heavy appetizers, desserts, beer and wine were also available later in the day.

The Marriott’s location was fantastic for walking throughout Prague and convenient to the tram stop. The staff members were quite responsive to emails prior to our trip and friendly throughout our stay. They arranged for us to stay in our rooms once our reservation switched over to Adventures by Disney, but we maintained our Gold benefits including internet and lounge access. More info about our ABD Welcome Dinner and full breakfasts in the hotel restaurant will be posted later, but everything was delicious and plentiful.

Guests of the Prague Marriott have access to the health club below the lobby. There is an indoor pool and hot tub that we enjoyed one evening. It was rather simple, but the kids had a great time.

Unfortunately, others using the hot tub did not appreciate the exuberance of the children and glared at all of us.

 

[west&east]

After a refreshing nap in our hotel, we ventured out to explore Prague on our own. I picked Adventures by Disney because navigating through a foreign country can often be stressful on my marriage, but I planned a bit so that the time before the trip would be well spent and relatively stress free. We purchased tram tickets from the concierge and reviewed directions about finding the tram stop and the transfer to get to the Prague Castle. Needless to say, we immediately got turned around just trying to find the tram stop (within a block of the hotel), and we got off the tram too soon! We did manage to regroup quickly and without squabbling and found ourselves at the summit of the Prague Castle. We realized that we were hungry and decided to stop at the first restaurant along the way. I was a bit hesitant as I knew nothing about it and couldn’t access my notes, but we took a chance anyway and were not disappointed! Restaurant U Sevce Matouse had sidewalk seating and a traditional Czech menu. My husband had the first of many, many beers on this trip.

I still am not sure why baked goat cheese salad is so popular in Prague, but I saw it on many menus. The goat cheese was delicious but the rest of the salad was lackluster. My son loved his dumplings filled with chopped smoked meat; my husband enjoyed the boar dish. The highlight was my daughter’s sausage plate with mustard and horseradish. We became sausage, mustard and horseradish connoisseurs over the week!

We continued on foot to the Prague Castle where we first encountered its beauty in the quiet of evening after the buildings had closed.

We continued to the base of the castle and wandered over to the Charles Bridge (see photo at top of blog) and eventually made our way back to the Marriott , the end of our first day in Prague.

Next up: Trap Prague! and Tour of the Jewish Quarter

 

[west&east]

After a comfortable night’s sleep, we enjoyed a convenient breakfast at the Marriott’s Executive Lounge. The offerings included scrambled and hard cooked eggs, sausage and bacon, a variety of cheeses and cold cuts, fruit, and various pastries. There is also an amazing espresso/ cappuccino machine.

We then set off to find Trap Prague, one of the most unique experiences I have ever had. The host welcomed us and explained the process of being locked into a Communist Apartment for one hour. We had so much fun and excitement searching for clues and trying to solve the puzzles so that we could escape before the spy returned home! The host will occasionally call to provide a clue, and you can call her as well. My kids were fascinated with the rotary phone.

All four of us contributed in some way during the hour. We laughed, bickered and fretted as the clock counted down. We had the final puzzle completed but ran out of time! Luckily, we survived to return to our hotel.

We relaxed for a short while and then greeted my in-laws who arrived in the late morning. Their room was not ready, so they freshened up in our room and we set out for lunch. We took a short walk around the corner from the hotel to Kolkovna Celnice for beer, wine, and great local food. We sat outside on the shady deck.

I had the potato gnocchi with apple code and beer reductions, walnuts and radicchio. It was delicious! The ribs were great too but far too much for my son to eat alone. And once again everyone loved the sausages! IMG_2021

After lunch, we returned to the hotel to meet our private guide for our tour of the Jewish Quarter…

see my blog link below for photos...