Happy holiday season all! I’m writing this post from my hostel bed in Budapest, reflecting on a rather special week in Prague. Amazing how much you can cram into 7 days – and how quickly it passes.
Prague Highlights
I’d been to Prague once before, as part of my month in Europe some 5 years ago. However this visit felt almost like starting again, in a good way – visiting in winter made it a completely new experience, and there was so much to see and do. We inadvertently visited during peak winter tourist season, so there were people everywhere (never seen so many tourists in the one place at times!) but that didn’t detract from the experience too much. We spent many hours and kilometres walking the streets and seeing the sights – the historic portions of the city are just so extensive. Some of our favourites were:
Prague Astronomical Clock: This clock is beautiful and impressive from first impression – but becomes far more impressive once you find out it was first built in 1410! It is incredibly complex – showing time both on a 24 hour clock and in old Czech time, which sign of the Zodiac we are currently in, the movement of the sun and moon, and shows where we are in the annual calendar. It was down for repairs in 2018 when I was last visited, so it was great to see it in its full glory. Amazing to think about how much this clock has seen – and how many people it has been seen by.
Prague Castle Complex: The largest ancient castle in the world, Prague Castle is massive and spectacular. With history going right back to the 870, it certainly justifies its incredible 1.8 million annual visitors. A particular favourite was St. Vitus Cathedral – entirely inside the castle grounds, this cathedral has the most incredible stained glass I’ve ever seen.
Národní muzeum: Visiting the national museum of the Czech Republic was perfect for a rainy winter day in Prague. We ended up spending an entire afternoon there – the architecture was magnificent, and the mineral and natural history collections impressive, but I spent most of my time taking in the Czech history exhibits. Czech history is absolutely nuts – the story of central Europe is basically one of empire after empire. Lots of medieval weapons and jewellery which was fantastic. What really blew my mind is that someone born around the start of the 20th century, living for about 60 years, would lived under the Austro-Hungarian empire, the First Czechoslovak Republic, Nazi occupation, and a communist coup/regime. Wild.
Old Town Square/Christmas markets: The old town square is spectacular on its own – but add Christmas markets, and it is all kinds of magical. Was basically packed every night with tourists, but didn’t stop us heading there on multiple occasions
Petrin Tower: We may have called it “the poor man’s Eiffel tower” when we first saw it, but this tower gave truly incredible views over the whole city of Prague. Well worth the 289 steps to the top in buffeting winds!
Hostel Life
For those who haven’t stayed in a hostel before, the best way I can describe them is as an exercise in luck, stoicism and open-mindedness. A lot of what makes hostels great is the people who you meet, and our stay at Hostel Elf in Prague was defined by this. We met people from all over the world during our week here, and made some really great friends. For some reason, this hostel is well known for this – not sure if it just attracts like-minded people, or if it is the small common areas that sort of force you to get to know the people around you – but either way, definitely the best hostel experience I have ever had.
A Hostel Christmas
Unfortunately, we did not get a “white Christmas” – the closest we got was a little snow a few days beforehand. Despite this, we had a great Christmas eve and day, hanging out with the Hostel Elf crew. On Christmas Eve, we went for a walk through the old town – which was absolutely packed- then were treated to a free Christmas Eve dinner by the hostel, which included consisted of a lot of Chicken and Gluhwein.
With our new hostel friends, we decided to organise our own hostel Christmas lunch, and so Christmas morning was spent cooking and preparing. We ended up feeding quite a lot of the hostel guests with our rather random assortment of foods, and got rave reviews. We had a fantastic day eating, drinking and chatting, and didn’t end up leaving the hostel all day!
We finished off the day with our annual re-watch of the move Die Hard – all in all, not a bad Christmas.
Eating our way through Europe pt.3
Prague was delicious…
Chimney Cakes / Trdelnik: Apparently these circular pastry cakes are the traditional dessert of Hungary – all I know is that they are everywhere in Prague/Czech Republic, and taste pretty good!
Goulash with bread dumplings: Ate this at a traditional Czech pub – the Czechs, much like the Germans, really like their meat. Very rich, but I’m obsessed – would eat again.
Smažený sýr, or Fried Cheese: This one was definitely for Charlotte given my minor lactose intolerance… Apparently fried cheese is an Eastern European Christmas Market delicacy – eaten with garlic sauce or jam.
buřty na pivu (Sausages on Beer) and selske brambory se slaninou a cibulkou (Farm potatoes with bacon): Another Christmas market set of meals – both were absolutely incredible, especially after a long day of walking across Prague. The sausage dish was particularly delicious – one I would like to try and make when I get back homme
Jablečné kapsy (Apple Pockets): We got these for breakfast from the local bakery a few times. Very sweet, thick pastry with an apple filling.
A Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all those reading – hope you have a wonderful festive season.
Next Stops: Budapest, Vienna, Salzburg (TBC)