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Published: August 17th 2014
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We have already had a full day in Budapest and I'm only now getting round to writing our Prague post! Usually we write the posts on the train journey out, but this time we had a sleeper train including the full luxuries of a private bunk bed, sink and croissant & coffee bought to us in the morning, all the couchettes and cheaper beds had already been reserved - I had a mini panic that we were going to get kicked out of our compartment as, despite reserving the room I didn't believe our inter rail tickets covered first class, fortunately the inspector didn't seem to look too closely, and we resolved to keep the door locked after that!
Our accommodation in Prague was very different to the hostels we had gotten used to. We stayed at Zederas apartments, which was run by a lovely old Czech man who had laid out a map for us and pointed out the local bars, restaurants, supermarkets etc. The apartment was quaint and had an old fashioned vibe to it. Tom and I both appreciated having a little more space to relax without the interruptions from other backpackers alarms, snoring etc.
The apartment had a small kitchen area with a single hob but we still managed to make our famous meat pesto pasta.
We did also try the 'Lokal' cuisine, after my book and the guides had recommend this more traditional restaurant/beer hall we decided to give it a go. Tom was somewhat unimpressed by his dish which was basically battered chicken and spinach, but was far more aggrieved that I had taken his first choice and, as it wasn't quite what I'd expected, was not a big fan, about half way through I began to appreciate my 'mixed beef tartar' but let Tom have a big chunk of it, which he washed it down with a big glass of Pragues famously cheap beer. In contrary to this somewhat disappointing meal, on our first day we decided to have lunch out, and stumbled across a small and reasonably priced cafe. Tom's dish was a delicious Czech dish - some kind of beef and dumpling ensemble, 'svickova'. My favourite 'Czech speciality' was Trdlo which was similar to a cinnamon swirl, only now I realise they are in other Eastern European countries as I found some yesterday here in Budapest.
Prague is such a beautiful city that Tom and I really enjoyed just meandering around Mala Strana, the Old Town and the New Town. Every building has such detail to its architecture that no two were alike. On our first day we took the free tour offered by 'Good Prague Tours', Excellent Prague Tours weren't quite within our budget! Prague did seem to have a tendency to undersell itself, Mala Strana literally means 'lesser quarter', but was filled with incredible buildings. Martina guided us through most of the biggies; the astronomical clock, Charles bridge, Wenceslas square and statue and gave an interesting anecdotal take on growing up in a communist society. We both agreed that although she had the right vocabulary, her lack of fluency made it difficult to engage with.
We also went on the castle tour which was advertised during the free walking tour - it began at 2:30 but we were told to get to the meeting point for 1 to buy a ticket. Well around 1:30 the tour guides had arrived and after queuing for around 5-10 mins the lady told us to come back around 2:15 as she had
to be somewhere else. I was not impressed and we had basically wasted the morning. James took us on the tour around Prague castle, which doesn't look much like a castle today as it has been modified by different rulers in different architectural styles, the real beauty in my opinion was St. Vitas cathedral which was within the castle grounds and inside had art nouveau stained glass, which featured some surprising examples of advertising, such as a panel on one of the windows featuring the logo of the Czech Republics first insurance company, which had helped to fund it's construction. We also took a stroll down Golden Lane. As you probably guessed from his name, James' tour was more fluid. Tom however found his happy American Christian personality and his constant use of the word 'neat' amusing.
On our last day we went back to some of the previously visited sights, that the tours had mentioned and pointed out. We watched the astronomical clock on the hour when it's statues came alive (or wiggled a bit, 1490 apparently didn't have quite the technology we have today) and a parade of apostles went past the window, even the rooster flapped
its golden wings. Opposite the clock was the Church of Our Lady Before Tyn, which Tom pointed out looked like a haunted castle from a fairy tale, with it's distinctive twin gothic spires. We took a walk over Charles Bridge, which was heaving with tourists and went to the Church of St. Nicholas which was pretty spectacular inside and out!
We're heading off to Sziget festival soon, so that's all until the next post.
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janet
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loving your blog and enjoying the sights with you. Thanks for sharing. Think Chels and I have similar food tastes.......dying to try a trdlo take care of each other xxx