On Christmas day, we once again head across the river, this time with the intent of seeing Prague Castle. After checking with the concierge for opening hours, we were ready to go
We took a path with a steep incline that provided some killer views of the city. Pushing the stroller turned out to be a mini-workout on its own
Then it turned out we had to loop back around and down a smaller hill. Some colorful graffiti to entertain us on the path
Once at the bottom, we had to cross a street and up a short ways to get to the castle. Annoyingly enough, there was about 20-30 feet of smooth, inclined path before a set of steps. This pattern reoccurred 10+ times on the way up to the castle. Getting fed up of having to lift the front end of the stroller for a few steps every 30 seconds, I resorted to carrying the entire stroller with baby strapped in. I'm sure I made for good entertainment as people started cheering me on. I didn't even notice the encouragement came from a long snaking line....until I got to the top
Turns out those cheerleaders were waiting for the security check to get INTO the castle grounds. Running entirely out of patience at this point, we said forget it and found a route that was more stroller friendly, but not before snapping a few pictures
It was about lunch time, and although we had a mid-afternoon reservation at Cafe Savoy, we found ourselves headed towards Lokal for a quick bite to eat
Interesting name
Another Pilsner at Lokal
More beef tartare
We also ordered a forgettable beetroot salad, but I didn't bother with a picture. After our meal, we continued on through a park
We did some people watching, and chased some pigeons for our son's delight to burn some time. Just a short walk from the park was Cafe Savoy. I had read that the head butcher of Nase Maso claimed this establishment had the best schnitzel in town, so I had to see for myself
Just across the street was an old building that didn't appear well kept, but definitely had character
Inside the restaurant
The beverage menu, and only the beverage menu so I could remember to point out the hot chocolate Savoy, which was out of this world delicious
Dark, thick, and rich beyond my imagination
Beef tartare
#4 was much better than the one at Lokal (Lokal's version tasted like a Big Mac)
And a perfectly fried and juicy chicken schnitzel
For dessert, I opted for a traditional Czech pastry, vetrnik, which has vanilla cream, caramel-flavored whipped cream, and a caramel glaze. As my mind was blown eating it, I did a quick search and it turned out the taste of Prague tours had some self-proclaimed connoisseurs rate 14 different version in Prague, and the Cafe Savoy version came out on the top spot. Trust me, it is way more enticing than it looks
The sacher torte style cake was meh, at least compared to Vienna's offerings
By the time we were done, the sun was setting. It was the perfect time to grab some shots, but I didn't have my tripod with me
Some creative use of public surfaces and a lens cap to wedge everything in place did wonders. Slightly different angles of the bridge and Prague Castle below
Now that my hands were freezing, we again head to the Christmas markets to grab some food so we could avoid the room service call late at night. Some more sausage served us well
That closes out Christmas day and brings us to our last full day in Prague. Once we got up and dressed, first order of business was Nase Maso, a well known butcher shop that also serves up meat for consumption. It was about a 10 minute walk with some new sights
Menu
Standing area to eat outside since the shop is relatively small. For our morning meat overload, I went with beef tartare (duh), a selection of sausages, and the house meatloaf. The meatloaf sold is the victor of a friendly competition between the butchers at the shop, which surprisingly, the head butcher did not win
An alleyway
Where we once again find ourselves passing through Old Town Square
City Hall building was closed (we weren't able to ride the special rotating elevator inside)
Another market nearby
Some apple cider to warm up
It was then back to the hotel to start packing. My wife's cousin and husband were traveling with their family friends and we ended up meeting for dinner at an Italian restaurant. The pasta was freshly made, and I had my last beef tartare (#6) of the trip
The tiramisu was to die for!
And that concludes our chapter in Prague
Next up: a low cost carrier, and a a short stay in London