Friday 26 July 2013

Czech Republic - a quick stop in Prague

As we were keen to catch up with Ryan's sister Erin in Frankfurt, we decided to cross back to Germany from Poland. With two nights to spare we planned to stop in Prague and have a full day wandering the city and visiting the sights.
Thanks to a little searching on line we managed to find a great deal on a hotel a little out of the city - easily as cheap as a hostel, but a real hotel! After checking in on our first evening we did a quick bit of research for a decent restaurant and headed out for a meal. Of course we got a little (a lot) lost and when we finally arrived we had gotten our daily exercise and were very hungry. A quick perusal of the menu revealed that they served ribs, which Ryan quickly ordered while I settle on a local style gnocchi pasta. Again trip advisor had proven itself useful as the food was incredible and extremely reasonable priced, so much so we returned the following night to taste there goulash served in bread and pork knuckle.
As we had make a split decision to head to Prague we didn't have much time to research what we would do when we arrived, so when we got up in the morning we decided to just walk directly to the castle. After a beautiful walk along the river we crossed the bridge and looked back over the castle and the city with the Manes and Charles bridge. We enjoyed the local gourmet stores and the medieval themed restaurants that suited the style of the city. On our way to the castle we stopped at the Memorial to the victims of Communism - at the base of Petřín hill. As we arrived at the castle we were lucky enough to be on time to see the changing of the guards, before admiring the castle's armory, the towers (which housed prsons / torture chambers) and getting to see the castle and royal apartments. We then had time to explore the, medieval street fashions similar how it once looked and Ryan even sneaked in a go with a cross bow - which from how much he talked about it, it must have been must a highlight of the trip!
Soon after visiting the castle we happily wandered the Mala strana (little quarter) enjoying the little souvenir shops and gourmet local shops selling interesting sweets and deli items. After a little research we stopped in at a bohemian bar for a Czech beer for Ryan and a mulled wine for me. We then walked across Manes bridge with its little markets to Stare mesto, where Ryan bought me a beautiful Czech Garnet ring - a small splurge and then onto the main square to see famous clock and wander through the surrounding ally ways. After our long day we were very tired and both had pretty sore feet but very thankful that we had a proper hotel room awaiting us...
- Louise -




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