Here we go again we always said having seen one bit of Prague We’d see the other bit. In unscientific terms the hilly bit. Round the Castle.
Usual style, out of Dublin arrive in Prague. We’re travelling on one bag apiece and the Travel scootcase scooter is sitting waiting for me in arrivals. Always a cheery sight
We flew out of Dublin with Aer Lingus again. Straight through, no dramas at all I got my usual seat, Window seat 2. Paddy doesn’t seem to mind the middle one. Hour and a bit we were down on the other side, woman pilot, not much of a bounce.
What looked like the American version of a Hercules was landing as we were coming in. reminding me that the Russians hadn’t gone away either..
Vehicle to the hotel a mini travel scooter into the boot of a Skoda superb. Taxis these days seem to be better regulated than they used to be and they’re fairly good. Again, have a bit of wit, it should at least look like a taxi and even better organise it out of the hotel.
Prague heartily recommended, despite being overrun by Nazis and Communists its actually in pretty good shape. I think the plan was, ‘This is nice, let’s leave it alone’. and they did. (Hitlers plan was to leave the synagogues and jewish places alone as a physical manifestation of a disappeared religion and race)
Prague is a wonderfully historical city for good reason. It really looks the part, its got a great mix of the medieval and modern and it works. despite my bugbear of cobblestones. The fascination and use of which I really do not understand. But people seem to be able to navigate it.
I’m still not sure about the food. Its all edible but nothing outstanding and for the life of me theres nothing which is immediately memorable. And we were staying in some pretty hot poop hotels.
Favourite meal was Russian salad with turkey schnitzel. The source of the worst feed I’ve ever had (also in Prague a sort of gestapo bread and runny pate) its gone. The entire street was transformed and the source of my foul eating experience apparently long gone.
Anyway Prague, all human life is here. The Chinese have landed, outdoing the germans with their single minded determination to get to bits of the city at the expense of every one else.
Anyway this time round we stayed in the new town end of things (which is very narrow and olde world) Although I complain about big square kerbs they’re there for a purpose, to prevent vehicles parking on the pavements. Or maybe they just don’t do it in Europe.
Getting on and off pavements, drop kerbs do exist, but just because youve found one at your side of the street, you can’t assume there’ll be one across the road. in fact its a pretty safe bet that there wont be and where there is one it will be steep and scary.
Bring along your ADC but the anti tips will get a work out. Just be care fully and there may be a better alternative further on up the road.
Ive no idea whether barreling along a street in a wheelchair or mobility scooter is legal or not. I do it when its quiet, the pavements have been torn up and quite frankly are a danger or they’re too narrow and cluttered to make any progress.
Really scary bits are the access gates and doorways from garages and workshops. I should have taken photographs, but you’ll know what I mean when you see it, trust me. And in the wet, when the wheelchair starts to slide sideways towards the road. You’ve two problems 1) being tipped out when the sideways slide gets stopped by a line of cobblestones.or 2) ending up on the road.
This is where your assistant comes into his/her own. Grabbing and stopping the onward or sideways progress of the chair.
It’s not impossible to get around, but being careful will get you a lot further, no matter where you go. Complacency will get you injured equally at home or abroad.
Anyway Prague once you realise that the various districts have their various quirks.
The city centre itself for eating and drinking, the pavements are smooth and mostly pedestrianised. Council clean up vehicles will come through as well, don’t worry there’re equally content to run over able bodied tourists who don’t look where they’re going. And that’s around the various squares.
Wenceslas Sq. itself huge, its got C&A in it.all sorts of shops. A bookshop with a security guard who followed me around and loads of beer and coffee places. Some accessible and some not. Take your pick, its nothing personal. One place we hit the last time we stopped at an Irish bar in one of the squares, beautifully hot day. The owner came tearing out having spotted my predicament.
‘Sorry, our disabled toilet is being refitted. You can use next doors or the staff one here. Drink’?
‘Two Pilsner lights (You had a choice of light beer or dark beer) please’.
He visibly relaxed, ‘Thank God, you aren’t drinking the Guinness’.
‘Bad’
‘Woeful, but I can’t tell you that’.
There are disabled loos all over the place ranging from the exceptional to the bizarre. The outward state of the venue is no indication as to the accessibility or usability of the facilities. In fact my favourite bar hasn’t got one. But the floor’s perfectly flat and level as are the floors in the loos.
One of the purposes of the return visit was to go over the far side of the Charles Bridge and up to the castle. We didn’t do it last time because it looked so steep.
it didn’t look any less steep this time round. But away we went by taxi, up to the castle. And that was a bumpy enough ride, cobbles and potholes. The VW transporter looked to be having a rough enough ride. The thinking being, back to the hotel was quite literally all downhill. 
Thats the Scootacase scooter we used for Prague, second time around. Really foldable, mind your fingers. You could lose one or two until you get used to it.
Brilliant, for indoors, hotels, airports, rail stations, shopping centres
Outdoors, not so good, theres no suspension and a thin small seat.
Its narrow so if theres a camber on the pavement you’ll learn to lean and shift your weight.
Talking about shifting your weight, you need to keep the feet/ weight on the front wheels while going up a kerb or a slope. Otherwise it will tip.
It will look spectacular. So keep at lest one foot, preferably both planted. Also, may I recommend the stadium cushion.
Notably the Putnam Inflatable Stadium Seat. Fits in a pocket available online.
Putnams.co.uk. They also do great heavy duty, weatherproof and comfortable wheelchair cushion/seats.
This got me through Prague, Vienna and Budapest. Not perfect but it worked. I’ll not be using the scootacase for foreign travel again. But a short term fix or mostly indoors, with the seat cushion.
Brilliant and will fit into the smallest car boot.
So anyway we’re at the castle in Prague. See what we want to see. Castle. Golden lane, changing of the guard. and then its all downhill to the Charles bridge. I did my best to stay of the cobblestones. through alleyways and walkways. An entire wedding party stepped out of my way to let me continue on the pavement. it took a degree of skill and care but we made it and on to the Bridge. Usual swarm of people all over it, and a manual chair was making heavy weather of the cobblestones not a comfortable ride at all.
Down at the town end of the bridge there’s a timed crossing and how you get it is full steam ahead over the tramlines. and up the other side.
‘Out of the way’ translates very well into other languages when you need a bit of momentum to exit the road and on to the pavement.
And the Fred and Ginger building which looks somewhat incongruous given the style of the buildings all around it. It was mistakenly bombed by the Americans during the second world war. I forget where they said they thought they were bombing.
Other than than Prague has survived very well. Buildings pavements and roads are under constant repair. The city council has teams of people out all over the place, repairing all the small problems before they deteriorate into something expensive.
it means there is always something going on and streets and buildings roped and scaffolded off almost overnight. Once sorted its down and away somewhere else just as quick. Inconvenience is minimal and people tend to put up with it.
It is still one of my favourite places and the Czechs are pretty civil people, very calm and really patriotic, but not in a bad way. Not hopelessly nationalistic, but proud of where they’re from.
Now if only we can get the food sorted out. that’s probably part three.
I’m not sure if a Kuschall manual with an Alber E35 set up will work. maybe we’ll give it a go next time.
ironside Travel 