Prague Perspective

Written in the heat of the moment, John Smilgin’s letter (“Prague Problems,” Letters Annex, Dec. 13) nevertheless seems rather spiteful. Much of what he says about Prague is baffling.

Smilgin sounds as though he is familiar with the city, yet anyone who believes it was previously more beautiful than it is today simply can’t have visited the same city as the thousands who now make Prague an essential stop on their European itinerary. Forty years of communism took their toll. However, since the Velvet Revolution, there has been an amazing amount of renovation. Any man who claims Prague is “dirty” and “ugly” is living on a different planet.

As for the “fleecing” that Smilgin experienced, there isn’t a guidebook worth the name that doesn’t warn about the rip-off taxis. Visitors arriving at the airport should take the fixed-price downtown limo (about $3) or the hotel service (about $12 for up to four people, $24 for up to eight).

To the Western visitor, virtually everything in Prague is cheap. But the hotels are another matter. The Palace Praha, where Smilgin stayed, is one of the most expensive hotels in Prague. Whether it is worth the $321 Smilgin says it cost him I’ll never know because I’ll never be mad enough to pay that much. What I can say is that my wife and I have just returned from a Prague visit where we treated ourselves to a beautifully renovated Art Deco hotel at $182 per night, and we could not have wanted for anything.

Finally, the theft of Smilgin’s cameras was unfortunate. Sadly, in any European (world?) city, you have to take precautions. I had my wallet stolen the last time I was in Rome, but I wouldn’t try to convince your readers that was a reason for eschewing the delights of the Colosseum or the fascination of the Sistine Chapel.

ROGER HUGHES

London