Czech Republic: 25 Prosinec 2009

Today it’s off to Prague by train. We get the distinct pleasure of traveling with the ÖBB and CD (Prague’s train service) again. These have to be the grumpiest train conductors we’ve encountered yet. They don’t disappoint in meeting this expectation on each opportunity. Nonetheless we make it to Prague without incident and head to our apartment.

We’ve reserved an apartment with a private owner as suggested by Rick Steves. The apartment is in the Jewish Quarter and is owned by a tour guide and musician (violinist). Our first order of business was making our way to a restaurant for food. Our host, Jakub, recommended U Stare Pani. Their traditional Czech food was great and hit the spot. (Who knew that sauerkraut could actually complement a meal?) Here is a photo from the front of the restaurant and attached hotel. After the restaurant we head to the market. Here are a few shots from Prague’s offerings.

Here’s the construction of the Trdlo. These tasty treats were available en mass and even had large blow-up balloon versions hung outside the vendor stands. (We wondered who made such signs, as they obviously had a pretty narrow market for distribution). They were rolled by hand and then cooked on round pins (like rolling pins) over an open fire. A string would then be removed from the pin and rolled fresh in cinnamon and sugar. The lines at these stands were so long we thought we better see what all the fuss was about.

After this we headed to Zvonice for Christmas dinner. This restaurant was recommended by Prague natives on TripAdvisor. We booked our reservation in advance because the restaurant is situated in an old bell tower and they have limited seating. We enjoyed a view on the 8th floor overlooking the city and the bell itself. The restaurant had kindly installed a glass floor panel so you could see the bell below as you dined. (Pretty cool.) Dinner was wonderful and was recommended by the staff. We had a traditional Czech dish consisting of meat, potatoes, cranberries and cream. We topped that off with dessert – of course. Quite a fantastic Christmas dinner.

After this it was absolutely necessary to walk – a good long walk. We headed over to the Charles Bridge, one of Prague’s most famous landmarks. Here’s a view from the bridge at night.

On our way back home we happened upon the courtyard to the Kafka Museum and this trusty piece of art. Isn’t art fun? (These were animated by the way so you were able to see the “fountains” in real-life action swaying all about.)

More to come tomorrow. We have to head to bed now – our bellies are full of heavy Czech food and our legs are tired.