Christmas time in Prague!

Christmas Market in Wenceslas Square
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After returning from Vienna, I was catching up on sleep all week. Friday came very quickly. That day was very busy. Natalie and I had to stop at Mezibranska to turn in our November time cards. From there, we had to speed on over to Barrandov which is two different metros and 8 bus stops away from where we were. Luckily we made it there in time to get our money for working the month of October. That was officially my first real paycheck since I have been here. Man, did I feel rich. Now only if that total was in American dollars, then I would be extremely happy! On that night, Kari and I went to the American café called “The Globe.” There we enjoyed happy hour of 50% off all drinks. We were feeling good after a couple of glasses of wine. We picked up Natalie to get a yummy gyro from down the street and came back to our flat to enjoy the food and watch a movie. The rest of the night was just relaxing, girl time. After most turned in for the night, I stayed up and talked on the phone. Got good reception for once so talked to mom for an hour and then called my aunt. Man, was she excited to hear from me. Must have been a long time too, cause she didn’t even recognize my voice.

Popular bread with cinnamon and sugar- Trdelnik
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Slept in Saturday, of course. Didn’t get to bed that morning until 6. Couldn’t believe it, but I had a hard time falling asleep. In late afternoon, Kari, Natalie, and I decided to brave out the Prague Christmas Markets. Big mistake. Apparently everyone else in Prague, their extended family, all the Austrians, Germans, and Slovakians decided to visit as well. I felt like Oktoberfest all over again, just a little less scary… people weren’t as pushy. So quickly we decided we had had enough and decided to get some yummy Czech cuisine. We found a cute Czech restaurant that was very cheap near our house. The atmosphere inside was very bright and open. The service was amazing as well, some of the best in Prague. I got the gulas s knedlik (beef goulash with dumplings) . Very yum. Afterwards, Natalie and I headed to Tesco (our local supermarket) and got some apple wine. It is a 1.5L bottle for around 28 crowns (roughly $2) We sat around played some cards, drank some wine, and sang our hearts away to Christmas music. It was glorious. We were apparently so into it, our voices rang throughout our apartment building. Our neighbor from upstairs, Jenny, came down to see what was going on. We later got her to join in our singing fun!

The crowds heading to Old Town Square Christmas Market
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Later that night, we headed out to an expat bar called Blind Eye. There we sat around and mingled with other expats, Natalie played some foosball, and later we ended up on the dance floor before heading home. Over all, a good night. We need to start getting out more.

Sunday was a day of rest. I did a little Christmas shopping and price comparison. Ended my day with buying my weekly groceries. It is tough grocery shopping a week at a time here cause you have to walk over a half a mile home with what you buy. I miss having my car for that reason. I used to think 100 meters was far, not any more.

Prague Christmas Tree and Tyn Church
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Today we headed back to the Christmas Markets to find them a lot less crowded. It was nice. I bought some more presents for family back home (this is why I love the holiday season… buying gifts, I just can’t stop!). We also enjoyed a weird food item, called a Langose. It was like fried bread with garlic butter, fresh ketchup, and cheese. Sounded interesting to us so we decided to try it. Was actually quite good to try, but don’t really see me going back for another any time soon.

Tomorrow is St. Mikolas day here. Apparently all over the Christmas markets, people dress up either as the devil, an angel or St. Nicholas. My friend Kari and I plan to check out this celebration. It should be interesting. Hope everyone is having a great start to their December!