Prague - 2025

[Mark]

We’re heading to Prague for this year’s Discourse company meetup, and Loretta and I are heading over a week early for a quick vacay.

I’ll drop all my photos here as I process them, but this year, I thought I’d also track my ‘try this’ list.

Every time we’re going to take a trip like this, I like to do a bit of research into foods and drinks I should try (along with some restaurants I should try them at), places to see, and activities to do. This year is no different. So I thought it would be fun to drop my list here so I can check them off as I go.

I’m not a huge list person, so I think of these more like what you’d call guidelines rather than a strict to-do list. But here it is as of now:

Dishes to eat

• Chlebíčky - open faced sandwich
• Goulash - stew w/dumplings
• Grilované klobásy - grilled sausage
• Svíčková na smetaně - pureed veggie cream sauce served w/beef & bread dumplings (knedlíky)
• Raiská omáčka - sweet tomato gravy served w/beef & knedlíky
• Hermelín - a brie-like cheese that’s:
  • marinated (Nakládaný) or,
  • fried (Smažený sýr, or smažák)
• Vepřový řízek - fried pork cutlet (schnitzel)
• Vepřové koleno - pork knee/knuckle
• Vepřo knedlo zelo - roast pork w/ sauerkraut and knedlíky
• Pečená kachna se zelím - Roast duck w/cabbage (…and dumplings…and sauerkraut)
• Vepřové výpečky - a garlicky, roasted pork belly bite often served in pubs
• Dill Sauce
• Kolace - pastry filled with fruit, poppy seeds, or tvaroh fresh cheese.
• Buchty - filled buns (fruit and cheese quite often)
• Trdelník - chimney cake
• Medovník - honey cake
• Míša Řezy - cake of farmers cheese (quark) and chocolate
• Palačinky - Czech pancakes
• Gingerbread (Perníčky) - sliced cake or cookies
  • Pardubice is famous for it. Try it @ Perníčkův Sen
• Kynuté ovocné knedlíky - fruit dumplings @ CAFÉ SAVOY
• Becherovka - herbal bitter made of ginger, herbs and spices. Try a ‘Beton’…which translates as ‘concrete’…Becherovka and tonic with slice of lemon
• Břevnovský Benedict - any of the beers made at the Břevnov brewery

Restaurants/Pubs/Bars to visit

• Pult - pub rec from Maisie - map
• Dva Kohouti - brewery/taproom rec from Maisie - map
• (A)void Cafe - cafe rec from Maisie - map
• Lokal - auth Czech style cooking & pub food - map
• Naše Maso - butcher-restaurant - map
• Kro Kitchen - map
• Mincova - ‘remarkable svitcova’ - map
• Pivovar - map
• Kavárna co Hledá Jméno - map
• Créme de la Créme - ice cream - map
• Taro (TimeOut) - Vietnamese - map
• Cafefin (TO) - map
• Kantyna - Mon-Wed ‘waste no part of the animal’ dinner - map
• Špejle (TO) - Czech tapas/skewers - map
• Výstavka - map
• Mlýnec - map
• Výčep - € - map
• QQ Asian Kitchen - € - map
• Grand Cru - €€ - map
• The Eatery - €€ - (Bib Gourmand) - map
• Na Kopci - €€ - (BG) - map
• Dejvická 34 by Tomáš Černý - €€ (BG) - map
• V Zátiši - €€€ - map
• Bockem - €€€ - map
• Field - Michelin - go for lunch? - €€€€ - map
• La Degustation Bohême Bourgeoise - - €€€€ - map

Things to do/see

• Vltava River
• Hradčany - c9th Century
  • Prague Castle
  • Strahov Monastery - book - map
  • Loreta
  • St Vitus Cathedral - book - map
  • Lobkowicz Palace - book - map
  • Sternbersky Palace (The National Gallery) - book - map
  • Pivovar Strahov - monastery brewery - map
  • St George’s Basilica and Convent - oldest surviving church in Prague castle - map
• Letná
  • Letná Park - map
• Vyšehrad - c11th century
  • Vyšehrad Castle - map
  • Saints Peter and Paul Basilica - map
• Nové Město - New Town c1348
  • Wenceslas Square
  • Mucha Museum and Municipal House Tour - map
  • The National Museum
  • The National Theatre
    • The State Opera
    • Estates Theatre - Don Giovanni premiered here in 1787
  • The Dancing House - Frank Gehry - map
  • K - David Černý sculpture - map
  • Lucerna Palace - entertainment/shopping catch a movie here
    • St. Wenceslas - DČ sculpture
• Staré Město - Old Town
  • Prague Orlog - astronomical clock - map
  • Jan Hus monument - map
  • Klementinum - astronomical tower and Baroque library - map - book
    • Mirror Chapel concert hall - book
  • Clam-Gallas Palace - map - book
  • Church of St. Salvator - map
  • Quo Vadis (Trabant) - David Černý sculpture -
  • Man Hanging Out - David Černý sculpture - map
  • Butterfly Effect - DČ sculpture - map
  • Vera - DC sculpture - map
  • Streams - DČ sculpture - map
  • H-A-V-E-L - DČ sculpture sculpture - map
  • Three Graces - DČ sculpture - map
• Josefov
  • Old Town/Jewish Quarter 2hr walking tour - book
  • Old - New Synagogue
• Malá Strana - Lesser Town c1257 - S of the castle
  • Petřín Hill & Lookout tower
  • Charles Bridge
• Manifesto Market - made of shipping containers
• St. Adalbert/Břevnov Monastery and Brewery - est. 993 - map
  • Klášterní šenk - monastery tavern
• Meat - DČ sculpture
• Babies - DČ Sculpture
• Folk dancing - Folklore Garden
• Náplavka Farmers Market

