dobry den: Prague

                                    Dobry Den! Translation - "Hello! Good day!" in Czech.

Kick off your shoes and sit for a few minutes with me cause we’re about to cover a lot of ground in Prague. 

After 3 beautiful days in Paris, my husband Blake and I headed over to Prague. We arrived mid-day and went directly to our Airbnb located near Old Town Prague. Bonus points to our very kind host who had Czech beer waiting for us in the fridge! I highly recommend staying at an Airbnb for a couple of reasons. We have found it to be less expensive than hotel stays, the location is typically better, and it gives you more space than an average hotel room would.

After checking in, we ran out to grab lunch at Lokál Dlouhááá. It’s a traditional sit down restaurant featuring classic homemade Czech cuisine. They pride themselves on using “only fresh ingredients and spices that are sourced from renowned local suppliers”. Czech food consists of lots of meat and potatoes, not my favorite, but the meal was delicious. And, of course, we ordered two pints of beer with our meal, which is basically what Prague is known for. Beer is cheaper than water in Prague. I repeat, beer is CHEAPER than water! As you can imagine, my beer-loving hubby was pretty excited about this and ordered a beer with every meal.

We enjoyed quite a bit of free time the next day, before our friends from Nashville joined us, so we decided to take the plunge and join a free walking tour. Because the tour was free, my expectations were pretty low, but our tour guide was hilarious and shared a wealth of information. Side note – the tour is free, but the guides work for tips, so please tip in accordance to your experience. We learned SO much about Prague and its history that I couldn’t help but fall in love with the city. The majority of the buildings in Old Town Prague date back to the 10th century!!! It was amazing to walk around the city and marvel at the beauty of these old buildings that were rich in details and incredibly unique. It truly did not look real and pictures do not do it justice. 

Later that evening, our friends arrived just in time to head out to the local clubs! We first hit up Roxy, a larger club with a killer lounge on top. We stopped at the lounge to get some drinks before heading down to dance. The dance floor was huge and each night they have a guest DJ. It was fun to hear the European tunes. After Roxy, we headed over to M1 Lounge Bar and Club, which was walking distance from Roxy. M1 was more of an R&B club (definitely more my style) and was a smaller venue than Roxy. After dancing for hours (seriously, I could dance all night and be happy), we headed to a Burrito Loco. If you ever find yourself in Prague, do yourself a favor and go here after a night out. Who would have thought Prague would have amazing TexMex?

Drinks before Dancing!

The next morning we headed over to Maso A Kobliha, an adorable cafe near our Airbnb. The food was fresh and light, the service was amazing, and all the pretty little details left me inspired. We ordered fresh donuts, a light and refreshing salmon tartine (a fancy open-faced sandwich), and Scotch eggs. A Scotch egg is a hard-boiled egg wrapped in sausage meat, lathered in bread crumbs and baked. This is a staple in Prague. It is very heavy, but delicious, so you can easily split one. ​

We were glad to have a beautiful 40 minute walk afterwards to Prague Castle and it was completely worth it. The castle has beautiful gardens surrounding it that, in my opinion, would make for the perfect picnic spot overlooking Prague. The castle is out of this world and the view from the top....I'll just let you look at the pictures to see for yourself. ​

Later that day, we headed over to a Prague Beer Tour and it was so much fun! It was a small group of tourists from all over the world and two tour guides. Our guides were precious and took us to some of the coolest hole-in-the-wall pubs. It was such an unforgettable experience to be able to learn more about Prague from a local's perspective. We stopped at five different pubs and sampled a variety of beers. By the time we stopped at the last one, we were wiped out! Did I mention that in Europe you walk...a lot?! And thank goodness for that, because we ate and drank everything and anything we wanted. I'm thinking I would be much happier living in Europe and being able to eat what I want in exchange for walking a few extra miles a day. ;) 

Prague is simply magical. I was charmed by the rich history and as well as its people. Prague will always hold a special place in my heart, and I hope I’ve inspired you to add it to your bucket list of must see places.

-Grace