Prague, Czech Republic

Berlin to Prague is a fairly pleasant trip by rail.  We’ve been getting into the swing of waking early, jumping onto empty trains and sleeping (or in Gaffa’s case writing blog posts or editing photos).   This train passed through Dresden, then into Czech Republic in no time at all…maybe that’s due to my being asleep! 

On arrival in Prague’s main station we were given directions to take any tram heading to the left and get off and Delnicka tram stop.  We jumped on, jumped off a few moments later and walked about 100m to Sir Toby’s Hostel.  Not knowing a work of Czech/Russian, we made it! - without paying for the tram ride. After dropping off our bags we picked the brain of the girl on the counter about what to see and do in Prague, oh and of course the best places to eat and drink too!

We set off on the tram again into the Old Town. With it's cobbled streets and magnificent architecture, the old town was filled with souvenir stores, restaurants and clothing stores - a tourist haven.

 
We headed down to the main square in search for something to eat. There was a food stand selling pork, sausages and cabbage for what we though were pretty good prices, until we realised it was the price per 100g, not so good anymore. So we walked away in search for some cheaper Czech food... We didn't find any, so we opted for a McBox instead. Cop out, I know; but we were hungry! 

Expensive lunch....

The cheaper option!

We saw the Astronomical Clock strike 2pm with it's all singing and dancing chime. Pretty cool. We actually didn't know about the clock, and were wondering why the masses of people were waiting around staring up.... Luckly it was almost 2pm and we got to see the famous clock chime.

 
After walking through the Old town, we headed south to Vysehrad Castle for a grand view of Prague. All those stairs were well worth the climb!

 
To reward ourselves we went to a pub in the city that the girl at the hostel suggested. It was a small pub filled with locals. We tried the main beer on tap (pilsner Urquard) - my first beer on the trip. When in Rome, do as the Romans do.... So when in Czech, do as the Czech do - drink beer!!

We walked back towards the Old Town to Charles Bridge as the sun set. Charles Bridge was amazing at night. The lights reflecting on the water and the amazing statues on the bridge, coupled with the castle high up on the hill on the other side of the water... Great place for Gaffa to indulge in some night photography.

 

As went back to the hostel and had a cooked dinner of carbonara pasta with bacon and salami. We went for the cheapest brand which funny enough, is called 'clever' at the local Billa supermarket. Gaffa also tried a few Czech beers from the supermarket. Sampling the cheapest ones he could find, they ended up being about 20 cents a bottle, beer for the working class!!

The next day we headed for the Prague version of the Eiffel Tower (Petrin Tower). Not as high or as pretty, but still gave you an amazing view over the city.

   

After the 600 steps from the main road to the bottom of the tower itself, we walked up to the top of the tower, climbing another 200 steps. This was preparing us for the real deal when we head to Paris!

Climbing back down to the bottom (another 600 steps!), we next went to explore the main Prague Castle. The architecture in Prague has been one of my favourites so far. That's one thing that Europe has to offer that Australia lacks - the history and beautiful buildings. These photos paint the picture perfectly. We even managed to see the changing of the guards!

After the castle we found a stall selling sweetcorn on the cob. Only a few people know how I like to eat corn - one kernel at a time!! I picked up the habit from my mum. It takes me twice as long to get through a cob but at least you don't get any corn stuck in between your teeth!!

this is how Gaffa eats corn....

This is how I eat corn!

We wandered through the streets of the old town again, to buy some souvenirs. I was on search for a children's size T-shirt saying, 'Czech me out!' Gaffa found this store that sold the Russian dolls, where you open one up and it has a smaller one inside, and you open that up and there's another one inside.. Etc.. Pretty funky, this guy had done it with all the famous sporting teams around the world. Great gifts, if only we had more room in our bags to carry it home!!

After our day out we went back to the hostel to skype Gaffa's family and then got ready for our date night... Most of you would have already heard the news of our engagement, so for more details of the how, when, where.... Stay tuned for the next post!! Sorry to keep you all waiting!! ;)