Travel on a budget - Amazing Prague pt 1

Two and a half years ago me the boy and our friend Sam went on an interrailing trip. We covered five countries and seven cities in twelve days!

It was amazing taking in so many different countries, cultures and sights in such a short period of time. I think it's fascinating how when I’m travelling, the time seems to move differently. It's like everything speeds up and slows down at the same time, it's so hard to explain, but if you've been abroad I am sure you will know what I mean.

If you want an adventure, interrailing is the perfect answer.

We went to Budapest in Hungary, Prague in Czesk Repuplic, Berlin, Cologne and Aachen in Germany, Vienna in Austria and Amsterdam in the Netherlands. I will dig through all of my old photos and write a blog post about it soon.

I loved all of the places that we went to but my favourite was Prague. So when the boy's mum suggested that we go to Prague as a surprise for his dad's 60th birthday, I was all up for it!

We kept it a secret for a couple of months until all was revealed last weekend half an hour before we had to make our way to the airport! David was so surpised and pleased, it was so lovely to be there to witness his reaction. A surprise getaway would be the perfect present in my eye and I think David agreed.

Prague is perfect if you want a budget city break or a short holiday! I think it’s the most beautiful city that I've ever visited. When I first set my eyes on the city two and a half years ago, it really took my
breath away and it's just as beautiful second time around, although much much colder.

It's steeped in history and the architecture is like something from a Disney cartoon! In all honesty I'm surprised there hasn't been a story written which is set there as many of the buildings make me think of fairy tales and princesses.

The Hotel 

We stayed at the Jurys Inn, which had everything that we needed. Clean, comfortable rooms, beautiful lounge and bar area, friendly, polite staff, free wifi and amazing continental buffet breakfasts!

We got there about 8.30pm on Friday night and after dropping off our bags we went out to find our bearings and some beer/food. We stumbled upon a pub that served delicious Czech food and very cheap beer and wine, oh and there were free pretzels on the table!

On Saturday We had breakfast at the hotel. As you can see from the photos below there was quite a lot to choose from. I went all out and had sausages, scrambled eggs and little roast potatoes and then yogurt with blueberry compote and fresh fruit salad.

If I didn't have a gluten intolerance I probably would have tried to fit in a piece of cake or two as well, because they looked and smelled incredible!

Free Walking Tour

I was so stuffed I was almost ready for another nap, but I knew I would need the energy for the day ahead as went on a walking tour.

The tour started by the Astronomical clock which in itself is amazing and the only one of it's kind in the world. There are many different tours available but we decided to go with the Free English Language tour. The guys who offer this have big green umbrellas up and the tours start at 11am and 2pm every day.

This particular tour included Prague's Old Town, New Town and the Jewish Quarter. It lasted about 2 hours 45 minutes and we were absolutely freezing, so much so that I couldn't feel my toes and I ended up wearing my scarf around my head like a Russian Babushka, actually one guy even greeted me in Russian assuming that's where I was from...

It was so so worth it though. Our tour guide was an American guy called Keith and he was so knowledgeable and enthusiastic about Prague's history, architecture and legends, he was also pretty funny.

Adam and Laura admiring the buildings

We stopped for a little break to warm up. I had the most delicious warming light but creamy hot chocolate and did some mental drooling over the cakes and croissants (which unfortunately I couldn't have any of!). Unfortunately, I really have no recollection of what this cafe was called but if you go on Keith's tour he said he always stops there!

*** The boy has reminded me that this cafe is called Bakeshop. He clearly has a better memory than me***

We even got introduced to Cubism.

Cubism was one of the most influential visual art styles of the early twentieth century. It was created by Pablo Picasso (Spanish, 1881–1973) and Georges Braque (French, 1882–1963) in Paris between 1907 and 1914. - Thanks google.

If you go to Prague and are interested in art and/or architecture you must visit House of the Black Madonna, it's famous around the world because there are few original cubist buildings left. It's located in the "Old Town" area of Prague and is currently in use at the Czech Museum of Cubism and the a cubist cafe called Grand Café Orient.

Food food food

After the tour we were very ready for some food, we asked Keith for a recommendation of and he highly praised U Rudolfina.

He said it was a little pub/restaurant that sold delicious food and wasn't touristy. He was right! The menu was in Czech, however our waiter was very kind to translate it for us. I had beef Goulash with mashed potatoes. It was rich, creamy and very filling and the best thing about it is that it cost around 5 pounds including a drink (!!).

We took some photos while we were waiting for the food.

Afternoon of Exploring - Choco Cafe

In the late afternoon me and the boy split up from his family,and decided to do a little exploring on our own, (mainly so I could take lots of photos without holding the rest of them up).

souvenir shop full of goodies

Before coming to Prague I read someone's review about a chocolate cafe and was keen to give it a visit so when me and the boy accidentally found it, I was rather delighted!

There was a delicious array of cakes, macaroons and chocolates to choose from. Oli ordered a nut cake, which looked simply divine. I tried the frosting and it very fluffy and creamy.

I ordered myself a cheesecake strawberry cheesecake, which was yummy too. I also ordered a hot chocolate with cream and hazelnuts but what I didn't realize is that the hot chocolates they're exactly that - melted chocolate diluted with a little milk. Basically the drink was a desert in itself. It was so rich, gooey and chocolaty I simply could not finish it.

If you love chocolate, I would suggest you pay Choco Cafe a visit!

I hope you've enjoyed reading this, check out part 2!

Till next time,

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