Czech It Out - Prague May 2023

Magical, lovely Prague. We had heard that it was a wonderful city, but I didn't expect it to quickly become one of my favorites. We had a jam-packed trip, and I would gladly go back to visit again.

After checking into our very cute bed and breakfast, we enjoyed a light lunch before taking a quick walking tour around town. We were quickly enamored with the old town square, the astronomical clock, and the Charles bridge. We even found a cozy spot under the bridge for some sangria.

Once we had adequately worked up our appetite, it was time for our old town food tour - yum! The guide was super knowledgeable and provided many fun facts as we made our way through the city. First stop: chlebíčky. These open-faced sandwiches reminded us of smørrebrød or pinchos. It's always fun to see how different cultures have their very own take on similar food. Next stop: goulash and dumplings on a boat. It was all tasty, but my personal favorite was the pickled cheese! Now for the main course: pork knuckle. At this point, we realized that we had maybe not paced ourselves appropriately. To cap things off, we ended with some sweet apple strudel and schnapps (that tasted a bit like Christmas). It was a wonderful evening, we even stopped off for a quick drink at a local watering hole before enjoying the bridge at night.

What better way to tackle the next day than with another walking tour? We even ran into a movie set walking to the meeting point. After taking in a lot of local art and history (including many interesting tidbits about life during and after communism), we enjoyed some freshly grilled sausages and hiked up to the castle. The views were magnificent and the gardens gorgeous, but the highlight of the day was running into a local wine festival, complete with folks dancing and live music.

On our final day, we had a jolly time walking around the city while trying to avoid the path of the marathon. We stumbled into Wallenstein Palace, where the peacocks seemed especially keen to put on a show. Much to my delight, we also found a cat cafe, full of cats both sweet and aloof. After a lovely lunch at an old-fashioned cafe, we hugged the last leg of the marathon. Our personal fave was when they played "I Need a Hero", as if to spur the final finishers on. Our last goal was to watch the astronomical clock chime the hour. As one fellow clock-watcher observed after the chicken crowed, "life changing".

Prague is historic, beautiful, and friendly. Definitely one of my favorites.