Guesthouse Lida in Prague

While in Prague, five of us stayed at the Guesthouse Lida (Lopatecká 26, Praha 4, Podoli 140 00, CZECH REPUBLIC; phone/fax [420] 261 214 766, e-mail lidabb@seznam.cz or visit http://sweb.cz/pensionlida) — a 5-minute walk from the efficient Prague metro.

Hosts Jan and Jitka Prouza were friendly and extremely helpful. I asked for a discounted price during our July ’05 stay, and we paid CZK1,580 ($60) per night for a double room and CZK1,290 ($50) per night for a single, including breakfast. (Prices on website in 2006 are CZK1,760 for a double and CZK1,380 for a single.) There was a computer with network hookup available for guests.

In the neighborhood are good restaurants (try Josefina), grocery stores and even a T-Mobile store to help with your cell phone. We had bought Czech SIM cards from Cellular Abroad (www.cellularabroad.com) to use in our cell phones and went to the T-Mobile store to add korunas to our account.

I can’t believe how easy it is to use your cell phone to call not only in-country (with the proper SIM card) but also home to the U.S. We did the same while traveling in Italy two years ago (using Italian SIM cards). It’s a good way to keep in contact when traveling with family.

CAROL ANN NULK

San Jose, CA