When I was planning my trip to Prague to bring in 2016, I happened across Audrey’s article from @ThatBackPacker depicting a list of 50 things to do in Prague, Czech Republic. We did not have as much time as her and her boyfriend while they were there (only 4 days for us), but it seemed to be the perfect guide to use, for information and a map of ideas while gallivanting the city.
My initial thought was to take Audrey’s list and make a scavenger hunt out of it, but I decided it would be fun to experience the city with the whole group in tow, so instead the morning after we arrived, we set out together to see what all we could get into.
Below are all the things we were able to do and I added a few extras at the bottom that added to the experience. Thanks Audrey for your inspiration, your post was wonderful and very helpful to us as we blindly ran the city as crazy tourists 🙂
So what all did these Naval Officer’s get into?
The first night that we arrived, we immediately dove into an authentic Czech meal and headed over to a hookah bar to have a few drinks and relax, we had an early start to the morning and much gallivanting to do.
Which is how we ended up here on New Year’s Eve. On a cold and chilly morning in Prague Czech Republic, just as the morning light hit the town, we were off and ready to see what the city had to offer.
Stopping in for breakfast on one of the main roads, we just took a walk around town. Walking by all of the astute statues, weaving through the streets, looking at sculptures. Crossing the bridge toward Petrin hill, we climbed up the hill to look out over the city. In the chill of the morning, the sun helped to keep us a bit warm but the real key was to keep constant movement in your fingers and toes so they wouldn’t go numb. I even had gloves and thick wool socks. First tip, dress warm when walking around the city in winter.
1. Walk Across the Charles Bridge.
This is a view of Charle’s Bridge from the top of the Petrin tower at the Prague Castle. Charle’s bridge is a pedestrian foot bridge that is famous in Prague. Where artists and merchants peddle their wares as you cross. You can see from up here how packed the bridge is at all times, especially during the holiday’s.
Standing on Charle’s bridge with the other side of the city in the background. One of my favorite photos from the trip.
2. Take a Stroll Around the Old Town Square.
In the Old Town square, the Christmas Markets were set, music was playing, mulled wine was being handed out, Christmas decorations were being sold, and it was a wonderful atmosphere. We’d been walking around Prague all morning and wanted a snack, so we bought some food from the markets. The Old Town is beautiful when it’s decorated for Christmas with a fun and warm atmosphere.
3. Wander Down the Golden Lane.
We didn’t explore the Golden Lane till after dark which isn’t the best for photos of the colorful little shops on the street. There is a small fee you have to pay to walk down the lane during the day. The Golden Lane is located inside the castle grounds and it is said that this is where the Alchemists once lived when they were searching for a concoction to turn things into gold. No alchemists have lived here, but it is an interesting place none the less.
4. Alchemist Mind Maze.
The Alchemist Mind Maze. My first escape room and it was so much fun! If you’ve never done an escape room, I would recommend it. One of the highlights on the trip and the room was full of brilliant minds. When the time started we immediately got to work and within a few minutes I was wearing an outfit that had been hanging on the wall?!?? haha. We escaped the room in 29 minutes without any hints which I think is excellent since we had 60 hours to escape, and this is the first time I’d ever done one. Seriously a must try if you are in any town that has one.
5. Prague Castle.
As we gallivanted around Prague with Audrey’s list of things to do and see, we ended up at the Prague Castle just before noon for the changing of the guard and some exploring. According to the Guinness Book of World Records, Prague Castle is the biggest castle complex in the world, although there are a few disagreements. Guess it doesn’t fully matter unless you hold the title in the book, does it?
6. St. Vitus Cathedral.
Inside the castle grounds is the St. Vitus Cathedral, which competes with many of the churches in Europe in enormity and beauty. The line was long, but it moved quickly. We decided to dip in and take a peek at the main cathedral and the stained glass windows. If you have the time while there, it’s worth it.
