Prague
True to its reputation, Prague* is beautiful. The wide Vlatava river cutting through the city with majestic historical buildings erected on either side creates a breathtaking view.
*Prague is a huge city and is divided into different districts. When most visitors think of Prague, they usually think of Prague 1 district where the main tourist attractions are. This is also where we spent all of our time, so in this post when we say ‘Prague’, we are talking about Prague 1.
We absolutely loved walking, taking in the views, and enjoying the lively atmosphere of the many bars and restaurants alongside the river.
Like all the tourists before us, we checked off the three Cs of Prague: Castle, Charles Bridge, and Clock (medieval astronomical clock).
According to the Guinness Book of World Records, Prague Castle is the largest ancient castle complex in the world! It hosts aggregations of multiple palaces, churches, gardens, living quarters, fortifications, and courtyards, covering approximately 110 acres (45 hectares).
We spent a whole morning there, gaping at the architectural masterpieces, and trying to imagine the lives of those who lived in this grand complex.
Being awestruck by the beauty and the rich history of the complex is an understatement. We really can’t imagine what it took to build structures with such splendour with the available technology in the 9th century!
Charles Bridge, another historical masterpiece tourists never miss, and understandably so. It gracefully lays across the Vlatava river, showing off its grandeur structure and striking statues.
The atmosphere on the bridge during sunset is merry, with many buskers singing or playing instruments, and many artists drawing life portraits on each side of the Bridge.
The last C – the astronomical clock of Prague. Dubbed as “the world’s most underwhelming tourist attraction” by our walking tour guide. We didn’t plan to bare witness to this exciting showpiece, but we were around the area at the time. So we joined the huge crowd of people, standing outside the old town hall, waiting for the clock to hit 6pm.
Once it struck 6pm, the clock came to life-ish, with its miniature statues moving slightly, the top window came open and a string of more miniature statues moving into view, and ending with the golden chicken protruding forward. And then it was over.
The crowd dispersed. You could probably find this exhilarating event on youtube and enjoy it without stiffed legs. According to our guide, the show used to be more exciting as the statues would move more vigorously; however the recent renovation messed up the intricate mechanics of the spectacle, rendering the show less spectacular.
An additional C that Bua (not Tilo) would like to add to the list is Chimney cake, aka Trdelnik – rolls of the tongue! Though debatably from Hungary, this crispy yet doughy sweet goodness is sold everywhere in Prague.
The coned shaped bread is stuffed with a variety of sweet toppings from ice cream, Nutella, jam, cream, fruits, and whatever else you imagine to be good and sweet.
However, Bua prefers her Chimney cake in its truest form. Toasted and dusted with just sugar. As a true sweet-goodness connoisseur, Bua claims that eating the cake bare-bone means nothing takes away the taste, smell, and texture of the epic creation.
Prague felt like a giant outdoor museum, where every corner you turn, you are awestruck by yet another extravagant structure and its historical roots.
We joined a free walking tour (donations are highly expected) and very much enjoyed learning about the history and the way of life in this beautiful city throughout the different centuries.
There, the apparent stoic impression of Czech people was demystified for us by our tour guide. Hint: the answer lies in the country’s history with wars and occupations by foreign sovereigns. Through such oppression, people were trained to not show their feelings in order to avoid trouble.
This really was an ah-hah moment for us. We giggled a little as we thought back to our experience with our hotel’s receptionists who didn’t particularly ooze warm hospitality. She was receptive to our needs and answered all of our questions. All was very efficient. Why waste so many words when things can be solved with just short sentences. We can’t remember if she ever smiled at us during any of our interactions.
After living and travelling in Thailand, this was quite a unique experience for us and left us feeling quite puzzled! Though, upon hearing our walking tour guide’s explanation, it all made sense!
Prague, as you might have guessed it, is not a hidden Gem.
As we were there during peak tourist season, we were bumping shoulders with other tourists who were also excitedly exploring the open-air museum city. Consequently, we sadly didn’t get much of a glimpse into the local way of life.
However, we did thoroughly enjoy the local cuisine! Well… the one time that we did eat at a restaurant. Vegan goulash and knödel with rotkraut (red cabbage) for the win!
The chewiness of the knödel coupled with sweet rotkraut spiced with cinnamon, nutmeg and other unidentifiable but equally taste-buds bursting spices truly blew Bua’s socks off. She was so in love with the dish that for days afterwards, she kept practicing saying ‘rotkraut’ to really get the back-in-throat sound correct.
All other times, we hacked the expensive European restaurant prices by, living off the good’ol German supermarket chain, Lidl.
Since it’s German, you can be sure to find good quality but cheap produce and epic breads!
As Tilo would argue, no other supermarkets beat the Germans’ in terms of price for value. He would know, he’s German.
So everyday, we would raid Lidl, hunting for good deals, and made epic packed lunches which we enjoyed picnicking at different locations.
Thank god for German frugality.
We were in Prague for 5 days, enjoying gazing at the grandeur architecture, and happily having our breath stolen away by the beauty of the city.
Highlights
Culinary Highlights: Chimney cake for Bua, and for the both of us – vegan goulash and knödel
Beautiful historical buildings
Easy to walk around with beautiful scenery
Picnic lunch in different locations
Challenges
Prices of food in restaurants and cafes
Amount of tourists!
