Prague was the final destination on my nine day journey through Eastern Europe (it was preceded by Budapest and Vienna). We spent about two and a half days in each location, so the goal was to fit as much adventure as possible into 48 hours - here I'll share how we made the most of our short time in Prague, Czech Republic.
We arrived in Prague at about 7pm on December 27th, and walked from the train station to our hostel, Hostel Prague Tyn, in Old Town. The hostel was nice - not the nicest I've stayed in, but overall a decent hostel with an amazing location. They offer free linens, towels (but beware: they're the size of hand towels), and a small breakfast in the morning (which isn't much but hey, free food!). The bathroom situation was one of the main downfalls; there was only one single-stall bathroom for an entire floor of eight bed hostel rooms. However, the location of the hostel really can't be beat and makes the less than ideal situations much more bearable. On the first night, we wandered around Old Town a bit, got some food, and went to bed to prepare for our first full day of exploring.
Day 1
Prague Castle
On day one, we had a quick breakfast at the hostel and then set out toward the Prague Castle. We walked through Old Town and eventually crossed the Mánes Bridge over the Vltava River, which gave us a good look at the famous Charles Bridge (which we later crossed on our way back). The Castle area is incredible, and spending quite a bit of your day here is a must. We purchased tickets for the "Circuit B" tour of the castle, which included St. Vitus Cathedral, the Old Royal Palace, St. George's Basilica, and Golden Lane. We were absolutely in awe of St. Vitus Cathedral, and Golden Lane was a close second - an adorable street that dates back to the 16th century, lined with small houses and former workshops.
There was also a Christmas market in St. George Square, where we had some gnocchi with vegetables and topped with parmesan, and a waffle covered in chocolate. We would have eaten the gnocchi for every meal if we didn't have other food to try - it was incredible!
Old Town
After we explored the Christmas market, we crossed the Charles Bridge and went back to wander around Old Town. My favorite thing about being in Prague was just walking through the streets, and essentially getting "lost" in the city. Often times during our trip we would walk without direction or a real destination, and we found some beautiful streets and amazing buildings that we probably wouldn't have seen if we constantly stuck to a map. We spent the night watching a performance at the Christmas market in Old Town, grabbed dinner at GamberoRosso where I had the best margherita pizza I've probably ever had (honestly), and headed back to our hostel to prepare for day two.
Day 2
Lennon Wall
Day two was a little less action packed. To start the day, we set out to find the famous John Lennon Wall. People have been painting graffiti, song lyrics, and (sometimes) inspirational messages on the wall since the assassination of John Lennon in 1980. One of my favorite parts of the wall (at the time, as it is constantly changing!) includes a mosaic tile peace sign - you can check it out in the photo below. The wall is located in the Mala Strana area of Prague, so once we finished checking it out and, of course, snapping pictures, we aimlessly walked around Mala Strana for a while.
Jewish Quarter
From Mala Strana we made our way back across the Vltava River and to the Jewish Quarter. Prague's Jewish Quarter consists of six synagogues and the Old Jewish Cemetery, along with many other impressive and beautiful buildings. The synagogues survived the Nazi occupation, and the history of the area is incredible. I suggest spending quite a bit of time here, or taking a walking tour of the area.
Back to Old Town
I will admit, while we saw a lot of Prague, we didn't do very much in Prague because of our limited amount of time in the city. However, I was just as happy to walk around and just see the city as I would have been going into cathedrals, synagogues, and museums. Old Town was my absolute favorite part of the city, and I could have marveled at the buildings there alone for 48 hours straight. This time while passing through the square, we caught the ringing of the Astronomical Clock. You can catch the "show" of the Twelve Apostles that pass through the windows of the clock as it rings every hour, on the hour. A bit later, we had dinner at a (very touristy, but very good) restaurant in the square, where I ordered an incredible goulash. We ended the night again at the Christmas Market in Old Town drinking apple cider (a nice change after the near gallons of mulled wine we had consumed over our 9 day trip) and taking in the beautiful square.
Day 3
Sadly, our time in Prague quickly came to an end and we had to head back to Madrid. I fell in love with the city and, though it's hard to choose, I'd have to say it was my favorite of the three cities I visited during my Christmas break trip. Though there is so much I'm sure I missed, I truly loved just wandering around the city and looking at the amazing architecture - the city really feels like walking through a fairytale.
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