Prague Edition:

This New Years we decided to get a different perspective on Europe and head East to Prague and then drive through the Czech Republic and Poland, to Krakow.  Our flight went without a hitch this time, although we did stand in a line for a flight to Barcelona when we were still in Paris because they didn’t have the different destinations posted when we arrived (imagine us being 3 hours early!). So then we had to stand in the ‘Prague’ line after standing in the Barcelona line. Otherwise, the flight was faster than expected and we arrived half an hour early in Prague. Then we ordered an uber to take us to our Airbnb which was right at the end of the Charles Bridge on the edge of the old town centre. It was on Malostrana #7….a pedestrianised area that was packed up with tourists roaming the streets. But our flat was a in a beautiful old building tucked down an alleyway and through a courtyard, on the 2^nd floor. It had fantastic character and was very quiet. In order to access it, we had to first go on a scavenger hunt down the street to find a tree outside the Malta embassy that had our keys in a locked container. The owner sent us photos in order of which way to go to find the keys and gave us the code for the lock. Chris had no problem following these abstract street photos and we had the keys in less than 4 minutes.  Once in the flat we got ready to explore the Old Centre over the bridge by doing a ‘Prague Legends walk’ with a tour guide. It was a very cold night, so we dressed warm and headed out into the dark to find our meeting point in the Old Town Square.

The Legends walk was interesting because it gave us an introduction to the streets around the old centre and some very interesting history on the city of Prague which was great to have on our first night there. We heard stories handed down about the hospital there (opened in 1354) with it’s public amputation theatre, and the conditions in the Middle Ages on the streets and the famous hangings that took place. There were many true facts as well as legends that the guide shared to give us a sense for the history of Prague. We walked away understanding more about the different phases of government ruling, especially the oppression under Communism right until 1987 and how the Velvet Revolution was a monumental movement of the people of Prague standing together against Communism. The guide spoke of the current president and current issues as well as the significance of the convent in town and St. Agnes who was the cities strength and inspiration when faced with Communist restrictions. The children were interested, but frozen after 2 hours of walking outside, so we headed to a restaurant afterward to warm up.

The Christmas market in Prague is still on until the 6^th of January (Three Kings Day), and this is one of the reasons we chose Eastern Europe. It really extends the Christmas spirit and beauty by having those markets open with Christmas music and so many local foods and drinks still available. This way we could find all of our ‘favourites’ (mulled wine frequently of course) and get a sense for the local crafts and marketed products.  Trdelník (sugared bread pastry) was a hit with Greg, Chris and I…but not so much Bri.  I think we had it about 4 times while we were there – sometimes stuffed with fruit and whipped cream.  We also climbed over 120 stairs to get to Prague castle for a tour through 5 of it’s buildings, including St. Vitus Cathedral and Golden Lane. It was an amazing ‘step back in time’.

That night we ate at an Irish pub in a cellar room that was very cool, and then walked back to our flat over Charles Bridge. The walk was always beautiful and we walked that bridge every day.  The next day we toured Prague castle and walked Wenceslas Square to shop and take in another area of Prague. Greg and I climbed the tower on Charles Bridge and got a great view of the castle and city.

We came across some cool street art later and another Christmas market where we ate more traditional foods. The kids bought themselves some clothing and then we made our way over to an ‘Illusion’ show that we had tickets for a well known bar called M1.  We arrived and were all given complimentary drinks from the bar menu (Blue Chaos, Strawberry Dacquiri and Long Island Ice teas). Clearly they thought the kids were old enough, so we all had a drink together to toast to 2017!

The next day was the 31st and we toured around the city in our own area and  found a John Lennon Peace wall right behind our flat. It began in the 80’s and is dedicated to him in response to the government during Communism. Yoko Ono came to visit the wall once and wrote on it. Many people still visit it in memory of its message. Then at 4:30pm we watched a classical music concert in the famous St. Nicholas church on the Old Town Square (below). Nothing wrong with the kids  hearing some Mozart and Vivaldi on New Years eve…(they handled it well) and then we went to a beer hall we had reservations for about a 10 minute walk away. From church to a bar…hmmm? On the way, we saw some snake ‘handlers’ and of course they dropped their snakes on Brianna’s shoulders!  That is the reason for that random photo!! Look how busy that back street was! It took us 20 minutes to walk one block…it was body to body – very slow going!

We could not believe how crowded the back streets were, so we decided at about 11pm (after our dinner / show) we would watch the fireworks from the bridge on the end closer to where we were staying.  Dinner was traditional Czech food (duck and dumplings and strudel for dessert) and local apertifs throughout. There was also a show that was very upbeat and held some surprises for us! It was an interesting evening to say the least.  At 10:30pm we left to go to the bridge and it was perfect timing.   Fireworks started at 11pm and just kept intensifying until about 11:50pm when they really went wild. It was a great night on the bridge and we always felt safe and in good company. In the Czech Republic though, it is still legal for residents to set off their own fireworks in the streets (life when we lived in CH), so it did get a little wild afterwards, as it sounded like gun shots going off around us on the walk home.  The police were present on the streets for this reason and we heard the next day on the news that 1 person had died due to a firework and another been injured terribly. So, I wonder at what point they will decide that significant amounts of alcohol and fireworks in people’s hands on crowded streets, is not a good idea? We personally never witnessed anything too dangerous, although Chris and I dropped the kids off at the flat at a 12:30am and then went on our little walk to see all that was happening down the back streets and along the river. We watched people setting off fireworks and saw lots of empty canisters and garbage all over the ground. By morning when we walked to pick up our car rental, everything was clean – no trace of all the firework                  remains that were all over at 1am the night before.  Very fun way to bring in 2018!

Overall, we loved the ambiance and genuine Medieval experience Prague has to offer!!!  The buildings were magnificent and the food and shopping ~ excellent!   Prague is a ‘#1’ destination in Europe for New Years and it did not disappoint. We were happy we chose to spend New Years there.