Just Married: Life in Europe: Parents, Prague, Perfect

While my parents were here visiting, we pondered one night what should we do the next day. Since they wanted to see as much as possible while they were in Europe, we decided to do the only logical thing: drive to another country, have some beer, and see some beautiful Christmas sights. Not the typical response, but nonetheless, this was exactly what we did. One of the many benefits of living in Europe is another country is just hours away.

So we made the drive across the Germany/Czech border to Prague. We stopped right when we crossed the border to get a vignette, which is a sticker we placed on our windshield as a highway toll. Several friends warned us that without this we could be paying a hefty euro ticket, so we decided to shell out the toll and get a vignette to be safe. Plus, Czech police aren't ones to be messed with.

Once we made it into Prague we checked into our hotel and exchanged our euros into koruna or crown. We felt like high rollers with those 100 and 500 bills since Czech has such high inflation. While we were exchanging money my dad found a pamphlet for a Czech beer tour, and since beer is what the country is pretty much known for, we thought that was a good idea. To pass the time until the tour we decided to visit the Christmas market that was still going on in the city.

We thought the Christmas market was within walking distance of our hotel, so we ventured out and happened upon this lovely church.

Attempt #1 at finding the Christmas market

It turns out this was not the church we were looking for. It was still really pretty and did have a Christmas tree in front of it, but we all thought there was something not quite market-ish about it. So we ventured on the metro in search of the real Christmas market.

Attempt #2 = success! Old Town Square Church

Here we found a much larger Christmas tree and actual stalls for the market.

Closest to furthest away: strangers, market stall, giant Christmas tree, Old Town Square Church

Once we actually found the market we decided to eat at a cute little restaurant in the town square. We sat in basement, which had a sweet stone wall and felt quite cozy and European.

My dad and my husband :)

Me and my mom

After dinner we headed to the Astronomical Clock, which is the oldest astronomical clock still working to date (it was built in 1410). On the hour a live trumpeter played a neat little tune. I'm not sure if this was just for Christmas time or if it happens all the time, but it was pretty cool.

Closeup of the Astronomical Clock

Astronomical Clock and Old Town Square Church

Justin, clock, church

The beer tour still wasn't ready to commence, so we wandered the Christmas market. The darker the sky became, the prettier the market became.

Justin, me, and my mom in front of a hand carved nativity scene

Justin, me, and my dad in front of a giant advent wreath

Almost so beautiful it can't be real, right?

Alas, it was finally beer time! If you know my dad, then you know he was rejoicing. The tour was awesome. We went to 2 Czech breweries and finished at a pub. The beer was so delicious and fresh. We learned a lot about the Czech people and their consumption of beer while on the tour. For example, the pubs have beer brought to them in the semi trucks like the ones used in America to haul gasoline. Czech also has the highest beer consumption per capita in the world, averaging to 1 beer per inhabitant per day. Needless to say, we drank excellent beer and have proof of our earnings and "learnings."

Brewery #1

Last pub

Beer Diplomas

The next day we headed to Charles Bridge. It was a bit windy, but it was a beautiful bridge. Plus, we had a great view of the Prague Castle from the bridge.

On Charles Bridge

Prague Castle in the background

Once we crossed the bridge we found a great restaurant for lunch that was right on the water. Of course we ate inside, sitting in the comfort of space heaters and complementary blankets. The food was delicious and it was an amazing view.

Charles Bridge in the background

Before leaving Prague we happened upon a few more things of interest. First, was this "risque" nativity, and second, was an awesome Shakespeare bookstore (love love love). Though Prague had a very eastern European feel, it was a great city to spend a few days in.