Beauty and history at a bargain in Prague

Visitors to Prague can take advantage of a happy accident: a gold mine of cultural riches available at a wonderful exchange rate. Accommodations, transportation and meals are a bargain. You'll have plenty of Czech crowns, or "korunas," left over for delicious coffee, craft beer or both.

This year, Prague is celebrating the 700th birthday of Charles IV, a 14th century Czech king. With ties to Luxembourg, France and Italy, Charles was an important monarch and later became Holy Roman Emperor. His influence and power brought prestige to Prague. He is known as "The Greatest Czech." He founded Charles University in 1348.

Following Charles' reign, the religious reformer Jan Hus began preaching and teaching in Prague. His radical criticism of the church and its practices predated Martin Luther's reformist messages by a full century. Hus was burned at the stake as a heretic in 1415, but his reform movement lived on — resulting in a series of wars and conflicts.

Icons of 14th and 15th century nation-building are visible today. Two of Prague's many historical sites include the astronomical clock in Town Square. First constructed in 1410, the clock features an astronomical dial, common time, old Czech time and Babylonian time. It's the third-oldest clock in the world and the oldest one still operating.

There is a calendar dial, a setting that shows the sun's position in the sky and in the zodiac, a measure of the phases of the moon and even a calendar of saints' days. The clock is part of the historic center of Prague, which is listed on the UNESCO World Heritage Site List. On the hour, the clock bells ring and statues of the 12 apostles proceed across the top of the clock dial. Each hour, the square fills up with tourists to watch the parade of the apostles. I did it too. Twice!

A short walk from the Old Town Square with the clock tower is the Charles Bridge. This is a pedestrian-only bridge which crosses the Vltava River. It's named after Charles IV, who started construction on it in 1357. The bridge was Prague's only crossing until 1841, and connected the Prague Castle with the city's old town.

Prague claimed its place at the center of Europe, as a trading hub and as a center for learning and new ideas before the 20th century. In 1939, the Czech Republic was one of Hitler's first conquests. More than 80,000 Jews perished at the hands of the Nazi war machine. Then after the war, the Soviets moved in and walled off what was then Czeckoslavakia as part of the eastern bloc. This is why most Americans still regard Prague as an "eastern European capital."

The father of the modern Czech Republic, Vaclav Havel, is revered alongside Charles IV. His "Velvet Revolution" of 1989 reopened the country and helped Prague reclaim its title as the "heart of Europe."

Spend a few days in this lovely city. You may be tempted to return to your art history class to learn more about the incredible art and architecture. I could not read a single sign (many also featured English translation) or understand a single conversation (most, but not all, people also speak English).

Getting around: The Prague metro system of buses, electric trams and subways is fast, clean, efficient and cheap. From the airport, we took a bus to the subway, which took us to our apartment. The cost: $1. A one-day pass costs 110 Czeck korunas, or about $4.50.

Staying in Prague: There are many options for accommodations. The Hilton in Old Town is a modern hotel in a classic setting. It's walking distance to the old Jewish Quarter and to the Old Town Square. Later in June, you can stay there for about $300 per night.

We opted for a sixth-floor flat near the "New Town Hall" about a mile away. We contacted the owner, Martin Benda, through AirBnB. The cost was about $70 per night and there was plenty of room, fast Wi-Fi and a full kitchen. From the windows, we had an expansive view over the rooftops. Benda met us and recommended a couple of nearby breweries. He also answered many questions about local transportation and tough translations. We would stay there again.

Money and internet connectivity: I used my debit card at the airport to get some currency, although the metro attendant in the terminal accepted my credit card. Not all of the tobacco shops or kiosks accept cards, so it's good to have some cash. At the terminal, I bought a SIM card for my iPhone at the Vodafone store. The cost for the card was $34 and included 10GB of data for 30 days. I topped it off with an additional $8.30 so I could call local Prague numbers and text, although I have applications on my phone for calling and texting (Skype, Viber, Google Hangouts). Vodafone's service was very good.

Breakfast: There were two nearby restaurants recommended by locals. Cafe Louvre offers all sorts of breads, eggs, meats and cakes. We opted for the "Czech Breakfast" of a soft-boiled egg, meats, cheeses and a slice of apple cake. It was delicious. The other popular breakfast spot is the Cafe Savoy, on the other side of the river in the shadow of the castle. Choose from French toast, fried eggs or a selection of meats, cheeses, pastries or sweets. It's best to make a reservation, as it fills up quickly.

Beer: Our host, Martin, recommended two nearby breweries for a taste of delicious Czech beer. The first was U Medvidku, which has been brewing beer since 1466. The semi-dark lager, "Oldgott" was a favorite. They also have "X-Beer 33" which they claim is the strongest beer in the world. Their traditional lager, the "1466" was delicious.

Martin joined us for dinner at another local brew-pub, Prvni Novomestsky, just steps away from the flat. There also was a full menu available. I picked the cheeseburger and it was delicious. The other choices included a "pork knee," which is a traditional dish. But it's best if you're sharing with two or three people, since it's huge. There are rotating selections of the beer on tap, so I picked the lager. Martin got a "half-and-half" of the dark beer and the lager.

Coffee: Even Anchorage coffee snobs will be satisfied with the selection of artisan coffees in Prague. After sampling several shops, we settled on Cafe Ebel. The cafe is just off of the Old Town Square and features delicious coffee or espresso by the cup. We opted for a bag of beans to take with us.

Seeing the sites: You can do the research on your own or hire a guide to show you around. Additionally, there is a large selection of group tours, hop-on-hop-off buses, Segway tours, horse carrriage tours and tours where you drive around town in vintage cars. Our guide, Vlasta Edrova, specializes in small tours for just two or three people. Her fee is 20-30 euros per hour, depending on the length of the tour. Typically, the tour does not include popular sites like the Prague Castle, the Jewish Museum, the clock tower or the Prague observation tower. These sites are accessible on your own, or there are guides on-site that can show you around.

Prague's tourism office, located at the base of the clock tower, offers information on the city's most popular sites and upcoming events as well as maps and guided tours of the clock tower.

Scott McMurren is an Anchorage-based marketing consultant, serving clients in the transportation, hospitality, media and specialty destination sectors, among others. Contact him by email at zoom907@me.com. You can follow him on Twitter (@alaskatravelGRM) and alaskatravelgram.com. For more information, visit alaskatravelgram.com/about.