7. Trdelnik Desert!
Yumm, Trdelnik are the long spool pastries dipped in sugar and cinnamon. They are delicious and a perfect snack during the holiday’s. So delicious and especially with a hot cider.
8. Visit the Library at the Strahov Monastery.
I love books and libraries and BOOKS, so heading over to the library at the Monastery was a must for me. If you want to stop by to have a look, go before or after the castle, it’s right down the road and also at the top of the hill so you’ll want to list those two together.
A case of butterflies in the main hall.
Books, on Books, ON BOOKS. LOVE. Also another favorite picture from this trip.
9. Walk Down Nový Svět.
To escape the crowds for a little while, cross the Charles bridge heading out of Prague and head upward. At the top of the hill the crowds will thin and you’ll find Nový Svět, a small lane of shops and intricate things in old buildings. Up here we stopped for lunch and went to a restaurant that served foods that had pear as the main focus. It was DELICIOUS.
I sipped on scotch and tried the pear pie and pear tart. They even had pear soup among other things. Unfortunately I don’t know the name of the restaurant but it’s at the beginning of Nový Svět after the intersection as you walk down the road, it will be on your left hand side.
The best food I’ve eaten concerning pears!
10. Watch the Astronomical Clock Strike the Hour.
Of course this photo is a bit blurry, but this is the famous astronomical clock in the Old Town square. On New Year’s day 2016, we stood in the square with a large crowd of people at noon to watch the clock ring the hour, its considered good luck and a good start to the New Year if you watch the clock strike noon on New Year’s Day.
11. Kampa Island.
12. Art Puppetry.
You can find puppets in many of the shops surrounding the Old Town and other cities, wearing all kinds of costumes.
13. Dancing House.
The Dancing house, designed to look like a man and a woman dancing, and it does!
Source: Jackie
Jackie & John headed into the Dancing House for drinks and found some interesting Vogue covers. hehe.
14. Climb Petrin Hill.
Shoes hanging on a wire at the Metronome monument for Stalin, overlooking Prague. Wonder how they got there? Guess you’ll have to go to find out.
From the top of the hill, you can find plenty of gorgeous views of the city. There are paths that you can walk along and see the city of Prague from different angles. If you walk up the steps to the Metronome and take a left you can walk at the top of the hill all the way to the castle.
Sun in the trees. The perfect place to ponder life while sitting on one of these benches overlooking the city.
15. Drank some Pilsner.
Source: Jackie
At one point when you stop for drinks, make sure to sip on a pilsner, it’s refreshing and delicious and worth it.
16. Night time in the City
On New Year’s day as the sun set, we headed back up the hill to the Prague castle, walked passed the Christmas markets set up there and looked for a good spot to watch the fireworks. In the end we ended up across the hill where the Metronome is.
Taylor used blogging and great pictures to coax me to climb up into a giant bowl above the crowds for the fireworks show. It worked, the things I do for blogging…!
Sitting inside of a giant soup bowl made of cement, we introduced ourselves to the other spectators and I looked out of the city. It really was the best seat in the house for the show.
Fireworks display in Prague!
WOW. ooooo. ahhhhhhh.
17. Czech food, Check!
Pig on a spit, yes please, I’ll try some. Food in Prague is similar to Budapest and Poland. It’s perfect during cold weather, a hearty meal to keep meat on your bones so you don’t freeze to death.
18. Clubbing on Karlovy Lazne.
NEW YEAR’S EVE PARTY. Megan and Will did the research for the place and we all met to get ready and go out for dinner. It was a very sparkly affair as you can see.
We arrived early for food and ended up as high up in the city as we could get to count down the new year.
The changing of the guard happens a couple of times a day. If you’re near the castle it’s worth a few moments to stop and watch.
20. Petrin Lookout Tower.
I loved the views from the top of this tower! It’s like I am controlling a drone or something. You have to walk to the top so be ready for a few steps but once up there you can do a full 360 view of the city.
