Too much love for Prague

The magical muffin

All week we waited eagerly for it to be Thursday so we could visit Prague. I went to my 9am class with my girl Nuria and then rushed home to leave for Prague with Mara, Becca, and Katie. We were relieved when we found out our flight was in fact real (a little sketched out because we booked through a travel site) and we were able to relax at the airport. We ate our ghetto lunches that we packed (Mara's plain pasta in saran wrap) and I got my favorite muffin--seriously, this muffin is grand. I discovered it on our way to Sevilla and it has this magical milky filling and everyone hates when I talk about this muffin because I LOVE IT SO MUCH. 

Also, the entire flight was wonderful. We got free sandwiches and a drink (which does not typically happen on these cheap airlines) and also got a mini box of chocolates and stickers for Valentine's Day. It was so cute and I was beyond pleased with Czech airlines. 

Once we landed in Prague we figured out the tram/metro system (kind of…) and found our hostel. Our hostel was awesome and we ended up in a 5-person dorm, and the last person didn’t show so we won. We really wanted to start walking around, so we dropped off our luggage and headed towards a highly recommended pizza place. They had flavored cider at the restaurant, which became our staple drink while in Prague. With a yummy pizza and mango-raz cider I was quite full.

My first view of Prague 

We then explored the city and went straight for the Charles Bridge. Love love love this bridge. Seeing the Charles Bridge for the first time at night was particularly great; it was not very crowded, the castle in the distance reflected in the water, and the bridge itself was beautiful lit up. We were all merry on our way back to the hostel, until we crashed with exhaustion. We did not want to waste our first night in Prague, so we forced ourselves to go to a bar. The bar we found was like a giant cave with endless rooms and we really liked the vibe of the place. We were just chilling with a beer and enjoying ourselves, until people got a little creepy and it became too smoky, and then we decided to run away.

My only real complaint about Prague was that smoking was allowed pretty much everywhere, and every night we came home our hair/clothes reeked of smoke. Other than that I LOVE PRAUGE!

We spent a good portion of Friday visiting the Prague Castle. The castle is a little out of the town center so we decided to devote the first half of our day there. There was SO much to do at the castle, and many pictures to snap using Becca’s selfie-stick (we had way too much fun with this). Our ticket gave us admission to 8 different sites (churches, museums, etc.) so we were very busy and also very cold. We took a much needed coffee break to warm up and then were wowed by St Vitus’ cathedral and the amazing views of Prague. I love how gray Prague is and love the old-time European feel of the city. Just looking at Prague from a distance was unbelievable and worth being at the castle.

John Lennon Wall

After a busy first part of the day, we headed into the city for a traditional Czech meal. I did not expect to like Czech food too much, but surprisingly did! For lunch I had fried cheese (nom) and minced meat. Next we went to the infamous John Lennon wall. The wall was great for taking cool pictures, but was really over-crowded and not quite as big as we expected. Still, it was worth the quick stop. We then walked around and went back to the hostel to regroup before our amazing Italian dinner. We went to Pasta Fresca, where they serve delicious handmade pasta and we were all in heaven. We also had buffalo milk mozzarella on top of tomatoes and bruschetta as appetizers. Pasta Fresca was the bomb and our dinner was filled with good laughs, especially when Katie spilled her wine on Mara. “Mara please put on my pants”.

After dinner we went to an Irish pub where there was live music and we decided to chill on a beer before going to Lucerna. Lucerna is a club that a lot of people studying abroad in Prague recommended. Friday had an 80’s/90’s themed music night, which I loved, and we had a blast. The club has giant screens all over and plays old music videos, which was hilarious. We went home at a reasonable time to catch some zzzz’s and take on our last full day in Prague.

Views from the top of the clock tower

Saturday morning we went to Bohemia Bagel in the hopes of filling the void in my bagel-less heart (I miss them so much). However, this trip to Bohemia Bagel was not good. They forgot Becca’s meal, even though we asked them about it, and it took an entire hour for her to get scrambled eggs. Luckily they gave it to her for free, but it was ridiculous and not a good start to our morning. We also were sad when we arrived at the Jewish Quarter to view the oldest functioning synagogue in Europe, and we realized it was Saturday…aka Shabbat...aka all synagogues are closed. The day was saved when we went to the top of the clock tower and had amazing views of the city. It was pure bliss. Have I mentioned how stunning Prague is? Because I wanted to just stay on top of the clock tower and admire it all day.

Trdelnick

Next, we found a great place to get trdelnick. This fried dough covered in sugar is a popular dessert in Prague and was fantastic. Then we had a romantic Valentines Day boat tour, which included beer, coffee, and a gingerbread treat—great deal. After we prepared for an early dinner so that we could make it to our pub-crawl on time. We had traditional Czech food again, but this time I had no idea what I ordered, but it was delish. I was also a huge fan of the fried brie cheese appetizer with cranberry sauce. 

Right after dinner we met a huge group for our pub-crawl. The night started at one bar, which served unlimited beer, vodka shooters, wine, and absinthe for one hour. As you can imagine, this was dangerous and the bar was packed. We then made our way to another bar, where we received an unknown “welcome shot”. This bar was more club-like, and I liked the cute umbrella decorations on the ceiling. Another hour passed and we went to a third bar where we had another mystery “welcome shot”. We loved this bar. There was room to sit, meet some new people, and chill. We also tried to order chardonnay, and instead ended up with some gross, warm, Franzia-like, red wine--oh well. The big finale was at Karlovy Lazne, which is a 5-floor club. Each floor had a different theme and I loved it. My personal favorite was the rap and R&B floor—there were great jams. We couldn’t stay too late because we had to wake up early the next day, but I highly recommend going to this club in Prague!

The next day we had our hostel’s breakfast (which was awesome), czeched out early (get the pun???), and headed home. I wish I had more time in Prague, but I am still happy to be back in Barcelona.

Already missing Prague :(