Travel to Czech Republic. Sights in Prague.
What is it like to eat soup served in bread? What is a Trdelník? And where can you take a photo with Saints Cyril and Methodius in Prague? Read about it in this travelogue, part of the travelogue series: “At the Tip of the Delta: A Trip to Iceland via Poland and the Czech Republic”
BACK TO THE PREVIOUS TRAVELOGUE –> Traveling in Iceland - Day 4: Reykianes Peninsula
More information about the route, costs and all travelogues of the trip can be found HERE.
Day 8
The next day, November 28, after a good night’s sleep, we set off for Prague around noon. The distance from Katowice to Prague is 460 km; it took us about 5 hours, and once again there was no border between the two countries. We needed to buy a vignette for the Czech Republic, but we didn’t realize it until we’d already driven 30–40 km down the highway… We sincerely hope we don’t get a ticket.
Entering the Czech Republic, it started to snow and everything was covered with a thin layer of snow. Interestingly, in the Czech Republic, the whole time when we were there, snow was falling a little. Passing along the highway, and later in Prague, we were disappointed by the ugly, gray, socialist view of residential buildings and factories. We did not expect such a sight at all and we can say with our hands that we did not like the architecture in the Czech Republic.
We checked into Hotel A&O Prague Metro Strizkov. Budget hotel, low level of hygiene, many rooms are hostel type with bunk beds, dubious guests. The hotel had a bad location - quite far from the center of Prague.
We dropped off our luggage and went for a walk right away. Putting aside the ugly buildings scattered throughout the Czech Republic, we only really liked the center of Prague because it was beautiful and quaint—with narrow streets where you can easily get lost. The Christmas decorations were already up, and you could feel the festive atmosphere everywhere.
–> Browse and book a budget hotel in Prague with a discount. See HERE!
Sights in Prague
First, we happened to stumble upon the lighting of the lights on a small Christmas tree, where the mayor of District 1 was present. A children’s choir sang a few festive songs, then the mayor gave a brief thank-you speech, and presto!—the tree lit up! After that, we headed to the square in the Old Town. Many of Prague’s main attractions are located there—the Rococo-style Kinsky Palace, the Church of Our Lady before Týn, the magnificent 600-year-old Orloj Astronomical Clock, the Old New Synagogue , and the statue commemorating the religious reformer Jan Hus. The square was teeming with people, as everyone wanted to take a picture with the big Christmas tree. And although the Christmas market was fully set up, it was unfortunately closed due to the rising wave of new COVID-19 cases. Even so, there was a huge crowd of people.
If you also want to get back part of the paid amount for hotels, flights or products, register at this link HERE and every new user receives a $10 bonus in the account.
Another major landmark and symbol of the city is Karlov Bridge. It is popular for many things, one of which is that the lamps on the bridge have been manually lit with gas for hundreds of years, but today this is no longer the case. 🙂 This bridge connects the old town with the Mala Strana district. Along the bridge are 30 baroque statues of heroes, horsemen and saints, including that of St. St. Cyril and Methodius. Some of them were pretty scary. The statues were added at a later stage, in the 17th century, the first of which was on St. Jan Nepomuk. There is a legend that the statue is located in the same place from which its body was thrown (by order of King Venceslav IV), and when it touched the river, 5 stars shone. This is the reason why 5 stars decorate the head of the statue of the saint. There is a rumor that if you touch his waist, it will bring you 10 years of luck, or if you wish for something, it will come true. Therefore, in front of the statue we can witness a long queue.
Another major landmark in Prague is Prague Castle, which we explored the next day and can read more about in our next travelogue 🙂
Like my page on FACEBOOK to be the first to hear about new travel stories and great deals!
We sat down to eat at one of the restaurants on Old Town Square. We ordered vegetable soup served in a bowl made of bread—something typical of this part of Europe. It was my first time trying something like this—it was delicious and warm, but unfortunately, there wasn’t enough soup compared to the thick bread bowl it was served in.
After that, we tried some sugary, braided pastries called Trdelník, which were sold absolutely everywhere and are especially popular during the Christmas holidays. They’re made from sweet bread dough and baked in an oven. We stopped by some candy stores, where we picked up various jelly treats for our kids, who were waiting for us back in Bulgaria.
Parking in Prague turned out to be a big adventure. It was quite difficult to find out about the rules for parking in the Czech capital. It turned out that there is no free parking there. Everything is paid. Even around the hotel, which was in the eighth deaf (ie - in the 8th district/neighborhood) it was difficult to park. It's good that we had a disabled sticker that was valid for the entire EU and without an ounce of conscience we used it for its intended purpose.
–> Browse and book a budget hotel in Prague with a discount. See HERE!
TO THE NEXT TRAVELOGUE —> Sights in Prague - Part 2
