Czeching in for Christmas
Well, it was Christmas a few months ago. We decided to rent an airbnb apartment for a few days so I could do some cooking and we could relax in our own space. We arrived at the apartment in Prague and were stunned. It was so big, the kitchen was huge and well equipped and it was so nice and warm. Even better was our lovely host, Romana, who had put up some Christmas decorations and brought over a huge array of sweet treats that she’d baked. All that certainly put us in the holiday mood!
I really want to say that we went out and explored Prague to its full potential, but that would be lying. We did go into the city and walk around rather a lot, but since it was Christmas time, many things were shut. That said, the Christmas markets in the main square were stunning, and Prague itself is very deserving of its reputation. One regret I have (this is a regret that applies to the whole trip, and the list of regrets is really small), is not having any of the roasted ham being sold at the markets. I was just never hungry enough for it! But the sun was shining, my bow game was strong, and we had a few glorious boozy days in a spacious warm apartment making the most of a fully equipped kitchen.
Since we were in Europe and it being winter and all, one would expect snow. But sadly, no. It was freezing, but aside from a light spattering here and there, we did not have a white Christmas. As Odin said, ‘never mind, we only had a year to plan where we were going to have our white Christmas!’. The snow began a few days after Christmas when we arrived in Brno, a sweet little place between Prague and Bratislava. I quickly realised that Odin would NEVER miss an opportunity to attack me with a snowball, so this became a fairly familiar sight for me.
We stayed in a really cool little place a slight walk out of town, but just near the brewery. We ate (and drank) at the brewery a few times as the food was superb. I had a sous vide pork the first night and 12 hour ribs the next night, both were phenomenal! I remember the bill on the first night being 18 euros, which included a shared entree, two mains, and two drinks each. Not bad!
There is a gorgeous castle in Brno just atop the hill. We walked up there one morning, with a few stops for snow stomping (me), snow throwing (Odin), and playground playing (Odin).
We were feeling nice and warm by the time we made it to the top of the hill but decided to pop into the little cafe up the top for a coffee. When I saw the menu, all coffee orientated thoughts quickly vanished. Fresh pear juice, pear brandy, and spice, served hot. How could I possibly say no?! I didn’t, and I had two. We also shared some homemade patê and fresh bread as a snack. This little spot was an obviously favourite for a quick lunch, as the man-woman team working did a swift turnover whilst we sat there. Odin and I also played a game of chess, which I won (I don’t actually remember who won, but it was probably me). After that nice interlude we went back outside and promptly decided it was simply far too cold to be outside any longer so we began to wend our way home. We stopped on the way to get a certain someone a burger, which ended up being the size of his head. All in all, we had a lovely Christmas, punctuated only by short bouts of homesickness, and we thoroughly enjoyed our time in the Czech Republic.
