The Spring Break of a Lifetime: Part 1 (Czechia, 2023)

How better to start my spring break than a hectic 3-country travel day? One day (just 1!) after getting back from my Vienna/Bratislava/Brno/Kraków speedrun, I hopped on a 5AM train to Milan Airport (note, with 4 different transfers). From Milan, I flew to Prague and arrived at the airport in the early afternoon.

After such a restful start to the journey, I got to our Airbnb (FYI: the start of this trip has 5 people: Josh, Jamie, Audrey, Tashya, and yours truly). I had to buy some razors because I lost mine (turns out I did not lose mine and it was hidden under some toiletries), and then we met up with part of our group who were shopping in the nearby mall.

I joined this trip a day late in order to see a Dean Lewis concert the day before (absolutely fire), so I had some sightseeing to catch up on. I went up Prašná brána (Powder Tower), which is a 15th-century medieval tower and one of the original city gates of Praha. The stairs were super narrow, but the top provided a good view of the city skyline and the classic red-tiled roofs. There are other opportunities to see the city, though, and it felt a little unimpressive.

The tower is right next to Náměstí Republiky, or Republic Square. There was an Easter market (if I had a nickel for every time I went to a Czech Easter market, I’d have 2 nickels), and the vibes were immaculate. My travels had made me hungry, so I had a Lángos, which is this fried flatbread with ketchup and cheese (basically a dorm room pizza). It was really delicious, super inexpensive, and a nice snack on the road to the main historical district.

We walked to the Staroměstské náměstí, or the Old Town Square, which was studded with famous historical landmarks like the Pražský orloj (Prague Astronomical Clock) and the Chrám Matky Boží před Týnem (Týn Church). The buildings were really cool, and the clock was ornate and fancy. We happened to walk by it at the top of the hour, where we saw hundreds of tourists hurriedly packed into the square to see the clock chime, followed by hundreds of tourists promptly dissipating into the square. It was honestly hilarious to see, especially considering the chimes were just normal chimes (as far as I know).

Next up on the sightseeing speedrun was Karlův most (Charles Bridge), which we got to see in the evening glow right around sunset. Everything looked so historical and gothic (not sure if it was actually in gothic architectural style, but it looked awfully gothic to me) and it gave off an incredibly regal vibe. We took some pictures on the bridge, which was adorned with small sculptures and statues and kind of reminded me of Kapellbrücke (Chapel Bridge) in Luzern.

After all this sightseeing, we needed a drink. We had reservations at the Anonymous Shrink’s Office, which was this speakeasy-type of a venue where you had to press a button on the wall to be let into the basement. We had a private room where the server gave us a series of 10 Rorschach ink blots in varying colors and we were asked to pick the one that resonates with us. I ended up getting a spicy bloody mary with a sundried tomato/chipotle pepper chip and I think it summed me up pretty well. I also usually prefer spicy and savory food to sweeter items as well. The second half involved choosing either a neurological condition or a neurotransmitter (i.e. insomnia, schizophrenia, oxytocin, serotonin, etc.) and having a drink modeled after that.

We were starving after that psychology lesson, so we headed to Vytopna Railway Restaurant in Wenceslas Square. This unique restaurant features a mini railway system that connects all the tables to the kitchen, meaning your food and drinks arrive on cute little trains. I did a local beer tasting and had a delicious goat cheese salad, but they’re really known for their burgers and steak (which were apparently quite good). The sleepiness began to kick in, especially for me and my 3-country travels, so we walked through Wenceslas Square to head home and passed by the grand Czech National Museum, which loomed over the famous city square.

The next morning, we packed our things, dropped them off at the station (side note: the station was beautiful and was decorated with many coat-of-arms along the walls), and made our way to Prague Castle. As we climbed up to the top of the hill, we were treated to gorgeous views of Prague (Praha, as the locals call it), and saw some more of those classic red-tiled roofs. There were many cafés and restaurants in the castle area, and we stopped by one of them for a quick bite. They had some pastries with the most impressive plating I’ve seen—a mango-flavored cake was made to look exactly like a mango! Their smoothies and eggs benedict were also to die for. I can’t recall the name, but if you find yourself in the castle and see a blue-tiled mosaic on the wall with a mango-looking pastry on tables, you’re in the right place!

We strolled around the castle area, seeing the enormous gothic structures and huge cathedral, which we went inside. There was even a cute little market within the castle walls where you could get snacks and trinkets. That made us hungry, but the lines were quite long, though. So, after taking more pictures of the view of the city, we walked down the steps to this snack stand we had seen coming in. I got a Spiral potato kebab, which is a very popular snack and involves spirally cutting a potato, putting it on a stick, and frying it. It was alright, but I prefer McDonald’s fries!

We had checked off everything on our Praha bucket list, and so we leisurely strolled to the train station. We passed by the Old Town Square again (our 4th or 5th time since it was between all the attractions) and I secured a chimney cake, which was this big fried cylinder with ice cream in it (NOTE: I had a version of this back in Brno, but I didn’t know the name of it. This one was much better, and had ice cream!). I felt like a kid as I ate my ice-cream-filled chimney cake through the square and towards the station. Before long, we boarded our train to Budapest and bid Prague adieu (or, sbohem, as they say in Czechia!)

Takeaways

• Prague is a city chock-full of historical architecture and beautiful Gothic bridges, castles, and squares
• The traditional food is great but feels like it was designed by a 10-year-old: fried dough with cheese and ketchup, fried potatoes, and a fried spiral churro with ice cream
• Free views from the castle >>>>> Paid views from Powder Tower
• Nothing turns free thinkers into sheep faster than the Prague Astronomical Clock. Pretend what it’s like to be an NPC (nonplayable character) at the top of every hour!

Rose-Bud-Thorn

Rose (what went well): Prague is a beautiful city with tons of great architecture. Everywhere I looked I was in awe of the intricacy and history of the buildings
Bud (what was good but could be improved on): We took lots of great pictures, but could have used some more individual + group pics because Prague had some breathtaking backdrops, especially from Charles Bridge and the Castle
Thorn (what did not go well): I only had ~24 hours in Prague, and as a result missed some famous sights like the Municipal Library of Prague, the Narrowest Street in the World, and the Terror Museum. I didn’t feel like I missed anything, but an extra half-day would have been nice (no more than an extra half-day, though)