A weekend in Prague

We flew into the Czech Republic for a fleeting trip to Prague with a group of friends in February 2011.  We arrived late on a Friday night and left on the Sunday afternoon, but even though this trip was short and busy, I still really loved Prague.  As there was a rather big group of us on this trip, we stayed in a hostel near to the old town which turned out to be a great location for tourist attractions.  I think there is always something fun about travelling with friends and staying in one big hostel room, you are bound to leave with great memories and stories - this trip was no different. 

On Saturday morning we headed off on the free walking tour of Prague. Most European cities have these guided walking tours and I highly recommend them. They are technically free, but if you think your guide was good and you enjoyed the tour then there is an opportunity to give a tip at the end.  The tour we went on took us around the Old Town Square and the Astronomical Clock, the Old Jewish Quarter, the Old New Synagogue and the Golem, the Church of Our Lady before Tyn, the Spanish Synagogue, Wenceslas Square, WWII Prague Uprising, the Statue of Jan Hus and much more.  I didn't have a great camera at this stage, but below are a few pics from the walking tour. 

After the walking tour we paid to go up to the top of the famous Astronomical tower which had great views of the city (some of the above are taken from the lookout point at the top of the tower).  For me, the best part of going to the top of the tower was spotting a little roof top cafe just below us which looked super inviting and cosy.  Once back on the ground, we made it our mission to find the rooftop cafe we had spotted and asked around at a few hotels, before striking jackpot. The cafe was situated on top of this hotel and compared to the bustling streets below, it was refreshingly quiet and not very busy. The menu was massive and we ended up going back there twice during our short stay. The nighttime views were stunning, but unfortunately none of my pictures did it justice. 

This was what we saw from the Astronomical Tower

View from the restaurant

View at dusk

On Saturday night we participated in one of the infamous Prague Pub Crawls. It may have been the reason we didn't make it to the Castle on Sunday, but it was lots of fun so probably worth it ;)  We went to some really cool pubs, including one that was underground in a dungeon-like cavern and ended off at the notorious largest club in Europe, Karlovy Lazne.  

At the start of the Pub Crawl

 Prague has a great medieval feel to it, and I would love to go back and see the Castle which we just weren't able to to fit into this weekend break.  

Fun Facts about Prague:

• Prague castle has the largest castle area in the world. It has 18 acres of ground. 
• The Czechs drink more beer per capita than any other country in the world (I can beleive this!) 
• Skoda, which is a car manufacturer, means "Pity" in Czech.
• The infant Jesus of Prague is one of the oldest and most revered images of Jesus. It has been creditied with healing and miracles and people from all over the world send it dresses. These dresses are on display at the Church of Our Lady Victorious. 
• A pint of beer in Prague costs £1.00*

* Correct at time of publishing