Prague: Part 3 - Day 2 Afternoon: Christmas market, Old Town, Charles Bridge, Mint

Day 2 (Afternoon)
Here is a summary of what is spent on Day 2 Afternoon.

4/1 Day 2 Afternoon: Kutna Hora --> train back to Prague --> Christmas market --> Old Town --> Charles Bridge --> Dinner at Mint --> back to hotel.

Optional Costs

(A) Food

(1) 2 bowls of potato dumpling at Christmas market CZK249 - Potato dumplings with spinach CZK129, Potato dumplings with pork CZK119
(2) Coffee latte medium a Costa Cafe CZK85
(3) Beer and chocolate CZK400 - Honey flavour beer 0.3 litres CZK68, Flying Cloud IPA 0.5litres CZK93, hot chocolate CZK75, APA Premium Pale Ale 0.5 litres CZK105, tips CZK26, 10% service tax.
(4) Dinner at Mint CZK1095 - Knee on piglet and mashed potatoes CZK395, carp with horse radish and cold potatoes CZK345, dessert snowball flake with apple jam CZK165, kofolo CZK35, red beer CZK55, tips CZK100
(5) Banana and kofola at Albert CZK30
(6) Doughnut CZK60
(7) 2 water bottles 1.5 litres CZK18

The Story

04012020 Afternoon: We arrived back at Prague station at 1.50pm and took a walk to town to visit the Christmas market. We were keen to eat the potato dumplings!

There are 2 Christmas markets that are opposite the National Museum.

How are the sausages so gigantic in Prague but tiny in Sweden?

The potato dumplings or potatoes that costs CZK49 per 100g. We did not take the potatoes because we know how potatoes taste like. So, we got the potato dumplings with spinach and ham. I could not distinguish the taste but they were enjoyable to eat as they are warm to the mouth.

Evidence of me in Prague!

We walked to Old Town and saw a large crowd here and an even bigger Christmas market! We saw the famous astrological clock tower but did not go in. Every hour, when the clock strikes, the windows on the tower open and one can see 12 apostles moving past the window. Legend says that if the clock tower stops, the whole of Prague falls. 

Yes, you guessed it right that I went up those steps and took a photo of the Christmas tree with the historical building. If my memory serves me right, it is a church. Lots of tourists took a photo at the spot too.

Then, we made our way to the iconic Charles Bridge where there were a throng of people on the bridge! It was impossible to take any photos without any people unless you are there early in the morning.

Charles Bridge is a historic bridge that crosses the Vltava river in Prague, Czech Republic. Its construction started in 1357 under the auspices of King Charles IV, and finished in the beginning of the 15th century. The bridge replaced the old Judith Bridge built 1158–1172 that had been badly damaged by a flood in 1342. This new bridge was originally called Stone Bridge (Kamenný most) or Prague Bridge (Pražský most) but has been "Charles Bridge" since 1870. As the only means of crossing the river Vltava (Moldau) until 1841, Charles Bridge was the most important connection between Prague Castle and the city's Old Town and adjacent areas. This "solid-land" connection made Prague important as a trade route between Eastern and Western Europe. Source from Wikipedia.

Oh, I have not mentioned yet that on the streets of Prague, it is so common to see 'market' shops that sell cannabis. We even came across a man injecting drugs into his arm in a park that is opposite the train station. I was freaked out by that and we hurried to the train station.

We stopped for beer at Beer Story. What is a travel in Prague if one does not sample the beer? I tried one alcohol-free beer and thought it was bitter for me, and decided to order chocolate instead. The chocolate is delicious and it was not sweet either.

For dinner, we went in to a random restaurant that was in Old Town called Mint. We did not make any reservations but we were lucky to get seats. Maybe because it was 530pm. I had carp which was unexpectedly good. Apparently, Czech has a fish farm, which I suspect, is to cater to the lack of fish in the country. I had the local carbonated drink, kofola, which has a strong taste of cinnamon and cloves, which I really like.

The knee of a pig which is one of the must-try dish here.

Dessert - snowball flake with apple jam. I don't think this is a Czech dessert.

We make our way back to Old Town and saw the Christmas tree lit up. It was magical!

Our mouths could not resist a doughnut when we passed by a bakery. So, that was it - doughnut as the last meal for the day! Plus, we wanted to use up our coins.

Back to the hotel we go.