Prague trip 2012

This is the first post of my blog, and I would like to write about my trip to Prague back in February 2012.
It was my first time travelling with friends, and it was also the first time I travelled to other European country.

Day 1

In February 2012, during a school half term holiday, I went on a trip together with my 3 lovely high school friends, Gloria, Annabelle and Anna. We did lots of research and planning before the trip and we decided to go for 5 days to tour around Prague city centre and also some nearby cities. We chose to stay at Charles Bridge Economics Hostel. (link here: http://www.charlesbridgehostel.cz/)

Our room is actually a 4 people apartment/studio, with TV, free wifi, private shower, kitchen area etc. It is also in a very good location, which is right next to the famous Charles Bridge! We had a great time staying there for our trip, and it only costs just under €15 per person :)

The hostel uses fingerprint scan for security gates and room doors! Not bad right? ;)

  Here are a few shots of our studio room.

Day 2

After having breakfast at McDonald's, we then took less than 45 mins on the metro and a bus to reach our 1st tourist attraction, which is....

the Prague Zoo!

 These are some photos I took in the zoo:

We spent half the day and had some fun in the zoo. But I wouldn't recommend going to the Prague Zoo in February, as the weather was too cold and many animals were hiding in their indoor home! :(

We also had our first proper Czech meal in the zoo.

Traditional potato dumplings

Traditional fried cheese

Day 3

The day began with some touring around the Old Town and taking pictures with the famous tourist attractions, such as the Charles Bridge, Prague Astronomical Clock, Municipal House, Old Town Square etc.

Charles Bridge

Municipal House 

Astronomical Clock

Old Town Square

In the afternoon, we took a 50 mins train journey from the main Prague train station to a small town called Kutna Hora. It was a special experience as the train was very old fashioned. Its almost like the one we see in Harry Potter movies :P It took us 10 mins to walk from Kutna Hora train station to the Bone Church (also called Kostnice Ossuary). It was interesting to see the inner structure and to learn about the history of this church. It's believed that over 40,00 human bones are kept in the church. Some of them were made into decorations such as candle holders.

Kutna Hora train station

Inside the bone church:

At night we returned to the Old Town Square and also visited Wenceslas Square. We did some shopping on souvenirs and had hotdogs in a street food stall.

Astronomical Clock at night

Wenceslas Square

 Day 4

In the morning, we walked to the Prague Castle and saw a very nice view of the Prague city. It was very beautiful as most of the buildings in the city has orange roof top.

The two statues are at the entrance gate of the Castle.

After we entered the castle, we can also visit some parts of the St. Vitus Cathedral for free admission. This cathedral is very famous for its architecture and its interior design. The colorful glass windows are absolutely beautiful. I just think this whole place is a master piece of art! ;)

St. Vitus Cathedral

On our way back into town centre, we were lucky to have discovered a Saturday food market just below the Charles Bridge on Kampa Island. There were lots of food stalls which sells traditional Czech food. We tried a cheese dumpling and a fried vegetable pancake. The food was delicious and something special that I've never tried before.

In the afternoon we took a 2 hours 15 mins bus journey to a town called Karlovy Vary. This town is known for its hot spring water. There are water taps in many places on the street, and they are free for the public to drink. The people in the town believe that drinking the hot spring water can improve health, especially for the stomach.

Karlovy Vary

hot spring water tap

In Karlovy Vary, we visited the famous restaurant which I have done research on. Many tourist go to this restaurant U Svejka (link here: http://www.svejk-kv.cz/en/introductory-page/) for their special Leg of pork. We ordered 2 legs- which was a bit too much for us, as they are quite huge! We also ordered meat of deer, fried cheese, Bilberries pancake and hot cranberries with vanilla ice cream. This meal was super delicious and we were all absolutely full!

Leg of pork

Meat of deer with cranberry sauce

Day 5

On the last day of our trip we just relaxed and walked around the town in the morning. Then we headed to the airport to catch our afternoon flight back home!

Lastly, here is one Prague food which I must share with you! Because its super super super yummy! :P

I don't actually know what is the name of this, but it basically is a sweet bread roll. Remember to buy those that are freshly baked! They are crunchy on the outside and warm and doughy on the inside. You can also choose variations such as Nutella, chocolate filled, cinnamon etc. But for me, the original recipe is already good enough! 

Okay, that's all I've got to say for this trip. Hope you enjoyed your read. I will post more blogs later on about my other trips in the past 2 years :)

Hamelia x