Prague
Late December 2018
I seem to be in the minority when it comes to Prague. Quite simply, I don’t really like it. Having been there previously, I didn’t find it remarkably pretty, cheap, friendly, or exciting. It’s also rather touristy – I was taken aback at how many times I was offered hard drugs on the high street during this trip. It just doesn't shine as brightly (for me at least) as other medieval European cities, such as Budapest, which was our next stop.
Prague is a small, yet bustling town, built in medieval tradition. Cobbled streets, quaint houses, glorious churches, and garish town halls. Arriving at Prague’s bus station, we walked past all of this to initially meet up with Elle at Starbucks. Hardly a spectacular meeting place, but it made for a simple rendezvous. Team Apartment united once again.
Once settled in to our accommodation, we made our way for the nearby Christmas markets in the Old Town Square. Being winter, the sun had already set by 4pm. Upon arriving, we were met with this view…
There was a buzzing atmosphere around. Lots of local produce, drink, and joy. I was immediately put in to a better mood, having arrived with my curmudgeonly mind somewhat made up about Prague. After a lovely evening wandering the streets, we ended up at Charles bridge.
The Charles bridge was built in 1402 and spans the Vltava river. It is absolutely stunning, built of black stone and adorned with statues of famous Czech’s. Spanning the width of the river it makes for a wonderful walk to castle town. Unfortunately, like much in Prague, it is always busy. We only walked half way before turning around. Selfie sticks, touts, and large mobs of people certainly lessened the lustre of such a gorgeous place.
Being the start of winter, we now started to experience seriously cold evenings, with the average temperature sitting around or below 0 degrees. You couldn’t leave the house without being rugged up and regardless of how well we prepared, we usually returned home with cold feet. It quickly started to snow, however, so we didn’t really mind all that much.
Hungry, and looking to get out of the cold, we tried to go to nearby Lokale, a Czech tavern. Unfortunately, it was completely booked, so we went to Speciál across the road.
Although Eloise was fading fast due to jet lag, we managed to have a lovely evening together; braised beef cheeks, duck leg, and roast chicken – fantastic. We also tried some fairly good local beer – pilsner of course.
People often rave about Czech beer, but I’m not sold. It has become far more expensive that when I was here last, so it can’t claim to be great value anymore. I also can’t recommend it over traditional German or Belgian beer; or craft beer from Britain, America, or Australia. Some of this is due to their focus on pilsner, which isn’t normally my thing, but I often hear how good the beer is here and it irks me. It’s ok.
The next day we had a simple breakfast at home prior to heading to our walking tour of the Old Town and Jewish Quarter.
Unfortunately the weather became even colder and the walking tour was almost unbearable, even though our guide was lovely. We saw the Franz Kafka memorial, the Powder Tower, the Jewish Cemetery, the Spanish Synagogue, the market square, the opera house, and wandered the old town backstreets.
Freezing and not really coping with life, we quickly made our way across the Charles Bridge to the suburb Mala Strana and Cukrkavalimonada for lunch. A modern, fresh restaurant in a quiet part of town, it was sorely needed as we were hungry and in desperate need of warmth. The menu had a focus on traditional, local, fresh food and it was delicious. We had a mix of soups, open sandwiches and savoury pancakes. It was lovely to once again spend time together over food. Moreover it was fantastic to have fresh food for once – it was a nice change from the usual yellow and red food we had been devouring of late.
Heading up the hill for the Czech Parliament and Castle, the winding backstreets were wonderfully quiet and in the absence of crowds, I finally had the chance to really appreciate the city’s architecture. Prague was slowly earning back my goodwill. We made it just in time to see the changing of the guard.
Walking through the palace, past the imposing St Vitus Cathedral, we stopped for some tredelnik – delicious, delicious chimney bread – before taking a few moments to just take in the view as the sun set.
That evening we managed to book a table at Lokale and we weren’t disappointed. Large halls, filled tables, and a hearty menu – my kind of place. Working through the menu, it was interesting to note the obvious German/Austrian influence – schnitzel, schweinshaxe, sauerkraut, wurst, and dumplings were all on offer. Given Czech history and the amount of time that the regions of Bohemia, Moravia, and Silesia spent in Germanic hands, it isn’t all that surprising, really.
We ordered way too much food and didn’t regret it. Our order consisted of pork knuckle, schnitzel, and sauerbraten, with bread, dumplings, coleslaw, sauerkraut, gravy, and beer on the side. It was a wonderful, messy, delicious, and unpretentious meal.
We waddled home to sleep soon after dinner.
I mentioned before that I didn’t enjoy Czech beer all that much, but I had that feeling challenged upon my discovery of "cut" beer. The Czech’s have a way of pouring both light and dark ales in a way where they curiously sit on top of one another. Aside from looking cool, the flavours really do complement one another and it tastes surprisingly great. Do try it if you’re in Prague and you see it offered – look for “cut beer” or “beer slice”.
Having arrived in Prague with my mind set on how I felt about it, it was good to have my opinions checked. We ate and drank very well, the city was prettier than I remembered, and the company lovely. Although it’s still nowhere near the top of my travel list, it was a nice reminder that you shouldn’t be too closed-minded about things, lest you miss out on actually living life - I left Prague with a much more favourable view of things.
The next day, we boarding a Flixbus and began making our way to Budapest. We had no idea what awaited us.
JC
“Everything hangs on one’s thinking... A man is as unhappy as he has convinced himself he is.”
Seneca
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