Prague, the Winter Wonderland: Day One

It hasn't been 24 hours since I've arrived back from Prague but I couldn't wait til I got writing about it, telling my friends and family what I've been up to and sorting the photo. I'm use to thinking that 2 months of travelling passes quicker than the blink of an eye, imagine how quick this weekend felt!

Such a pretty view despite the weather below the clouds!

 The journey started at about 5am on Friday morning. I have to admit, waking up and getting to the airport was easier than I expected, though as I've always aimed for the cheaper flights, this isn't something new. We weren't in Prague until 1pm, where we had the most unpleasant greeting from the winter winds blasting our face along with the snow. I already think that I'm not made for the british climate, I can't handle the winter here, so I had my doubts spending my winter in east Europe. The minute I stepped out the airport, I thought I was going to give up: "I'm going to spend the rest of this trip in the hotel" I thought. I guess it's unsurprising that the first thing we did was snooze in our room...

Attempt at wrapping up warm without looking like Bibendum (the Michelin Man). Look at how warm and toasty my room looked, wouldn't you rather be in there than the cold?!

Guilt crept in when we woke up at 5pm. How could we waste our trip already? Fortunately, we were living close to the Old Town Square. It wasn't long until we were greeted by the Square's sparkling Christmas Tree (from afar, we were wondering if the tree had any leaves or if it was just made out of christmas lights) before we indulged ourselves into the warmth of the Christmas Market.

The image doesn't capture how much of a monstrosity/legendary this Christmas tree was. From afar, you'd doubt there were any leaves (and if there were, how have they not burnt off?).

Mulled wine, crepes and roasted chestnuts stalls surrounded us but no complaints there! It didn't take us long to try some Czech delicacies. We began by trying some Trdelnik, which is made by wrapping some dough on a stick which is then grilled and sprinkled with a walnut and sugar mix. Alright, my mouth is watering just by describing the way this is made!

Can these Christmas stalls look any cuter?

Rolls of Old Czech Cake being grilled (more like roasted?). Sprinkle it with my spices, they taste amazing served warm!

I was a little disappointed with myself for not trying enough Malaysian and Singaporean food this summer. I've been reading some food blogs just to make sure I don't miss out on the Czech side. Now three days isn't a lot of time to try enough delicacies, but one thing we couldn't stop having is fried cheese. How could you have a main dish of just cheese?! I think the fact that we had it every day that we were in Prague suggests how tasty (and addicting) they are.

Never thought I'd miss Prague food!

Pilsner beer and hot chocolate to accompany our dinner. Quite thick for a hot chocolate but not as sweet as I expected (to my disappointment).

 We decided to check out Wesceslas Square. It didn't compare to the atmosphere back in Old Town Square, especially the Christmas market. It reminded me of a tamer version of Oxford street with either side of street lined with boutiques and western chains. Other than the impressive national museum at the end of the square, I wouldn't say there's much here other than for shoppers. Surprisingly, this is the first trip I've made where I wasn't enticed to go shopping. Shock! Horror!

Not as blinding as the Old Town Square tree...

 By the first night, I was already in love with the Christmas market (couldn't wait to hit it again), addicted to taking photos of the Town Square and surprisingly took a liking to my experience with Czech food. Couldn't ask for a better start to the trip (:

Next stop... Prague!

The last time I went travelling during the winter vacations was probably... back during my GCSEs? Back then, travelling meant visiting relatives. If it wasn't Bangladesh or India I was travelling to, it was certainly to visit relatives who lived elsewhere in the world. Sometimes we'd be lucky to go somewhere else for a few days before hitting BD, in the past it's been Saudi Arabia or UAE, a country that's en route.

However, after starting Cambridge, it's been really hard to take vacations as a "break". Like a former student once told me, vacations in Cambridge means "to vacate Cambridge", they still expect you to continue working. My 2nd year Director of Studies told me that I could only take Christmas Day off (even if I don't celebrate it). See how seriously they take it? Realistically, that's not going to happen. You catch up on your favourite series, take up a temporary job or SLEEP (finally). For those who can afford it, they travel. I've never considered it before because I rather save up for the big summer freedom, but I need to save up for the places I want to go to. Thailand, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Madagascar, Fiji, Kenya.

This year, I'm doing things differently. While I've opted for Asia, a few of my friends have opted to travel closer and know the rest of Europe pretty well. Some of them prefer to take city breaks for a few days whereas I prefer to travel all over a country over weeks. We've enjoyed the way we've done it so far but I want to see why they enjoy their city breaks, what's the pull with Europe?

Initially our plan was to go to Dublin, Ireland. It's close-by and more affordable in the short term (I'm still saving up for summer!). But then someone suggested that Prague would be a better Christmas time destination. I'll be honest, if any European city (other than the mediterranean countries) interest me, it's Prague and that's because of all the hype behind it. One of my friend said it's the most beautiful city in the world... although she's not been there. Another couple I know said they loved their time there, not only do they want to go back but they prefer it to Paris.

So, I want to go to Prague to see what the hype is all amount. I know it's not the best reason to go travelling (I've always had a natural pull to the countries I've travelled to independently) but this is an experiment. I want to know if I'll enjoy this short break, will I feel satisfied even though I'm only scratching the surface of a country? Is Prague that beautiful, a word that people constantly associate with the city? I'll find out in December!