A strudel a day keeps the doctor away

You know what they say, breakfast is the most important meal of the day.

This is the reason why I didn’t neglect the opportunity to shove tonnes of sugary pastry goodness into my body on every morning I awoke in the Czech capital. I wasn’t just going to live two minutes away from the best freshly made strudel in Prague and not take advantage of it. That would’ve gone against my most closely held principles.

This bakery was a hole-in-the-wall establishment serving only strudel. It lay up the hill, far from the city centre, in a housing estate on the ground floor of a block of flats. The magical parcels of warm fruit dusted with icing sugar were incredibly cheap (less than €2) and forget about slices or portions, get ready for a whole damn strudel delivered straight to your hand. Yep, that’s like 30cm worth of tooth rotting deliciousness. Finally, the man didn’t just bake one flavour, this guy was some sort of strudel making machine. Apple, plum, curd and poppy were his flavours of choice but apple was my diabetes-inducing kryptonite.

The Hostel and the Surrounding Area

Our hostel for the week was Brix hostel, I went in pretty blind because it was where Ollie had booked to stay, so it was all a surprise. It turned out to be a really cool place with a big living room, an even bigger bar, an outdoor area with a ping pong table and seating. The rooms, kitchens and bathrooms were also really clean and well-sized. The most frustrating thing was the walk into the centre but we did eventually realise our part of the city (Žižkov) did have things to do.

Firstly, we explored the National Memorial on Vitkov. This wasn’t in our plans when thinking about Prague beforehand, but when I had been walking around alone I had seen the large monument in the park at the top of a hill. After exploring the centre of Prague in the previous days we went for it. A quick walk through the park took us to the imposing architecture of the National Memorial and out in front of it was the National Monument.

An enormous man riding a horse and wielding a giant mace. I think Stonehenge could learn something from this monument in terms of style. I mean I’m not sure the people who erected the giant stones in the middle of the English countryside around 4000 years ago were too concerned with this aspect of their elaborate burial and healing site, but still, England take notes.

After looking at the monument for a while we went into the National Memorial which was completely empty. It had huge rooms with impressive decor and lots of interesting exhibits about the the Czech Republic’s past. The best bit though was the roof where we could see the whole city while sidestepping a strange abundance of wasps. Whether this was a usual wasp hang out or if they had followed me up there to incite a fury that I save especially for flying insects I’m not sure, but all I can do is advise caution and maybe a small tote back full of hungry blackbirds?

The other main highlight of this neighbourhood was the food. There was a Vietnamese takeaway from which I think I ordered enough to feed at least four people. There were another few chilled restaurants close to the hostel that were reasonably priced and had tasty food. Oh did I mention the strudel place?

Centre of Prague 

A gothic masterpiece of a city centre packed with plenty to see and plenty of tourists.

The major sights of Prague lie close to the river with the most famous, Charles Bridge, surprisingly, above the river. There are many squares and open areas packed with tourists but none quite compare to the intensity of Charles Bridge. Now, I’m not denying that its a nice bridge, maybe even a very nice bridge, but the quantity of tourists on it day and night makes it a little bit of a nightmare.

We walked across the river many times to go to the often less busy parts of the city, but in reality anywhere off the main tourist roads and squares are much better. Over the river and up the hill is the complex which includes the residence of the president of the Czech republic and St Vitus Cathedral both of which were interesting but we mostly enjoyed the views of the city.

Note: If you want a real cathedral then Salisbury, UK is the place 

Another interesting place was an amazing library within an old monastery, the rooms were intricate and beautiful. However, it was tarnished slightly by the fact you had to pay to take photos and weren’t allowed into the rooms without paying even more.

Final thoughts

The beer is cheap, tasty and in great quantities.

The food is brilliant. (Try the Goulash served in a bread bowl, I had it twice and both times the bread was fresh, the beef was tender and I was a happy man).

Prague is an amazing city that I would love to visit again, but like everywhere, i think it’s important to get off the beaten tourist track and find somewhere to have more of a unique experience for yourself.