St. Mikulas Night in Prague

Lighted angel in old town Prague 2011

As older expats with all of our family back in the US we miss sharing Christmas with children.  So when ever we can we join in the family fun where ever we are living.  We are still young at heart after all.

 

 

 

In Prague and many other parts of Europe.  Dec 5th is naughty or nice night for younger three characters of Mikulas night, Prague children.  (Of course you can imagine the fun the adults have with the theme in the night clubs.) Karin and I headed for the center of it all, Old Town Square, as soon as it got  dark.  For once it seemed local families out numbered the tourists.  The square was as beautiful and exciting as always but since this was our second time for this event we left after only one mulled wine each.

Bishop in Jiri z Podebad square, Prague, MikulasIt was early yet so we decided to check out our local square.  It
definitely has a more home town feel.  I can’t do justice to the atmosphere in either square so I will highlight another of Karin’s evocative photo journals.
She makes an entertaining story of it all.

Click the cake!

Mikulas in Prague
St. Mikulas Night in Prague

 

 

Christmas Memories 2009

Last year, Michael and I spent our second Christmas in Prague.  Our first stay the year before was only a brief visit of 10 days whereas our second time was much longer — November through February.

Because we settled in, we decided to decorate our apartment for the holidays.  Of course it was on the cheap because we would not be taking anything back home with us due to luggage limitations.  We really did have fun going to the supermarkets and buying little things.  We visited Albert and Marks and Spencer for most of the decorations. 

streamers in our kitchen for Christmas

Streamers in the kitchen..

Christmas Table Cloth and star candle

Christmas tablecloth and star candle . . .

Xmas Decoration Michael's Stocking in Prague

Michael’s Christmas stocking goes with us every Christmas . . .

Our Christmas window lights in Prague

Two strands of lights . . .one in the living room, one in the bedroom.

 

Xmas Decoration Honeycomb Candle from Prague Christmas market

A beeswax candle purchased at one of the Street Markets . . .

Christmas card display on antique in Prague

And we so appreciated the cards from friends . . .

A local supermarket called Albert gave out a monthly magazine with recipes.  I challenged myself to decoding them by using Google Translator so that our holiday season would be not only filled with decorations, but some traditional Czech foods as well.

Karin in kitchen cooking for Christmas, computer recipe

Where to eat on Christmas Day was a fairly large decision.  We remembered enjoying a delicious steak in Old Town the year before but the restaurant was no longer there.  So after going back and forth between this and that, we settled for dinner at the Indian Jewel located in Ungeldt Square.  It turned out to be an excellent choice!

Indian Jewel for Christmas dinner, Prague

 

 

And we are not too old to appreciate that Old Saint Nick (Santa Claus) visited us and left a few wee gifts, although we did think that just being in Prague was gift enough!

We are now talking about spending even a longer time in Prague next year, so we are definitely looking forward to another Christmas in the Czech Republic in 2011.

And this year our wish to all is a VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Coffee, Desserts and Hospodas

Michael and I spent most of December exploring.  This meant many days of walking.  Now I enjoy long walks and liken myself to a beagle dog.  Does that need explaining?  Well, a beagle is often found walking with it’s nose to the ground, sniffing some exciting smell and ending up miles from where it started.  So, I am a like a beagle, always wondering what is around the next corner.  Michael is definitely not a beagle!  However he became this beagle’s best friend–but ONLY if I promised he could rest ever so often at a coffee shop and/or have lunch out in a restaurant.  That sounded ok to me!

On one of our walks we discovered a delightful coffee shop (that reminded us of the ones we frequented when we lived in the States.)  It was called Coffee Heaven.

Every time we went grocery shopping at the Flora Mall in Vinohrady, we made a bee-line straight for Coffee Heaven.  I was hooked on their java and and  chocolate cupcakes.  The girls there were very friendly and helpful as I attempted to order in Czech and they attempted to answer in English!

Then we discovered another Coffee Heaven near Old Town.  I loved the atmosphere there, particularly upstairs.

 

Yours Truly . . . enjoying a hot coffee after a cold walk around Old Town.

Historical ceiling in Costa Coffee old town Prague

 

Such a beautiful ceiling. View of Christmas looking out window of Coffe Heaven (Costa) Prague

 

I enjoyed sitting by the window and watching the people below.  Christmas was only a few days away and everything was very festive in the streets with Christmas trees lit up in many squares.  The outdoor Christmas Markets (for which Prague is famous) were very busy.  Here one can buy a variety of interesting gift items as well as hot spiced wine and delicious sausages served in bread!  (Yes, we definitely tried both of those —  more than once!)

On one walk, we stumbled across The Globe Bookstore and enjoyed a delicious coffee there as well.  We love the combination of coffee and books.  They go together so well — and seem to appeal to people who also like to have long quiet conversations.  We intended to go to some of their events such as live music, movies, book readings, but we never seemed to get there.  Next time!Globe restaurant Prague

 

I could go on and on with lots of pictures of fabulous desserts we ate, our great lunches in the Hospodas (a bit like a bar but with food) in the neighborhoods we explored.  But I won’t at this time. Just suffice it to say that you definitely won’t go hungry and if you like beer you won’t go dry (Czech beer is very affordable AND wonderful!)  I am not a beer drinker, but when in Prague I seem to drink an awful lot of Pilsner Urquell!  Cheers!  Na Zdravu!

Update:  Coffee Heaven has been bought out by Costa Coffee.

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