Czech Republic,  Europe,  TDM,  Travel Journal

Prague (Czech Republic): Prague Castle, Charles Bridge, Zizkov Tower, Rum Bar

We are still in Prague! I still don’t realize that I am there, so much Prague has been making me dream for a long time. We continue to discover Prague little by little because our work is starting to take us more and more time

Part 1: Travel Diary
Part 2: Practical Tips

Part 1: Travel Diary

Prague Castle & Charles Bridge

After 2 weeks in Prague, we are finally motivated to go to Prague Castle. It is the largest ancient castle in the world!

We get off at the nearest subway station and follow the crowd to reach the hill where the castle is located. While walking, we pass the crowd that comes to the Castle by crossing the Charles Bridge. This bridge is really very pretty and remains my favorite place in Prague

The area around the castle is just as lively and touristy as the old town on the other side of the river


TRDLO is the name of this dessert with at least 2000 calories, kinda puff pastry bread with a lot of great toppings: Nutella, sugar and ice cream. There is a chocolate ball at the bottom to prevent the ice cream from dripping. But it’s a failure! I saw several tourists struggling with it, so if you buy one, you have to use lots of napkins!

After a rather long (uphill) walk, we finally arrive at the entrance of the castle. There is a huge queue but it goes fast. We enter without tickets. On the other hand, to visit the buildings inside this big complex, it is necessary to buy entrance tickets. We choose the B circuit, at 250 crowns/person

This gives us the right to enter the Saint-Guy cathedral, the Saint-Georges cloister, the old castle and the golden alley. We have 2 days to visit everything. But in reality, half a day is enough for us

It’s impossible to miss the cathedral Saint-Guy which is so beautiful (and very imposing, one sees it from far)

The stained glass windows are incredible, but it’s a shame that the two biggest ones are currently being renovated

This is the opposite of the gold filled cathedrals seen in Poland or South America

We then visit the old castle + the cloister, which I find very nice

Then we go to the golden alley, where we find small houses once inhabited by the king’s archers, then craftsmen and civil servants

There is now, upstairs, a long corridor with armors. There was even a place where for 2€, one is entitled to 3 crossbow shots. JB brilliantly killed “the enemy”

A little further on, we can visit an old prison, with lots of instruments of torture

We end the tour with a long walk in the gardens, giving a breathtaking view of the whole city of Prague

Zizkov Tower

Next to us is the Zizkov Tower, which is basically a TV antenna, but has also been cleverly designed to house a restaurant, bar and observatory
Access to the restaurant at 66 meters high is free. We have the surprise to discover some French dishes including a homemade foie gras to die for

As elsewhere, bottled water is transformed into a flavoured carafe. In Prague, you can also ask for a carafe of water (free of charge) and it will be served with a slice of lemon/orange

The view is incredible

But it is by climbing to the top (93m) that the view is even more impressive. Behind the cathedral is our building

The buildings form small blocks (as in Barcelona), which explains why some stores and restaurants are located in small courtyards, or at the end of the footbridges that we discovered by chance. It’s a pity that our building isn’t in a block like this, otherwise we would have had an interior/private garden 🙂

Looking down on Prague from above makes us realize even more how beautiful the city is. The view here is clearly very different from what we could have had from other observatories of too modern cities (Sydney, New York, Chicago, Kuala Lampur)… where we can hardly see anything anymore because of the skyscrapers (or pollution)

At the foot of the tower is an old Jewish cemetery

Rum bar

Our friends Mathieu and Cladx from Investoweb recommended us a great bar: Rum-House caribbean bar, where you can find 1111 bottles of rum of 923 different types. The atmosphere is really cool. It is advisable to let the waitress know the type of flavors you like (fruity, sweet, fresh…) and let her recommend you some rums. JB chooses a rum from the Dominican Republic while I settle for a mojito (huge)


The prices are very correct, within 3-4€ per shoot !

A real steak at the butcher’s

Always close by, there is a butcher who also makes a restaurant (self-service). The meat is really tender, melting. All for 20€, drinks are included. We can eat outside and watch people buying groceries at the local market and food trucks

Italian ice cream at Antonínovo pekařství

Almost every day, after work (if we are working), we walk to this bakery that sells Italian ice-cream to die for. For 1€ to 1.5€ per cone (depending on the size), the ice cream is creamy, smooth, delicious and above all, huge

Vietnamese sandwiches at Mr Banh Mi

10mn walk from our house, we found a small store (part of a small chain) named Mr Banh Mi. They sell real Vietnamese sandwiches. The Vietnamese sandwich, to be good, must be made with Vietnamese bread (whose crumb is harder than a French baguette). All the ingredients are there! For 3€, you have an explosion of flavors!

A little creative leisure during the trip…

Those who know me know that I like to craft (in total contrast to my job where I try to automate everything and NOT do anything manually). But this isn’t the same for creation! I like sewing, goldsmithing… but this kind of creative hobby takes up a lot of space in the suitcase

A post on Instagram encouraged me to start cutting paper again. Usually, I like to create objects in 3D (kirigami), but this time, I’m first interested in improving my technique, and play on this “lace” effect and the fragility of paper. Even if I draw very badly, I also force myself to draw more because paper cutting can make any ugly drawing, more beautiful



To find some gears, JB and I had to go to a specialized store, reserved for artists. We communicated with the saleswoman using pictures, to show her what we needed 😀 When we’re in Japan, I’ll go to a museum dedicated to paper cutting. In Japan and China, paper cutting is part of the ancestral arts

Part 2: Practical Tips

Budget

    • Sightseeings:
      • Prague Castle: 250 crowns/person
      • Zizkov Tower: 220 crowns/person
      • Tramway: 24 crowns/ticket

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