A Weekend in Prague

by lisa | 21 November 2012 17:00

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Last weekend we took a quick trip to Prague to meet up with my husband’s sister and her family. We got there Friday evening and had to leave again Sunday afternoon so we crammed in as much as we could during our short stay. I had never been to Prague before, but I knew that the fabulous Melissa Joulwan, author of the killer cookbook Well Fed, was a big Prague fan and had been several times before. I e-mailed Melissa to see if she had any tips and she was so helpful! She gave me loads of ideas for what to do and where to eat. I definitely need to go again so I can fit it all in. Do yourself a favor and check out Melissa’s blog and cookbook.

My sister-in-law and her husband are not paleo. Unless you count the time my brother-in-law hunted down a wild pig, shot it, dragged it home, strung it up from a tree in his backyard, butchered it right there and then slow-roasted it for a neighborhood party. That was pretty paleo. And maybe illegal? Or maybe not…they do, after all, live in Georgia! They had a lot of questions about our paleo lifestyle and  they watched with amusement as we passed on the bread and dumplings. Pretty sure they think we are crazy.

The best thing I ate during the entire trip was a big hunk of ham that was slow roasting over an open fire in the main city square. It was so tender and so juicy.  We ate a couple of kilos between the four of us. I know pork may not be the best choice when eating out, but this was just worth it.

Prague is a total fairy-tale city. Having lived in Europe for a long time now, I expected it to be just like many of the other cities I’ve visited. I’ve grown accustomed to the beauty and it no longer “wows” me like it did when I first started traveling. I take it all back though. Prague is special. The pedestrian no-car zone is really big so you can amble along without the sound of cars or motorbikes. And the architecture is simply stunning. And pervasive. It’s not just a few cool buildings, it’s a city full. This city is right up there with Rome for me.

My sister-in-law brought along her adorable son to Prague. My nephew is nine. Prague was all about the pigeons for him. My brother-in-law taught him the fine art of “pigeon catching” while we were there. Apparently, the magic number is five. You need to get 5 pigeons around you by feeding them bread (this is where we came in handy…we gave him all of our uneaten bread for pigeon hunting). The pigeons then have one eye on the bread and one eye on their pigeon competition and they forget to keep an eye on you. You can just reach down and pick them up. We decided this skill might come in really handy in a zombie apocalypse.

My nephew also enjoyed a traditional Czech pastry treat called ‘trdelnik’. It’s dough rolled onto a cylinder and then dusted with sugar and spices before being roasted over an open flame. It must have been good because he didn’t use any of it for pigeon hunting.

Our major not-really-paleo splurge was a shared cup of hot chocolate. It could almost qualify as pudding, that’s how thick it was. I don’t know how they make it, but I wouldn’t be surprised if was just a bunch of melted chocolate bars with a splash of cream. The weather was cold and grey and this hot chocolate hit the spot.

The castle was very cool and I’d like to go back again when I have more time so that I can take a tour of the inside. It’s up at the top of a huge never ending stair climb. I am so thankful to Julie for my current level of fitness. Most of the people around us were huffing and puffing.

The Astronomical Clock, built in to one side of the Old Town Hall Tower, dates from the 15th century. There are great views of the city from the top of the tower and the clock is a major gathering point every hour. There is a guy who stands at the top of the tower and plays his trumpet at the top of the hour.

I’ve got quite a thing for cool looking roof lines and take roof shots when we are traveling. Prague had plenty of interesting shots.

So there you have it, a peek into our trip to Prague. I can’t wait to go again! If you enjoyed that little virtual vacation, you might also enjoy reading about our recent trip to Greece here.

 

Source URL: https://swisspaleo.ch/a-weekend-in-prague/

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