Possible day trips

• Kutna Hora ~ 1hr by train
  • Church of St. Barbara
  • Sedlec Ossuary (bone church)
• Karlštejn Castle ~ 40 min train ride
  • 14th c royal residence of King Charles IV.
• Plzeň - ~50 min train ride SE of Prague - map
• Karlovy Vary
  • 3hr train ride west
  • Spas (Elizabeth Spa)
  • Jan Becher museum
  • Grand Hotel Pupp
• Liberec - 1hr bus ride?
  • “Take a cable car ride up to Ještěd, a former radio tower turned restaurant and hotel that sits atop the surrounding mountain range. On a clear day, you can see Poland, Germany, and the Czech Republic from this viewpoint.”
• Český Krumlov ~2.5 hrs S by train
• České Švýcarsko (Bohemian Switzerland National Pak) ~ 2hrs by train
• Opatov - 2hrs E of Prague by car - map

Souvenir ideas (?)

• Kovap Mechanical toys
• Bohemian Glass - took a tour of Rückl Glassworks and got to make a vase!
• Garnet Jewelry
• Wooden toys
• Botanicus - organic cosmetics, soaps, oils, candles, honey, and tees (near Old Town Square) - map
• Oplatky (aka Spa wafers) - Sweet round wafers, (like opłatek), flavored with cinnamon, hazelnut, or chocolate, are typical in Karlovy Vary and Mariánské Lázně.
• Deelive - design store - map

[Mark]

Looking over the updated list, we did pretty good. We got to see a lot of the things, and eat a lot of the things, that we hoped to. The biggest surprise was how much the trip turned into a David Černy sculpture hunt. I found them whimsical, funny, political and oftentimes disturbing because of it all. But they were fantastic.

Right now I’m sitting in the Helsinki airport waiting to board my flight home. So I’ll drop pix/videos of all that we did very soon.

[Mark]

Here’s the first dump of photos. I’ll update the captions and more info about what we saw soon…

Prague Palace

We spent our first full day walking around the Palace. We got a pro tip from someone at our hotel to take the tram (22 or 23) up to the Prasny Most stop and walk down, since the castle is on a hill. It was hot out so it turned out to be a great tip.

St. Vitus’ Cathedral - Katedrála svatého Víta

Old Royal Palace - Starý Královský Palác

St. George’s Basilica - Bazilika svatého Jiří

And finally some random photos I took while we were walking around the castle grounds

Unfortunately…even with the ‘pro tip’ we got, we didn’t quite plan well enough because after coming down we realized that Loreta was back up the hill. So…that sucked. But in the end hiking back up there was totally worth it.

Loreta in Hradčany

Restaurant U Labutí

After walking all around the castle and then back up to Loreta, we decided to grab dinner on the way down and found this place.

Were we in for a huge surprise! I had an actual, real-life Ratatouille moment.

I ordered the goulash and Loretta got the Svíčková na smetaně. Then we tried each others dish. And the second I put those bread dumplings and sauce into my mouth, I was shook. Tears started streaming down my face. And I couldn’t stop.

The flavor was somehow deeply, profoundly familiar to me even though I haven’t tasted it in maybe 45+ years. And it reminded me of my mom. Loretta had a similar feeling about the potatoes…though she wasn’t ugly crying like I was…so we swapped those.

I spent the rest of the meal wondering what the hell was happening with me and the rest of the trip trying to find another version of that dish anywhere near as good. Didn’t happen.

Karlštejn Castle

Because one can never see too many castles, we decided to take a short day trip out to Karlštejn Castle, which once held the Bohemian crown jewels. It’s a short train ride, only about 40 minutes, and again, a hike up a mountain, but it was pretty cool. And long the way Loretta got to dream about buying a suit or armor.

One of the things that really struck me about Prague, especially when seeing all the castles, is renewal.

Everywhere we went they touted the age of the buildings. Monasteries or castles originally built in the 900s or what have you, which I absolutely love. But the reality is that the buildings have been rebuilt multiple times, usually due to fires. That monastery built in 946? It was rebuilt around 1200, 1400, and 1700 or something like that. So while it’s still old and still beautiful, it’s nowhere near being the same building. It’s a fascinating paradox, being both old and new, the same but different. Maybe I appreciate that more as I’ve aged.

Folklore Garden

One of the events that Discourse had planned was a dinner at Folklore Garden. It’s a dinner and traditional music/dance show. Well, when I mentioned it to Loretta she really wanted to go. So I tried to find another place we could go. Turns out, this was the best deal we could find…so we booked it and I figured I’d just go twice. Then I got kicked out of the company event. But more on that later.

As you can see they seat you at big tables for 6-8 people. The place was kinda kitschy, but dinner was decent, and the music and dancing was loads of fun. They pull people up to join them, and yeah…we finally got Loretta to dance!

Our David Černý adventure

In our research of things to do in Prague leading up to the trip, we ran across a mention of David Černý’s sculptures. They looked pretty cool so we decided to try and check out a couple. And once we did, we had to find more. They are amazing. Whimsical and political, and some are a little disturbing. And it’s so much fun to walk around the city and see them literally hanging off of buildings in seemingly random places. I think we both consider searching for and finding so many of these the highlight of our trip.

Pix that I’m still in process of captioning and sorting

More to come…