"So whose idea was this?"
Neither of us had an answer. I was the one who booked a week of paid leave at the end of November and then jumped on http://www.kayak.co.uk/explore/ and just kinda threw a figurative dart at the map. Any which way you look at it, we somehow found ourselves in Prague at the beginning of Winter.
Of course, the process of arriving was the same old process we have become used to by now: awake at 4am after a last minute rush to pack bags; several dodgy night bus changes to Victoria station; train ride to Gatwick in the pre-dawn bleariness and finally, a painful and sluggish walk through security and onto a plane. It would have been hard for me to imagine a year ago, but this process has lost the glow of excitement and become routine.
When, two hours later, the plane swoops over the Czech countryside and touches down in Prague there's a moment where you just look over and say "We're not in Kansas anymore, Toto." Stepping out of the bubble that is the Easyjet plane, one suddenly enters the world of the international airport terminal and things steadily get more and more foreign until you're standing at a taxi stand, bewildered and trying to figure out how you're going to get to your accommodation given your absolute inability to read any signs.
Luckily for us, our very kind host was waiting at the airport with a car to take us off to our apartment. The apartment which we paid £100 for 6 nights. I'm not even kidding when I say that's cheaper that my rent in London. Our landlord was pretty amazing too as he sat us down for half an hour and showed us all the best places to visit on a map.
It was about 1pm when we finally bundled up as warm as we could and ventured out of the airlock. The day was chilly, but clear and sunny so we took a brisk walk into town from our position South of the city and through Charles Square, turning left there towards the Vlatva river, to continue our walk along there. I do very much love cities and their rivers; it's a very European observation after growing up in seaside New Zealand where cities were founded without need for a river to supply them with water. London has its Thames, Paris its Seine, Rome its Tiber.
[caption id="attachment_821" align="aligncenter" width="620" caption="The new dance hall building"]
[/caption][caption id="attachment_833" align="aligncenter" width="620" caption="Panorama of the Vltava River"]
[/caption][caption id="attachment_822" align="aligncenter" width="620" caption="The riverside buildings"]
[/caption][caption id="attachment_823" align="aligncenter" width="620" caption="Some of the façades are beautiful and run down, but a lot is being done to repair and preserve now"]
[/caption][caption id="attachment_824" align="aligncenter" width="620" caption="It was a stunningly clear day, but very cold."]
[/caption][caption id="attachment_825" align="aligncenter" width="620" caption="Street art is the new expression in Europe"]
[/caption]Anyhow, by this stage we hadn't eaten yet and our stomach wouldn't let us continue without immediate appeasement so we stumbled into the Café Louvre. This was a very loosely French themed café with a long history and I have to say I highly recommend it. At this point we ran into our first "cultural encounter" which are moments when the tourist is suddenly faced with interacting instead of merely observing. Hilarity and embarrassment often follow quickly after.
In Prague, one does not wait to be seated. Just walk in, find a place (even at an occupied table) and squeeze in. Menus are brought to the table and then often bread. You will have to pay for the bread if you eat it - it'll cost you about £1 so don't cry about it. Eateries often allow smoking - as a casual smoker I am VERY fond of this, but I guess non-smokers despise it. Oh yeah, and the food is really cheap so I just rounded up to the nearest 100Kc for a tip. And that is the single most helpful paragraph you'll read on Prague.
So what did I eat? A traditional dish of beef in thick gravy with cream and cranberry and a dense boiled dumpling bread. Kristen had rosemary and garlic marinated pork tenderloin with ham dumplings and apple cabbage. This was a very delicious meal and after all we had heard about Czech food being terrible, it was a surprise and a steal too, with the final bill of less that £16 including drinks.
[caption id="attachment_826" align="aligncenter" width="620" caption="This is a traditional dish - svíčková na smetaně"]
[/caption][caption id="attachment_827" align="aligncenter" width="620" caption="The dumplings and garlic pork. So full of flavour!"]
[/caption][caption id="attachment_828" align="aligncenter" width="620" caption="The Café Louvre"]
[/caption]Thoroughly satisfied, we walked up the river further to the Old Town where we found the Xmas market in the gorgeous square. We could resist gorging ourselves on the Old Prague ham which was being cooked over hot coals and the mulled wine was delicious. The fond memories of the year before in Cologne came back to me and I wonder how I'll ever appreciate Xmas without a Germanic market to visit.
[caption id="attachment_830" align="aligncenter" width="620" caption="The Old Town market"]
[/caption][caption id="attachment_831" align="aligncenter" width="620" caption="The Old Prague piggy"]
[/caption][caption id="attachment_832" align="aligncenter" width="620" caption="A kind of sweet pastry called Trdelník"]
[/caption]As it was getting late after our meandering around, we walked back home and ducked into a bakery and a supermarket to stock up on unbelievable cheap snacks and cakes.
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