We did not get off to the best of starts as a combination of Google maps and my terrible sense of direction almost caused us to miss our breakfast/brunch reservations. Let's say that our walk to Eska was not the best. From the hotel it was past a bit of carpark, under some railway bridges, a bus station, down some dirty alleyway and finally along a quiet residential street next to the side of a railway line with a building site at the end of the road. About half an hour later than planned we made it in to Eska and they kindly found us a table despite the place being pretty busy.
The atmosphere was buzzy and a little bit hipster with open kitchens, simple wooden furniture and an unfinished warehouse décor. Wait staff in blue jeans and white shirts buzzed up and down the stairs. We were seated upstairs close to the kitchen area where we could watch the pastry chefs hard at work. We were kindly given English menus and some fresh bread and butter.
DSC04713 by Simon Halsey, on Flickr
DSC04715 by Simon Halsey, on Flickr
Ms. Spymon chose the Breakfast Karlín consisting of salmon trout, vegetables, egg, granola, herbs, sweet curd cheese, fruits and soft drink whilst I went with an omelette and some French toast. We also took a couple of coffees.
Our friendly server soon brought over our delicious coffees and shortly after our breakfasts.
DSC04717 by Simon Halsey, on Flickr
Once again I had definitely over ordered. I can't remember the last time I had such a good breakfast omelette. Eggs just set, cheese melted and fresh smoked ham. Perfection on a plate just how my Grandad used to do it.
DSC04718 by Simon Halsey, on Flickr
In all fairness this eggy perfection was soon outshone by the French toast. Sugary soft bread with sweet caramelised apples. It was certainly one of the best breakfasts I've ever eaten in recent memory. Ms. Spymon felt much the same and even found space for a few bites of French toast, but in all honesty who could resist a mouthful of that.
DSC04719 by Simon Halsey, on Flickr
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Stuffed to bursting once again, it was time to leave. We settled up and managed the 5 minute walk to the metro station for the next part of our Prague adventure.
DSC04726 by Simon Halsey, on Flickr
DSC04727 by Simon Halsey, on Flickr
We planned to spend the bulk of our day touring the Jewish part of Prague. It was quite a moving afternoon with all but one of the synagogues you could visit now a museum, each depicting a different part of Jewish life and history in Prague from life to death and renewal. Whatever your religious (or otherwise) background it made for quite an emotional day.
DSC04734 by Simon Halsey, on Flickr
DSC04737 by Simon Halsey, on Flickr
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To unwind a little we went for an average coffee and cake at the famous touristic cubist masterpiece that is Grand Café Orient.
DSC04590 by Simon Halsey, on Flickr
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DSC04827 by Simon Halsey, on Flickr
I did my best to camouflage with the décor. It was good to rest our legs and we also managed to check in for our flight with seq 0001 and 0002 and seats 1A and 1C snagged. Geek goals met in full!
We headed off to view the hotch potch of shops and buildings that lead from the old town up to famous Wenceslas Square.
DSC04832 by Simon Halsey, on Flickr
DSC04834 by Simon Halsey, on Flickr
Unfortunately the National Museum atop the square was covered in scaffold whilst under renovation.
DSC04836 by Simon Halsey, on Flickr
We then finished our days walk through a quite bizarre shopping precinct, some more beautiful buildings and rest in the park.
DSC04840 by Simon Halsey, on Flickr
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We headed back to the hotel for a brief rest before heading out to Lokal Hambruk for a spot of dinner. Unfortunately the branch next to the hotel was fully booked so we went to the one near where we had breakfast, this time making the sensible decision to take the underground.
DSC04865 by Simon Halsey, on Flickr
We arrived to find a mix of rowdy locals and shy tourists but soon felt at home once a couple of cold ones were slammed down with affection on the table.
DSC04866 by Simon Halsey, on Flickr
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We ordered the famous fried cheese, braised beef and beef goulash with a side of mash.
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DSC04873 by Simon Halsey, on Flickr
It would have been nice to try more but the portions were bigger than they looked and a lot of the food had run out. What we did have was tasty and incredibly good value for money. I even found room to squeeze in a dessert.
DSC04874 by Simon Halsey, on Flickr
We enjoyed a slow moonlit walk back to the metro station for the short ride back to the Hilton and soon fell sound asleep.
DSC04876 by Simon Halsey, on Flickr