Sleeping - Prague and the Czech Republic - page 123

two of Prague's best-preserved natural areas (Star Park and Šárka)
just a short walk away.
$$ Hotel Adalbert occupies an 18th-century building in the
Břevnov Monastery (one of the Czech Republic's oldest monas-
tic institutions, founded in 993). Meticulously restored after the
return of the Benedictine monks in the 1990s, the monastery com-
plex is the ultimate retreat for those who come to Prague for soul-
searching or just wanting a quiet place away from the bustle. Join
the monks for morning (7:00) and evening (18:00) Mass in the St.
Margaret Basilica, a large and elegant Baroque church decorated
with unusual simplicity. You can help yourself in the monastery
fruit orchard, and eat in the atmospheric monastery pub (Klášterní
Šenk). The hotel itself caters primarily to business clientele and
takes ecology seriously: recycling, water conservation, and free
tram tickets for guests. I prefer the first-floor rooms as some of
the attic rooms—room numbers in the 200s—feel a bit cramped
(Sb-2,600 Kč, Db-3,600 Kč, extra bed-1,050 Kč, ask for 10 percent
Rick Steves discount when you reserve, Wi-Fi, free parking, half-
way between city and airport at Markétská 1, Praha 6, tram #22 to
Břevnovský Klášter; 5 min by tram beyond the castle, 20 min from
Old and New Towns; tel. [phone], fax [phone], www
.hoteladalbert.cz, [e-mail]).
$ Pension Větrník fills an attractive white-and-orange
former 17th-century windmill in one of Prague's most popular
residential areas, right next to the Břevnov Monastery and mid-
way between the airport and the city. The talkative owner, Miloš
Opatrný, is a prizewinning Czech chef who once sailed the world,
feeding cruise-ship passengers. On request, Miloš will prepare a
feast you'll never forget. The six rooms here are the pride of the
Opatrný family, who live on the upper floors. The garden has a
good-hearted bear of a dog and a tennis court—rackets and balls
are provided (Db-2,200 Kč, suite-3,300 Kč, extra bed-550 Kč,
Internet access, U Větrníku 1, Praha 6; airport bus #179 stops near
the house, tram #18 goes straight to Charles Bridge, both take
20 min; tel. [phone], fax [phone], www.vetrnik1722.cz,
[e-mail]).
$ Hotel u Šemíka, named for a heroic mythical horse, offers
25 rooms in a quiet residential neighborhood just below Vyšehrad
Castle and the Slavín cemetery where Dvořák, Mucha, and Čapek
are buried. It's a 10-minute tram ride south of the Old Town (Sb-
2,000 Kč, Db-2,650 Kč, apartment-3,350-3,700 Kč for 2-4 people,
extra bed-600 Kč, ask for the “direct booking” Rick Steves 10 per-
cent discount, Internet access; from the center, take tram #3, #17,
or #21 to Výtoň, go under rail bridge, and walk 3 blocks uphill to
Vratislavova 36; Praha 2, tel. [phone], fax [phone], www
.usemika.cz, [e-mail]).