Prague – The Feel Good Hit of the Summer

It was a glorious 30°C when our train from Vienna pulled into Prague central station. The European inter-country train services are awesome – why Australia does not have a fast train yet is beyond me! We’re going to do a separate train post towards the end of the trip though, so get excited for that…

Anyway, after leaving the station and putting our faith in Google maps’ walking directions again, we got lost. It’s ok – we turned ourselves around and made the trek up the hill to our awesome little studio in the Vinohrady district, dumped our luggage and went exploring. 

I think Rob was most surprised by Prague! Rob: “Being one of the former ‘eastern bloc’ countries I was expecting a bit of a struggle with language and culture, but that couldn’t be further from the truth! Everyone was helpful and most people spoke at least some English. Highlights of the Vinohrady area include the clock church, the TV tower, the professional yoyo shop and Beer Geek Bar.” I think we’d chosen a great area to stay – close to the sights but away from the crowds. 

When we arrived it was the first official day of summer – in the Czech Republic, the beginning of summer is marked by the solstice rather than 1 June. This is known as “astronomical summer”. 

Sunset at 9:30pm, on the solstice, in our studio:

The big windows opened to the roof, letting in a much-needed breeze. Our Airbnb host had warned that a neighbourhood cat likes to come in through the window and visit. I was so excited!! Alas, only a wasp came to visit…

Watching the sun set from Riegrovy Sady park. You can see Prague Castle in the distance:

Church of the Most Sacred Heart of Our Lord, in Jiřího z Poděbrad Square. From Wednesday to Sunday there’s a farmer’s market in this square, selling fresh produce, bread, meat (cured and fresh), jams, flowers & food. We went for breakfast one morning! We were too busy eating šnek (poppyseed scroll) and drinking coffee (flat white!) to take photos, so here’s the church from a previous walk:

Look, a real live bumblebee in the linden tree!

Rob, demonstrating his yoyo skills after a trip to the yoyo shop:

We were happy to learn that beer is VERY cheap in Prague and also delicious. Our Airbnb host pointed us towards Beer Geek bar, dangerously close to our accommodation. Here, we could buy excellent craft beers for 35kr., or about AUD$3.80. Also, a guide gave us a tip – if you’re paying more than 45kr. for a Pilsner Urquelle, you’re being charged a tourist price. 

If you’re not into beer though, lots of places sell delicious lemonades flavoured with fresh fruit, ginger and mint. I drank A LOT of spicy ginger lemonade to combat the sweaty weather. 

Anyway, we’ll write more about Prague shortly, and our mission to see the sights while fighting the umbrella people!