Prague 2003

We flew to Prague on 27 December 2003 for a 3 night winter break in between Christmas and New Year. We had been told that it was a really nice place to go and it has a Christmas market. We flew with BMI Baby from Manchester, and stayed at the Renaissance in Prague (now the Courtyard Marriott).
It was a really nice hotel and centrally located as it was about a 10 minute walk to Wencesles Square. Prague has lots of really old buildings and the square is lovely at Christmas time as they have the Christmas market there. The market has lots of stalls selling all sorts of souvenirs.
They are very big on gingerbread and loads of the stalls were selling gingerbread, sausages, hot wine and pretty much anything else. There is also a children's play area and a stable with real animals including a Llama.



It was very cold while we were there, but I always think it is different when you are on holiday and we knew it was going to be cold anyway. We got a bit of snow but not enough for it to stick. There are lots of shops and cafes, and in the square there are lots of cafes with tables and chairs outside and big patio heaters so you can still sit outside in winter. The shops sell a lot of glass souvenirs, plates and Russian Dolls everywhere. Prague is split into the old town and new town. Powder Gate in the old town is worth a visit for the spectacular views over the rooftops. Charles Bridge is one of the most popular sights to see in Prague. Charles bridge is always busy and has artists offering to paint your portrait and people selling knick knacks and the such.




In the Old town you should visit St Nicholas Church which has beautiful paintings on the ceiling and is stunning. Also in the old town is The Old Town Hall which has a clock which every hour on the hour a skeleton and 12 apostles appear, which when we read the guide book it sounds like a must see attraction, but to be honest is over rated and was not that good!!!!Wencesles Square, Charles Square and the Church of St Stephen are in all in the New Town. A nice walk up the steep hill to Prague Castle is recommended (it will do your calves the world of good!!!!) and has spectacular views over the city. The Jewish Quarter is also worth visiting. Prague is very cheap for food and drink and is also now popular with Stag and Hens as it is easy to get to and has lots of bars and restaurants. One bar that we were told me must visit was the Be Bop Bar at the Radisson SAS. It serves cocktails and authentic Czech food and it has Jazz evenings.

There are plenty of shops in Prague and department stores including C and A and Debenhams. There is also a Tesco but it is a department store rather than a food store like in the UK.
The currency used is Euro. There are lots of narrow streets filled with souvenir shops and so many of them selling tourist tat!!!!!
As my husband and I are football fans, we decided to check out Sparta Prague Football Club's ground. After finally finding somebody to understand us, we discovered we had to use the underground to get there. In the UK we just assume that everybody knows what you are on about when talking about football because it is our main sport, and you forget that it is not like that in other countries. It took us ages to figure out the underground as we are not big on the Czech Language and then we got off at the wrong stop and walked about a mile in the wrong direction!!!!! When we finally got going in the right direction we noticed how different the buildings were in this suburb of Prague.



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They were all grey concrete buildings and how you would imagine it to have been when it was a Communist Country. Sparta Prague's ground was quite big and looked quite smart (from the little bit we saw of it!!!) It was all locked up and there was a notice up saying they were on a winter break!!! (We think that was the gist of it anyway!!!!) Steve had wanted to buy a souvenir from the shop (being football mad!!!) and that was all shut up too!!

We looked everywhere for some sort of Sparta souvenir when we got back to the main shops and even when we found a massive sports shop they had footie shirts for Liverpool, Man United and other European Clubs which I found to be really strange, but there you go, what do I know!!!!

We made a pact to avoid Irish pubs (not that there is anything wrong with Irish pubs!!!! they are great!!!!), but everywhere in the world we have been, there has always been at least 2 and they always look the same!!!!!


Prague is great for a short city break as it has everything you could want whether it be drinking, museums, eating, shopping or all these things then Prague is the place for you. I would like to go back in the summer when it is a bit warmer!!! Bmi Baby Jet 2 and Czech Airlines all fly to Prague. (Other more famous airlines are available!!!!!)