travel | Take Me Away To.... Prague

“Not all those who wander are lost.”- J.R.R Tolkien 

Lennon Wall

At the end of the summer, I decided it was time to take a time-out from Toronto, and work.

T had mentioned she wanted to go traveling. She wanted Asia, and I wanted Africa, obviously very different ends on the travel spectrum.  We thought of places from South Africa, to South America, but couldn’t decide on a country both our interest could be met. It seemed that this trip wasn't going to pan out, then T’s uncle suggested Austria or Czech Republic. I had never once considered going to either country, since Ireland has always been top destination for Europe. But I decided to bite the bullet and do my research on both countries. 

30 minutes after into reading about the Czech Republic. I knew this is where we had to go. A day later we purchased our flights and hotel in Prague. And in 5 days we were going to the Czech Republic!

For someone who obsesses over trivial matters, this was so against the norm of my usual planning and re-thinking which I usually do when I invest in something. But oh boy! I am so glad I shrugged of my usual paranoia’s and took the plunge.   

Though the flight was brutal: 10 hours to Warsaw, Poland, then a 5 hour layover, in addition to another 1 hour flight to Prague (16 hours of torture, for someone who hates flying!)... it was well worth it when I opened my eyes the following day to the beautiful Czech sunshine. Apart from Prague,we visited; Terezin, Karlovy Vary, & Kutná Hora.

What did I enjoy most about this beautiful city? The cobble stone streets, sitting on the patio of a local haunt enjoying Czech beer as we people watched (Ok, so we 'waiter-stalked', honestly Czech boys are gorgeous!), taking in the views from Charles Bridge and St. Nicholas Church- which btw, took a toll on us after climbing up & down the never ending flights of stairs, strolling through Golden Lane at Prague Castle or catching the Don Giovanni marionette show are just a few which I can recommend. 

 

Other highlights were celebrating mass at Infant Jesus of Prague Church in Lesser Town, known to be a place for pilgrims, to pay homage to the Infant of Prague, as its recognized for its miraculous powers. The strange limestone walls at Wallenstein Palace, which is home to the Czech Senate, the Lennon Wall, the Jewish Quarter....and of course the hazelnut gelato at Grand Cafe Praha (situated opposite the Astronomical clock in Old Town Square) Which I can safely say is a breakfast food.

My personal recommendations:

Places to eat: Kolkovna, U Schnellu, and Cantinetta Fiorentina.

Places to shop: Korálkárna, and Manufaktura. 

Cantinetta Fiorentina

Kolkovna had the best food, and the cutest waiters.

Undoubtedly I was glad we decided to take the plunge and  visited the Czech Republic, unfortunately for my mum and sister, they had to endure looking at over 3,000 photos. I would  go back, as two weeks is not enough to see even the highlights, as we  missed out on Brno, and Cesky Krumlov.

xoxo,

Savannah