Prague has to be within Europe’s top 3 cities for me.
I think I’d rank Lisbon, Paris and Prague as my favorites, and this
visit back to the Czech capital only confirmed that. I was lucky enough
to know about Prague almost 15 years ago when my oldest brother got
called there on his mission and lived all over the Czech Republic for 2 years!
My family picked him up at the end of his 2 years and explored the entire
country for weeks. It was before the CZ was part of the EU, so it was much
less discovered with hardly any American tourists, and so so cheap. We
completely fell in love with the place and the people, since we were able
to meet and stay with so many darling locals that my brother had known
during his time. Exploring Prague + the smaller charming towns, staying
with locals, eating home-cooked meals and watching my brother speak
the language made it special & personal place to me. You can guess how
exciting it was to be returning with Chase and his family this time.
Below are lots of photos of this magical city…beware of wanderlust!!
^^ The Charles Bridge with my love
Walking the streets into Old Town Square ^^
Behold the Trdelník…the best Czech treat ever. It’s like a cinnamon
roll almond pastry rolled into a cylinder shape over a rotisserie.
We probably had close to 30 between us all in 3 days ;) They
are also known as chimney cakes. Have your first one plain, but
make sure to try nutella-filled and soft serve ice cream-filled!
So many darling markets for trinkets + street food.
This is Wenceslas Square in the newer part of the city.
The local street food was AMAZING. I wanted to eat it for every meal,
which we practically did! These cheesy potatoes were life-changing
and my pregnancy cravings required us to track them down more
than once. I was also so obsessed with the potato dumplings
(especially the spinach kind…) their version of ‘grilled cheese,’
sausages, red + white cabbage, bread, bacon, so much more.
If you order a traditional “Bohemian platter at any restaurant
you’ll be able to try most of these items. Kolkovna is a good one.
What I wouldn’t give for this potato/cheese/sausage/dumplings bowl
again right now!!! So simple, but so delicious. I love good street food.
I also love using other currencies (and claiming blissful ignorance on the
exchange rate ;) No idea how much we spent on nutella chimney cakes!
^^ Handmade wooden toys are the best gift to bring home from Prague!
The puppets are probably more unique, but I loved the slingshots too.
It’s the truth! ^^
We toured + climbed the Old Town Hall in the Square.
It is absolutely a must-do for the views!
Mother-in-law and sis-in-law! Missing Rach! ^^
I could have spent forever up there. It was so peaceful, the weather had warmed up,
and I just wanted to soak in the perfect view forever. We stayed on top almost an hour.
^^ The famed Prague Astronomical clock. We watched it strike the
hour from the outside, then later the inside as we toured through it!
We all got so excited about the rope candies. Why are these so amazing in Europe?
We got a few too many and ate them a little too fast…but don’t regret it :)
What do you know …more trdelniks!
On our final day Chase’s dad ended up with kidney stones in the middle
of the night, :( so everyone was up late and Chase and his mom took him
to the hospital to help them pass. It was a crazy night and we felt so bad!
We took the last day easy since everyone was running on no sleep and we
were sad not to have his dad out exploring with us as we did the castle.
^^ Chase caught this cheesy but cute candid on the walk up to the castle!
^^ Our little fam in Prague!
Chase’s mom told us to kiss, so kiss we did!
Overlooking Prague at dusk is a pretty romantic setting.
Also, Shelley is becoming quite the photographer + snapchatter after this trip ;)
I love this photo with Chase’s darling mom!
I lucked out so much with her ^^
Haha ^^ see what I mean? Her new iPhone 6 has made her a pro
photographer :) Every time we looked around she was getting some cool
angle at a new sight. She got some of our favorite photos every time!
Up by the castle we couldn’t resist a taste of these shish kebabs ^^
^^ Beautiful interior of the Church of Our Lady before Týn + chips on a stick outside ;)
We walked darling Golden Lane where all of the homes are miniature!
the famous nutella-filled version ^^ mouth WATERING!
A few more treats for all of that hill-walking ^^
The views as we walked down from the castle were so stunning ^^
^^ As was the view crossing back over the river.
I LOVE this city even more after this visit.
For anyone visiting (and for anyone who made it to the end of this post…)
here is a quick rundown of favorite activities you can use for your trip!
— Old Town Square: the food, the astronomical clock, the stands, the city hall.
