Prague is a gorgeous city. Large portions such as the Charles Bridge and the Prague Castle have gone untouched over the centuries and they are certainly worth fighting the crowds (in late November even) to view. But we aren’t going to get too far into those details this post. Quite simply put, we ate and drank our way through 4 short days in Prague.
In stark contrast to our leg in Berlin, we thought it best to enjoy what’s left of our time in Europe by using this leg to sample all the culinary treats and local brews we could get our greedy little hands on. So, gone were the History Museums, and out came the pocketbook filled with thousands of Korunas (Crowns). Literally. It took some getting used to, but one CAD is roughly 17 Czech Koruna.
Pricing looks a little something like this. A local brew (half liter of course) runs about 24 – 35 Koruna, placing it at about 1.5 to 2 bucks. It gets better. The deliciously heavy Czech cuisine can be purchased for about 120 to 170 Koruna per person, or 7 to 10 Canadian dollars (no tax folks). If you still aren’t impressed, let me paint you a picture of Czech cuisine.
Heavy breads (a Pumpernickel variety), stews, goulashes, pork knuckles and medallions, Schnitzels, pickles, beer soaked beef, potato pancakes…you get the picture. We took our own advice and that of the helpful person renting out our Condo flat ($50 per night) and headed outside of the overrun city centre to find some truly authentic meals. Perhaps the best experience we had was just Northwest of the Prague Castle where we visited the Strahov Monastery which served its own home brew, that of St. Norbert. We ordered beer-onion soup and a basket of hearty breads accompanied by 4 incredible spreads. Garlic, salmon, aoli and beer-cheese. Have I said the word beer yet? The meal, consumed at 4pm, was enough for the rest of the night.
When we weren’t eating or drinking, which wasn’t often, we busied ourselves by once again touring the entire city on foot. We toured the toy museum (remember, we ignored HISTORY museums) at the Prague Castle and made it down to the old city wall at the OTHER castle, Vyšehrad. If you’re coming to Prague to visit, be sure to do the regular sites, but make sure you take some time to get lost on the back streets. It’s not that big of a city and you will stumble onto one of the 3 metro lines on virtually every corner. This will guarantee that no matter how lost, as long as you can read a metro map you will make it home safely to bed. And considering how much you will eat and drink, that bed will become your absolute best friend.
