So I recently got engaged! Significant time this, right? More so because there was a deal my parents and I had struck YEARS ago..the year I decide to get married I get a special present from them — a vacation!

Not just any vacation, though. This would be my design. I choose the destinations, I make the itinerary and as an added bonus, I also got to choose my travel companions! Unfortunately, although my mom was supposed to travel with me that kind of fell through. So her place was taken by my sister and her best friend et voilá! We had a girls trip!

Now this story will be split into parts because each of these cities was an experience on its own and they deserve their own place here. SO…

The itinerary: Prague — Munich — Salzburg!

PRAGUE:

Now I’m not going to lie, this was a logical choice. I had cemented Munich and Salzburg but it just didn’t seem enough and so I had the option of Berlin, Vienna or Prague. Prague was the destined one because I had covered the other 2 cities.

And so we landed on a beautiful summer Sunday and headed to our apartment to freshen up and begin our travels. Now Prague is a city very different to its touristy competitors like Berlin and Paris. It has a certain gothic, old-world charm that I experienced for the first time. Now as a tourist, you will only be focused around the old town center of the city and so plan your trip here for a maximum of 2 days. Believe me, it’s all you need to see all the sights, while having enough time to sample all the Czech beer you want 😀

We had about half of our Sunday in hand and so we set out to the old town square in Prague. You will know when you’re close when the swarm of tourists starts increasing with every few steps you take. Basically , follow the crowd and you won’t go wrong! Don’t be shocked by the amount of people you see in the old town square because it’s pretty much packed all year round. Winter is no longer an exception since Prague boasts one of the prettiest Christmas markets in all of Europe!

The old town square is a beautiful sight to take in with all its old-world charm! There are food and beer stalls all around, along with small shops and cafés and even horse-buggies!

A good tip here is to always remember that anywhere in Europe, eating in the old town center is always expensive and the food not always totally authentic. But we were starving at this point and so we dug into a huge plate of Prague ham with mustard and fresh bread. This with a side of chilled pint of Czech beer of course 😀 Prague ham is basically a pork shoulder that’s been slow-roasting for hours and it’s honestly delicious and hearty (but needs a fairly strong stomach to digest!) This was quite expensive and I wouldn’t recommend it as a staple area for meals as you will burn through your cash sooner than expected. Also, there’s better food to be found just a few minutes away!

Expert Tip: Prague is a pickpocket’s playground so I strongly advise that you keep your belongings safely bound to your person at all times!

Prague isn’t too hard to navigate and so if you have some time to chill, take a walk around the old town and just explore all the winding lanes and beautiful views over the Vltava river!

A few hours into this trip I took a call, snack lightly all day long and have good dinners. Cos I don’t know about you, but I can’t sleep on even a slightly empty stomach when I’m on vacation…I need to be fed well! So dinner on night 1 was at a local favourite pub called Lokál! A highly recommended brewery, they have about 5 or 6 branches in Prague and serve freshly brewed local Czech beer and food. It was a no-brainer! If you can, make a reservation because this place tends to be packed in the evenings and can take over an hour to get a table sometimes. We got lucky and got ours in 15 minutes, but the best part is while you wait they let you order your beer and food at the waiting area near the bar!

And so we sampled some local Czech sausages that came with a side of whipped sour cream mixed with radish, freshly ground mustard and (well you ARE in Europe!) so freshly baked bread! The next round was a hearty goulash which was so well cooked that the meat basically melted in the mouth! Served again with bread so you can soak up every little bit of that delicious stew! And these were basically all sides to the cold pints we were guzzling all the while! Czech beer is unlike any other I’ve experienced…it’s stronger and has a very brute sort of character to the taste, in a good way of course, and the freshly brewed ones are just what you need after a tiring day! Also helped that we went during the FIFA World Cup so watching a live game definitely pumped up the atmosphere 🙂

We took a walk on the famous Charles Bridge after dinner and what a sight it was! It was absolutely swarming with tourists but the view was absolutely stunning, and that coupled with a slight drizzle made for the perfect weather to be walking around this beautiful city at night!

On the morning of day 2, we decided to take a walking tour of the old town and the former Jewish neighbourhood of Prague. This was a free walking tour organised by a local company called Generation tours, but there are a lot of others as well. You can book most of these online or just go to the old town and there will be a whole plethora of tours you can choose from and join on the spot as well and they’re mostly free! All you do is tip the tour guide whatever you wish at the end of the tour (or not at all but please don’t be one of those people!). Walking tours are my favourite way of sightseeing because it’s a small group, takes you through the sights at leisure and you get to hear a lot of history! Also the tour guides are usually really well-informed people and you can really get some great tips about the city from them, all you have to do is ask and they’re happy to help!

Post the walking tour, we decided to explore Prague castle on our own which is easy enough to do but you can do a tour for that as well. It’s easy enough to take a tram up to the castle and the grounds and garden are free for tourists to explore. The castle tour is a paid one, though but in my opinion, can be skipped.

Our last evening in Prague we decided to do something a little different. My friend suggested this monastery called the Strahov monastery, which is just a little further than the castle, and has a brewery in the property where they brew some really great beer. Also this beer is not available anywhere else in Prague so it was perfect! The restaurant is called Klasterni Pivovar Strahov and they brew about 5-6 different brews under the name of St. Norbert brewery and they’re AMAZING! This is also the place to try some really great food. We tried a local specialty that was grilled cheese with some toasted fresh bread and onion jam and it was SO GOOD! Also some fries and mayo because that’s how you eat fries in Europe :P, and finished with some beautiful warm apple strudel. The staff is super friendly and we even got to go behind the bar and take a picture with the bartender!

Now another Prague specialty is the Trdelnik, more commonly knows as the Chimney Cake. It’s basically a spit-fire or rotisserie-baked dough sprinkled with cinnamon sugar. The traditional way to eat it is just as is, or with vanilla ice cream, although there are many more variants to try now. Honestly, this didn’t quite live up to the hype because the cake isn’t as warm as you would want it to be and tends to get quite hard sometimes, but all in all not too bad. Definitely should be on your must-try list in Prague. One of the better ones we had was at the Good Food bakery which is just before Charles Bridge towards he old town. It costs about 5 Euro and you can easily eat it by yourself.

Another good bakery I would definitely recommend is the Bake Shop. They have a few outlets in Prague and are a little on the pricey side but dessert lovers are spoilt for choice here and honestly, it’s worth the money. We had this incredible cheesecake with berries that was I think my favourite thing I ate in Prague!

Some other fun things to do in Prague:

• Pub crawls: you can book these online or be in the old town square by 8 pk roughly and you can book one right there. They’re about 2.5-3 hours long and you get to meet people and have some fun and check out the nightlife of Prague
• Brewery tours: there are tours that take you walking through the craft beer scene in Prague which is steadily on the rise. You get to sample some truly fresh and unique brews while meeting new people! Always fun!
• Take a boat ride: This is a great option if you have a couple of hours to spare because the views of Prague from a boat at night are absolutely stunning! The city is lit up and you pass through the best views on both sides and you can really admire all Prague has to show you. There are also boat parties that you can do which are full of great music, good alcohol and great company, plus the views!
• There’s a popular bar called T-Anker in Prague which is a rooftop bar. It’s in the old town centre and is on the slightly pricier side. But the beer is great and the USP of this bar is that it offers one of the best views of Prague! Highly recommended!

All-in-all, a day and a half or two days are more than sufficient to cover Prague, but it’s one of those cities you MUST visit once in a lifetime. It’s definitely a place that makes a mark on your travel history and shouldn’t be missed!

The best is yet to come so please watch out for the next part of the post 😀