21. Frank Kafka Head.
The Kafka head. It turns very slowly and in all different directions. The perfect thing to try out a time lapse.
22. Vytapno Train Bar.
Choo Choo! The train has arrived at the station, and the cargo is beer. The whole restaurant is a giant train track that sends you your drinks by train. It’s a lot of fun.
The beer just arrived at the station. yay.
We came up with the idea to draw up a few notes to put in the train as it went by for other customer’s some tables down. They were not so amused and reported us to the waiter. Lighten up, geez. You could have at least called the number. 😉
23. Beer Spa, Prague.
It was Ken’s idea for the beer spa, a place where you can sit and relax in a hot bath and drink beer from the tap for an hour. There are 2 locations for the link to the beer spa and if you are interested in also doing the Alchemist mind maze and want to combine the 2, choose the second spa location at Fugnerovo because it is within 10 minutes walking from the Mind Maze. We didn’t plan that, we just got lucky which was pretty cool.
24. Board Games in a Bar.
When we stopped in for a drink at one of the bars while we were out sightseeing they had a shelf of board games so we played a game of Pictionary alongside locals drinking. It let’s you really fit in with the city and was quite a bit of fun.
Source: Jackie
25. Hit Up the Sex Museum.
This is not part of the sex museum but it seems appropriate for this topic. Will had seen this sign the first time he’d been to Prague and I happened to be with him when he saw it again and remembered. I felt a picture was in order. haha.
Haha, if you hadn’t thought about this one, you should. There’s all kinds of interesting facts that you should learn.
It’s exactly what you are thinking, a chastity belt. Does this make you think of Mad Max: Fury Road anyone?
Ha! a vacuum cleaner that comes with a set of attachments for your pleasure. That’s what the house wives used to have to use back in the day when they weren’t allowed to work in the workforce.
So you have a picture on the ready while you are doing your think. I mean who can resist that mustache?
Apparently little boy’s wet dreams used to be a bad thing and there was an alarming system designed so that the parents could be alerted and stop these unclean dreams while their son was growing up. haha.
Steam powered. No kidding!
25. Maze of Mirrors
Source: Jackie
This is so cool! Jackie and John checked out the maze of mirrors and this picture is stunningly beautiful and awesome.
27. Prague Art.
You can find art everywhere in Prague, street art, sculptures, monuments. I found this upside down horse when I was actually stopping in a cafe but I realized that the hallway kept going and it led me to this room. Interesting and cool at the same time.
28. Underground Bunker, Communism Tour.
While I went to meet up with a friend everyone else embarked on the communist tour and for the majority of the tour you get to walk through one of the underground bunkers that were used to store weapons and ammo. Looks like you get to dress up in old clothing and hold the guns, which is really cool!
Source: Jackie
Kyle sent me a picture that had the Gears of War Logo on the floor in the bunker. Apparently they had one of the game launch parties down in this bunker. How cool would that have been! I don’t have the photo otherwise I would have posted it.
My favorite bunker photo. John “Crazy eyes” pulling the pin on a grenade with his teeth. EPIC.
29. Meet up with a Travel Blogging Friend from TBEX!
Jules, from The YaYa Project, whom I met in Greece during a travel blogging conference was also passing through town and I had dinner with her and we caught up since the last time we hung out. What a world this is!
30. Just have a good time!
Prague’s a truly amazing place, full of history, old buildings, sculptures, so many great things. I am so happy that Megan thought that bringing in the New Year here would be a good idea. Alright 2016, now it’s your turn to show me what you have to offer.
Thanks again @ThatBackpacker for giving us the guidance we needed to take on the city.
This article appeared first on The Cassey Excursion.
2 Comments
Looks like you had a fun time in Prague! mindmaze is really good i tried it too
Yes, the mind maze was a lot of fun! I had a really great time in Prague. It was one of my last few trips before I moved back to the states and where we brought in the New Year, so it will always have a special place in my heart.
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