— Climb the Old City Hall for the greatest views.
— Walk along Charles Bridge at sunset…and any time of day!
— Eat street food in the Old Town Square: classics like dumplings, bratwursts and trdelniks (cylindrical pastries!)
— Walk around Prague castle (can be underwhelming to visit inside)
— Stroll down Golden Lane to meander through the dwarf sized houses with cute little souvenir shops.
— St. Vitus Cathedral, one of the prettiest cathedrals to step into.
(After visiting the Cathedral, visit the deer moat just outside of the castle.)
— Stroll through Josefov area, near old town. Antique stores, collectibles, clock stores.
— Unique Prague Dancing House … about a 25 minute stroll from Charles Bridge along the Vltava River.
— Take a cruise along the Vltava River
— Traditional folklore dinner and show
— Vysehrad Castle a little ways down the river
— Shopping in Wenceslas Square
— Ballet at the Prague National Theatre
— Day trip to Cesky Krumlov or Karlovy Vary, the most amazing towns that my brother took us to when we picked him up from his mission!
Děkuji, Prague!
Milujeme tě.
'Prague, CZ!' has 20 comments
March 29, 2016 @ 8:17 am Emily
How beautiful! We just got back from a long Europe trip, but we didn’t go to Prague. I’ll be adding this to our list for next time, that’s for sure! Thanks for sharing your stunning pictures. You have such a cute family!
March 31, 2016 @ 12:27 am emi
Fun! Where did you go this time? Next time Prague for sure! :)
March 29, 2016 @ 8:25 am Laur
So beautiful, wow. I love the rundown at the end and that it seems like a relaxed city to just explore without too many busy attractions.
March 29, 2016 @ 9:11 am Jamie
Looks like an awesome trip! What new camera did you get by the way?
March 31, 2016 @ 12:29 am emi
Hi! I decided on the Canon T6i and love it! We haven’t gotten the nicer lens yet but it’s still great and has wifi so you can send pictures directly from it!
March 29, 2016 @ 10:16 am Lauren
Wow!! What a beautiful city – I love these photos! Looks like such a wonderful adventure!
March 29, 2016 @ 2:40 pm Emma
I would love love love to visit Prague someday. I’m actually of Czech descent so it would be so cool to go visit the land of my ancestors! It looks like you had an absolutely lovely time!
Emma | Seeking the South
March 31, 2016 @ 12:30 am emi
That is amazing!! You definitely have extra reason to visit :) xo
March 29, 2016 @ 3:03 pm Kari
Bruges, Amsterdam, and Prague are next up on my Europe wishlist. This just pushed Prague to the top. What a beautiful city!
Kari
http://www.sweetteasweetie.com
March 31, 2016 @ 12:30 am emi
I highly recommend all 3 of those :) Can’t wait for when you visit them! xoxo
March 30, 2016 @ 8:18 am Leah
The food looks amazing! I was also wondering what camera you decided on, I’m in the market for a new camera myself. :)
March 31, 2016 @ 12:31 am emi
Hi! I decided on the Canon T6i and love it! We haven’t gotten the nicer lens yet but it’s still great and has wifi so you can send pictures directly from it!
March 30, 2016 @ 9:54 am Laura
Ahh, now I want to go to Prague even more! Great photos!
March 30, 2016 @ 3:10 pm Lydia Lienhart
I love the way you are soso interested in the culture & traditions of this country you have visited!
Great post, thanks for sharing your advice ;)
March 30, 2016 @ 5:05 pm Heather
As if I didn’t already have a million reasons to go back to Europe, here’s another big one! Great post! You look incredible :) do you have snapchat? Xx Heather
March 31, 2016 @ 12:32 am emi
I know … I am the same way!! You are so nice. Yes my snapchat is emidunnrigby! xo
March 31, 2016 @ 12:28 am mara
i love all the colors they use on their buildings. makes it such a pretty, bright view!
March 31, 2016 @ 12:32 am emi
Agreed! It is the happiest city!
April 2, 2016 @ 3:28 pm Rachel
My mom and I visited in December and LOVED Prague! It was especially magical at Christmas :) Can’t wait to get back to do even more exploring. There’s never enough time!
April 3, 2016 @ 2:16 pm Suzy
Attention history lovers: Do not miss the Jewish cemetery and memorial and a day trip to Terezin! Even if you aren’t a history lover, these are must-sees!