Are you a last-minute planner when it comes to big holiday travel times like Thanksgiving in Christmas? Yes, we are too, especially because everything looks so darn expensive and plain booked up. This year, it's either another Thanksgiving of ordering Chinese takeout or booking it out of the country for some autumn appeal overseas...like in Prague.

Remember that it's not Thanksgiving over in the Czech Republic, so that means no dinner reservations or pressure to eat cranberry sauce. Virgin Vacations seems to have the best deal we've seen for this, with a 6-night hotel, airfare, and daily breakfast starting at $669 per person. Sure they have other deals for Thanksgiving to Barcelona, London, Paris and Rome, but the Prague trip sounds like the most fall foliage and old school charm for the lowest price.

Forget all those new hotels opening up in the paper’s own backyard; this Sunday the New York Times went hotel hunting in the Czech Republic. Lured by the groovy chill-out tunes and “sultry” restaurant chain of the same name, the NYT checked into the new Buddha Bar Hotel in Prague.

We’ve seen hotels sprout out of fashion labels, so why not restaurants and music? Judging by the NYT’s response, the Buddha-Bar folks have produced a fine accompaniment to their brand, attracting scenesters who are “good-looking, well off and ready to party” (British boys, Middle Eastern royals, and wealthy local couples). Overall, the Times writer's affection for the place bodes well for the

Photo by David Farley

Few people are lured to the Czech Republic for its cuisine, but I’m one of them. Actually, hearty Czech food is a taste acquired over time (accompanied by lots of pints of hoppy pilsner). Until recently the pub grub—rich goulash and pork made just about every way you can imagine—functioned more as stomach filler than actual taste bud pleasers. But things are slowly changing.

The Rocco Forte people are busy right now — if it wasn't enough to open their first resort with the Verdura Resort in Sicily, they're also hitting eastern Europe for the first time when the Augustine Hotel in Prague opens on May 14.

This place is a 101-room hotel overlooking the Wallenstein Gardens, and the hotel itself is made up of seven historical buildings, including the 13th century St. Thomas Monastery. The coolest part is there are still monks using parts of this monastery and hotel guests might glimpse them going about their monkly tasks.

The décor and furniture are all in the good taste you'd expect for such a respectable-sounding area; in fact, the whole

We caught wind of the Buddha Bar Hotel planned for Prague last August and, last we checked, they were travelin' full steam ahead for a pre-2009 opening. Unlike many deadline-missing hotels, the Buddha Bar got its soft opening in just before the calendar turned, officially opened on January 2, and since then has been impressing the hell out of guests — at least if the first guest reviews are anything to go by.

The staff and the service they provide get a ton of compliments, as do the ultra-luxury rooms. The "amazing" bathrooms get plenty of thumbs-ups too — they also include a TV, but one guest warns us that the remote control is

Photo by James Cridland, via Flickr (Creative Commons)

It might have looked that way, but my Czech friend Milos and I were not aimlessly wandering the hilly streets of Prague’s Zizkov (pronounced: Zheezh-kof) neighborhood. We had a destination in mind. A few minutes earlier, the excitable Milos suddenly got an idea: “Strudel,” he yelled out. “There’s a guy somewhere in Zizkov who’s been selling the best apple strudel in Prague from a tiny shop in his apartment building. We must find him. Now.”

My stomach, which had been rumbling just a few minutes earlier, agreed. Milos began accosting people on the street with the frantic demeanor of someone who’d just realized their child had gone missing. A mother and daughter carrying plastic shopping bags pointed down the hill. A few blocks later a sinewy bearded guy walking a dog pointed up the hill. A gypsy woman standing on the street corner, inexplicably holding a plate of sauerkraut, pointed in a completely different direction. Finally we were crossing Konevova street, the busy dark avenue that splits the valley in Zizkov. 

The homemaking maven will soon be penning an “occasional personal travel column” for Martha Stewart Living, Mediaweek reports. Said the acting editor-in-chief: “Martha has been blogging about her trips and gets tons of hits on her blogs.” The first column, covering Stewart’s recent trip to Prague, is due out in April; the shift is part of a larger effort to broaden the magazine’s editorial content and appeal to new advertisers. In this tough publishing climate, I suppose it’s a good thing.

Thank you, Shangri-La Hotels, for breaking the cycle of expensive Internet access. The hotel chain announced that it’s offering free WiFii throughout its 60 properties as of, oh, right now. It’s about damn time—not at Shangri-La specifically, but for hotels in general to start offering this “service” for free, as it should be.

What’s galling is how the higher-end properties love to tack on this charge, while smaller one-off properties tend to give it away for free. It’s shortsighted and unrepresentative of how people travel: wouldn’t you prefer to have free Internet access as opposed to free access to, say, Headline News? Not that we don’t all love Nancy Grace. Besides, I’m probably preaching to the Internet choir here.

Still, it’s hard to forgo the Internet when you work while you travel. I paid exorbitant Internet fees many a time in 2008, and I’m sure it’ll happen again in ‘09. At the top of my list: a $15 a day fee at the Grand Hotel Pupp in Karlovy Vary, Czech Republic. It’s a beautiful, historic hotel—James Bond even stayed there in Casino Royale—but it’s tough to feel as suave as Daniel Craig when you have to trudge downstairs for an Ethernet cable first.

If your boyfriend/girlfriend/significant other hasn't taken you to Prague yet, we recommend dropping seriously heavy hints. This weekend's UK Times reported that it's a bargain time to go, which will appeal to those looking for a cheap date, and also romantic because for once, the streets aren't too jam-packed.

Prague in winter is cold but undeniably pretty with a layer of snow, and what better weather is there for snuggling up with your sweetheart? It helps that most of the best hotels are offering rooms for nearly half price right now after tourism's dropped off (there goes that bad global economy again).

Apart from wandering the snow-dusted cobblestone streets hand in hand, you can also explore Prague Castle, gaze lovingly at art in the Veletrzni Palac, or take a walk through the woods of Petrin. If all that fails, there's always Czech beer to put you in the mood.

Related Stories:
· Instant Weekend: Prague [UK Times]
· Czech Culture: Czech Beer [Jaunted]
· Prague Travel Guide [Jaunted]

[Photo: alan.devlin]

Why should you care? Because we don’t want you to eat badly on the road. Based on recent visits, I heartily recommend:

• Seäsonal (New York, NY): The umlaut says it all: haute Austrian fare with—wait for it—seasonal ingredients. Curiously enough, for a cuisine that comes from a landlocked country, the best dishes on the menu are seafood, particularly the pumpkin seed-encrusted sea bass. Superb Austrian wine list.
• Reflections (Lake Placid, NY): Stupid name, but the meaty Adirondack-inspired dishes make up for it: poached wild salmon, tender lamb chops, steak.  One of the better restaurants in a town largely devoid of good eating.
• Penzion Pod Zamkem (Jindrichuv Hradec, Czech Republic): If you find yourself in south Bohemia and starving for something other than beef goulash or 52 different kinds of pork dishes, this small hotel restaurant in the over-looked, castle town of Jindrichuv Hradec will hit the spot. Avoid the Meet (sic) Snails and go right for the steak cooked in a cognac and foie gras reduction.