Eastern Europe Part 2: Czech Republic 🇨🇿

*Day 3-5: Nuremberg 🇩🇪 > Karlovy Vary 🇨🇿 > Prague 🇨🇿 > Cesky Krumlov 🇨🇿 > Bratislava 🇸🇰*

Day 3
Travelled from Germany (Nuremberg) to Czech Republic the day before
Czech Republic: Karlovy Vary, Prague
Hotel: Hotel Duo (4*)

*Karlovy Vary, 11.30am: Christmas market! Reached after a semi-long bus ride from Nuremberg, Germany.*

*Karlovy Vary: First Trdelník (chimney cake) of many from a random stall. It wasn’t as warm and toasty as I’d like it to be.*

*Karlovy Vary: One of the bathhouses in the spa town.*

*Karlovy Vary: Shopping centers – our safe haven from the 2°c weather.*

*Karlovy Vary, 1.30pm: Lunch in a random café. Criteria: authentic Czech cuisine.*

*Karlovy Vary: The Old Bohemian Farmers Plate – roasted duck leg, lamb shank, 1/2 pork shank, sausage, pork ribs, served with vegetables and variation of dumplings.*

Meant for 2 but 4 of us barely got by finishing it. Turns out their dumplings is actually NOT like the dumplings you’d expect with fillings inside but rather they are bread made with flour, yeast, egg, salt and milk. I did not fancy the dumplings.

I do LOVE their red cabbage though!! It had a tint of sourness to it which I love and it was so delicious.

*Karlovy Vary, 2.34pm: TIme for dessert!*

*Karlovy Vary: 2nd Trdelník of the day! This time it came with ice cream 😋 I love it!*

*Prague, 7.15pm: Coach ride from Karlovy Vary to Prague to stay for 2 nights.*

*Prague: Dinner at 6.30pm, at a Chinese restaurant……………………*

*Prague: Ate at Cinska Restaurant. Food was alright. Just not pleased that it was Chinese 😕*

*Hotel Duo, Prague: Accommodation for 2 nights. Room was decent, I had a comfortable stay. It felt like it was suited more for businessmen.*

Day 4
Czech Republic: Prague
Hotel: Hotel Duo (4*)

Prague, 6.50am: Cakes for breakfast?! Yes, please! But don’t be fooled. It wasn’t as nice as I expected. A lot of them were dry. Is that how the Czechs like their cakes?

Meats & cheese.

EGGGGGGS. Glorious eggs! & sausages.

Croissants!!! I remember the best croissant I ever had wasn’t in Paris, but rather on a plane on the way to Paris.

*Prague, 9.45am: Entering the grounds of Prague Castle. First stop of a walking tour to monumental spots such as St. Vitus Cathedral, Charles Bridge, the Astronomical Clock and Old Town Square.*

*9.52am: The exterior of St. Vitus Cathedral – a 2-min walk from Prague Castle.*

*Prague: Inside St. Vitus Cathedral. Pictures don’t do its grand architecture justice. Well, my pictures rather.*

*Prague: A rare shot without swarms of tourists.*

*Prague: Stunning architecture of St. Vitus Cathedral.*

*Prague: Continuing the scenic walking tour to Charles Bridge.*

*Prague, 12.12pm: On Charles Bridge, en route to Old Town Square.*

*Prague, Old Town Square: Hordes of people (mostly tourists) waiting for the Astronomical Clock to um, strike.*

*Prague, 12.30pm: Lunch at a local Czech place – Pilsner Urquell Art Restaurant.*

First, soup! It was alright.

Meats + cabbage + dumplings. I don’t really fancy the dumplings and only ate a bite. Such a waste though. A lot of our other tour mates didn’t appreciate it too.

Ending the meal with some rich chocolate ice cream!

*Prague: Free and easy time till re-grouping again at night.*

*Prague: Huge ass mascot. Like really HUGE.*

*Prague, somewhere between Charles Bridge and Old Town Square: More Trdelník!!!*

*Prague, 6.22pm: We walked past this store earlier in the morning and I HAD to go back cause I needed to eat the mac and cheese! This was 149Kč (~SGD8.80) I think. Pretty pricey for the size!*

Prague: The mac and cheese was a smaller size than all the other sweet Trdelníks. I found it to be a tad too salty and wish they have more pasta. I liked the flavour of the pastry though! There was a slight spiced taste to it.

*Prague, 6.28pm: Back to Old Town Square to check out the Christmas market!*

*Prague, 9.02pm: Gathered at Old Town Square to head back to the hotel.*

Day 5
Czech Republic: Prague, Český Krumlov
Slovakia: Bratislava
Hotel: Hotel Bratislava

*Prague, Hotel Duo: Getting ready to check-out and ride to Český Krumlov.*

*Český Krumlov, 11.37am: On the State Castle and Chateau Český Krumlov, overlooking Vitava River. One of the most picturesque towns in Europe.*

*Český Krumlov: Looks like a pretty painted picture.*

*Český Krumlov: Exploring the castle grounds.*

*Český Krumlov: Free and easy time in the quaint little town. More Christmas markets!*

*Český Krumlov: Drinking some Christmas beer. There was nothing Christmassy about it…*

*Český Krumlov: Lots of potatoes and sausages!*

*Český Krumlov: A crispy flat-fried (oily) potato pancake which was really tasty but too oily.*

*Český Krumlov: I love their cabbages so much that I had to eat more although it wasn’t cheap. This was about SGD5++ for a small plate. BUT SO GOOD.*

*Český Krumlov, 2.47pm: Bright blue skies and a beautiful rainbow to bid us goodbye.*

*Český Krumlov: A fuller rainbow. It was drizzling earlier on so this was a nice treat.*

*Český Krumlov: We were up there earlier this morning, overlooking the town and Vitava River.*

*Frauenhofen, Austria, 5.18pm: Gas stop, en route to Bratislava, Slovakia.*

That marks the end of the Czech Republic leg. Next up, our overnight-stopover in Slovakia and our time in Hungary!

View this post on Instagram

Cesky Krumlov's old town, according to a Japanese tourist, is the most beautiful town in the world. #ceskykrumlov #czechrepublic

A post shared by ╸WANDERUST ╸ (@bedforone) on Jan 8, 2019 at 4:26am PST