Day 7
We travelled from Berlin to Prague via a bus which we boarded from Berlin Central Bus Station. The only tricky part here was how the bus lane suddenly changed, and we were confused about where to find our bus. Other than that, no much hiccup.
When we reached the Prague main station, we weren’t too sure on how should we get to our hotel other than how it was originally planned – by foot. 15 mins walk. But seriously – don’t try that in Prague, because the all the walkways and roads were paved with rocks – so it was a very rocky-tiring experience dragging your luggage over them. Totally exhausted by the time we reached Hotel Tyl. We were then greeted with a very friendly receptionist, and he gave us advice on a good restaurant just right across the street.
Lunch at Kozlovna Tylák
Sis told me she didn’t prepare a food bucket list for Prague, and she initially planned for Lebanon or Turkish for lunch. What!? We need the Czech cuisine! Its ok, I did!
You must try this dish: Svichkova – ie. beef with carlsbad dumpling (or aka bread dumpling).
My sis ordered the beef goulash – this restaurant served it with with fried potato dumplings
The Svichkova was easy on the palate – I definitely liked it! My sis commented that the beef goulash was a little too jelat (overwhelming) towards the end. But woot, we were totally satisfied here.
Afterwards, we headed for a money changer somewhere in the city area, and then some sightseeing around the Old Town area, Charles Bridge, and the Jewish quarters.
While wandering around at the Jewish quarter area, we passed by multiple tour groups and overheard one of the tour guide talking about ‘superheroes’ during tour. I was so intrigued, and sis signed us up on a walking tour the next day.
Good Food Coffee and Bakery for Trdelník (aka chimney cakes)
I had read about this, and saw a couple of shops selling these while we were walking around. Personally felt that this delicacy was kind of expensive and definitely touristy.
We settled for Good Food Coffee and Bakery – based on my sis research recommendations. Btw, Good Food Coffee and Bakery had an outlet in Singapore before, but it had since closed its operations. We hadn’t had a chance to try that before too.
Sis got the Devil Trdelnik at 160 czk ~approx SGD$9.50
And I got the Double Pistachios at 180 czk
These were amazingly delicious! Especially the pistachio flavour was quite in-depth as well. I would say it is hard to find a good pistachio ice-cream/gelato, but these were really well-done. The exterior crust complimented it with a good bite as well!
Trdelnik indeed is a must-try at once. Although I did read somewhere along the line where this isn’t something that the locals would eat on a day-to-day basis. So it is perhaps more of a touristy item? And yeah, to spend SGD$10 on an ice-cream – we could have gone for a main meal already.
For the rest of the evening, we wandered around the area doing a little bit of shopping, before retiring back to our hotel.
Night shots of the Národní muzeum
Day 8
Key item today – Prague Castle. So I blindly followed my sister as always, and we took this path up a lot of stairs – so I was definitely grumbling. But at some point we spotted this really interesting door here – decoratively pasted over with stickers(?). Definitely unique for a shot!
We finally reached the top of the view point that overlooks the city area.
Actually this photo was from another view point when we exited Prague Castle area
Not sure why – but seems like I have more of the cathedral’s photo:
More photo dumps here:
The Castle compound was definitely huge – do plan at least 3 hours. There was also this stretch of 2 stories high building which like sort of like a museum inside or touristy shops.
Afterwards – headed to Restaurace U Mlynáře for lunch.
I got a mix of dark and light beer (left) – the gradient effect was quite visually interesting:
Oh and I do remember that dish – with camembert cheese! I liked it!
On the way out, spotted shops selling Cannabis products – just intrigued, but nah I didn’t try. But the advert did look good, because at first glance I thought they were some fancy buns or crispy pastries.
Free Walking Tour – Old Town and Jewish Quarters
We joined a free walking tour for Old Town and Jewish Quarters – and trust me, you should join one! At least don’t do blatant sightseeing like just snapping for photos only – Prague is beautiful, but what could I remember if there weren’t any history learnt with a bit of humor. YES, our guide was very entertaining! In fact, we got the same guide who talked about ‘superheroes’ last evening as we passed by. So, the very one who intrigued us to book the tour! To just recall some of his entertaining sharing:
Defenestration in Prague – these were key events in Prague – where people were thrown out of window. Lol, really – like what a way to kill another and make it last in history. So as our guide says, never trust a Czech above the first floor. XD
What do you call the war that lasted 30 years in history – the “Thirty Year War“. Indeed!
So there was an Old Town already. They decided to make a new one, what do they call it? – “New Old Town”
We passed by the Jewish quarters – and here he highlighted this really fascinating clock:
The only clock that goes anti-clockwise in the world – because it is in Hebrew characters, which are written from right to left.
He brought us back to Prague Astronomical Clock and explained in details on the intricate design. Although – he wasn’t a big fan of the clock show that happens every hour as it was really a simple show. But still it was worth a watch if you were near the area next minute to the hour.
And take a closer look – the clock on top has 4 “bad” figures beside, while the bottom one are like the “good” figures with the angels and so on. So, when the clock was partly destroyed in a fire, somehow only bottom section was burnt (yup, the angelic figures). So there was the funny quip – the evil outlast the good?
Our tour ended about 2-3 hours later, and at then, we found our last dinner place in Prague at Kozlovna Apropos. We ended up in this restaurant that our guide recommended. Ordered the beef goulash and bread pudding, a soup (think it was onion soup), and a dessert (Chocolate beer cake – with chocolate and topped with pinch of chilli) to share.
I definitely remember the waitstaff there – he spoke to us in Korean but I didn’t managed to process it as I thought he spoke in their language or something. So I was puzzled at then. But my sis did catch it after she realised there was a table of Koreans seated behind us. No wonder…
We had a really short visit here in Prague – and Prague was simply beautiful – just the pavement and the building architecture alone are enchanting enough. And after the initial Germany experience, definitely felt the food variety were much better, and they were more wallet friendly. I definitely would love to be back here again.