Working Remotely in Prague, Czech Republic
the Astronomical Clock
This is part of my remote work travel series where I review places I visit as a digital nomad.
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It’s here — my blog about Prague! We lived and worked remotely in Prague for two weeks and got our dose of castles and cathedrals. You know what they say, an old building a day keeps the xenophobia away!
All jokes aside, optimizing your life for more travel has a ton of perks. I never would have learned so much about Prague and the history of the Czech Republic had I not traveled there, and it was lovely to hear from locals and expats about why they love their city.
Here’s some of our favorite restaurants, cafes, tours, and remote work tips. I hope you get the chance to experience Prague like I did!
4 Tips for Digital Nomads Working Remotely in Prague
Find a homey co-working space. Cafe culture is for eating and enjoying your morning/afternoon coffee fix, not for working. We settled in at WeWork’s Prague location, which had a great organic tea selection and huge windows for people watching at the street below.
Embrace cafe culture and the food scene. Great restaurants are cheap in Prague, and the food scene is nuts. Eat cheaply during the week and then splurge on a Michelin star restaurant at least once on your trip. Also, something we had to get used to so far in our Europe trip was just showing up at a cafe and taking a seat: you don’t order at a counter anywhere, even at a coffeeshop: a waiter will find you. However, you do need to go to the counter to pay, as they don’t bring your bill to your table. One last tip: if the view is great, chances are the food isn’t great.
Avoid tourist traps in Old Town. We did the Devil’s Channel boat cruise which was meh, and there’s a lot of touristy spots near the astronomical clock that can be avoided. Anything that looks gimmicky (like the robot bar or restaurants overlooking the river that seem to cater a bit too much to tourists) can be avoided.
Find a schedule that works for you. In our first two weeks in Europe, I found that I really missed having a routine. We were settling into the new timezone and getting over jet lag, so I felt backwards most of the day. In week two I found a gym nearby and started working out and getting more intentional with my routine, and now that we’re in Budapest I’m trying to be more intentional with my morning meditation before we go to breakfast, then dig into deep work, then having a lunch and workout break in the afternoon before we do a bit more work, have dinner, and then unwind for the day. I’ve cut way back on meetings, and try to only do a few meetings and interviews 2 nights per week max. If you’re traveling long-term like we are, it’s important that you carve out time to take care of yourself and get exercise and healthy eating into your weekly routine. (Walking often isn’t enough!) More tips on that soon.
Best Restaurants and Cafes in Prague
We stayed in the Czech Inn and were surrounded by incredible vegan restaurants in our neck of the woods, and found even more great spots across all of Prague. Here are some of our favorite stops: (which you can also find and save on my Yelp List!)
In Praha 2 (our favorite neighborhood):
Conductor. Gorgeous cinnamon rolls and vegan wraps. Their street food concept is awesome. Highly recommend getting something here and picnicking at one of the nearby parks!
Marthy’s Kitchen. Wow, what a cute spot. We didn’t love their lunch, but they were our go-to morning breakfast cafe of choice. (And they serve breakfast until 4pm like any reasonable restaurant!) We loved their porridge (add oat milk), beetroot smoothie, and lattes.
Jam & Co. This was our favorite Asian food place. Awesome vegan pad thai and great ginger tea. One of the healthier stops and great service.
Chutnej. Another AWESOME burger place with great lemonades. If you get a burger, be sure to get it with their garlic vegan mayo. What a treat!
Forrest. The spring rolls and noodles were great here, and they also have a cute outdoor patio and friendly service.
Palo Verde
Near Old Town:
Palo Verde. This is located closer to Old Town, and they have a back patio garden space that’s shady and perfect for a hot summer day. Their bowls and vegan lasagne are to die for, but if you want to come here for breakfast you’ll need to be an early riser as they stop serving breakfast at 11am. (Too early for our taste!) They also have great coffee drinks and lemonade. One of our favorite spots in all of Prague!
Forky’s Praha. If you like vegan burgers, this is the place to go! Their bread is AWESOME and it’s a great stop after a tour in Old Town or after you visit the Prague Castle.
Fancy Dinners:
La Degustation Bohêm Bourgeoise. If you’re looking for a fancy, worth-it Michelin star-restaurant in Prague, this is it. By far the best food we’ve had so far on our trip, and the service and atmosphere is incredible. I did the vegetarian option but heard you can also do vegan here. If you’re going to go here, just go and do the eight-course meal, it’s worth it.
We went to a few other fancy places and Field Restaurant wasn’t bad, but I would recommend just splurging on La Deguestation and going to all of the other places that I listed, as you get more for your money.
I wish I could recommend Vegan’s Prague, but unfortunately it falls under the “great view, not-so-great food” rule. It’s located in the Mala Strana neighborhood and if you can snag a rooftop table it might be worth it, but compared to the other gems it was underwhelming.
Things We Loved About Working in Prague
Prague is a beautiful city: the European charm of cobblestone streets, the Charles’ Bridge, the Prague Castle, and the cafe culture are parts of what make the city so welcoming.
There’s also a harshness about its history baked into the city as well. For example, the clockmaker Jan Růže who created the Astronomical Clock in 1490 was being courted by other countries to create clocks for them — so he was blinded and had his tongue cut out so that no other city could have the same intricately designed clock. He then disabled the clock and no one could repair it for the next hundred years.
We also went to the Museum of Communism, and it’s a bleak look at what it was like to live under communist rule before the country fought for its sovereignty. Even now, the country is dealing with a Trump-like president, Miloš Zeman, who is passing anti-LGBTQ laws condemned by its citizens. (We visited during Pride Week, and our tour guide had on a bright pink Pride shirt, and shared how someone had broke into Prague Castle to replace the flag with a pair of underpants for an hour to protest the current government.)
When we were driving out of the city, we passed a procession of honking cars waving flags.
“Elections are on Czech Republic’s future,” our taxi driver told us as he rolled down his window, waving at the cars.
All countries have their own host of problems — the US included, obviously — but it was fascinating to be able to spend a chunk of time in a part of the world I didn’t know a whole lot about.
We’re in Budapest now, which some people described as a “bigger, younger Prague,” so we’ll see how the comparison holds up.
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