I stayed over at my parents’ house so they could shave 15 minutes off driving, because 15 minutes of extra sleep at 5:00 matter. I gulped down a coffee and loaded my luggage in the car. We picked my sibling up and drove to the airport before the traffic jam even formed. We got on the shuttle a minute after parking, reached the terminal, and went through security without a hitch. There was really nothing noteworthy to the journey, really, once the check-in-your-hand-luggage extortion had been paid. We were picked up at the airport in Prague [Praha] and driven to the hotel, where we could not check in yet.

Thus, we headed to have lunch first. There was a restaurant in front of the hotel which served traditional Czech food, called La Republica, where my plenty and I shared a Staročeský talíř pro 2 osoby – Old Bohemian plate for two people, which comprised a duck leg (kachny), pork knuckle (vepřový kolena), pork ribs (vepřový žebra), smoked pork belly (uzený bůček), sausage (klobása), dumplings (karlovarský knedlík and houskové knedlík), white and red cabbage (zelí), with crispy onion liberally sprinkled on top. One kilo of food! Way too much!

Czech knedlík are somehow of a national staple – boiled dumplings, quite heavy on the dough, with optional fillings. Both houskové knedlík and karlovarský knedlík are considered “bread dumplings”, with a base of stale white bread, flour and eggs. They are supposed to be eaten dipped in the sauce that came along with the plate, and they were delicious. So were the pork ribs, and I’m not even a rib person!

After lunch, we checked into the hotel, dropped our things at the room, and set off towards the Old Town Staré Město pražské, the preserved Medieval area of Prague [Praha], part of the Unesco World Heritage Site Historic Centre of Prague. The city is the capital of the Czech Republic [Česká republika], and formerly of the region of Bohemia. The origins of Prague can be traced back to the Palaeolithic, but it was around the 5th century BCE when a Celt tribe settle nearby and gave the historical region of Bohemia its name. During the 1st century BCE, Germanic tribes took their place, and in the 6th century CE, they too were replaced by Slavic tribes.

The city was a fortified settlement by the 9th century CE, when the castle construction started. After the turn of the first millennium, the city became an important trade point, and many Jews settled there. The first bridge over the river Vltava was erected in 1170 (though destroyed during a flood later) and building of the cathedral started in the 1340s. It was Charles IV (Karel IV), Holy Roman Emperor and King of Bohemia, who, between 1346 and 1378, brought the city its Medieval splendour.

After his death, his son Wenceslaus IV reigned, and though there were great achievements, such as the construction of the astronomical clock, it was a time of civil and religious unrest. This lead to a few centuries of wars, even while important artists and wise men lived in town – German astronomer Kepler comes to mind. When the 18th century arrived, things had calmed down, the city thrived, and its population increased. The area, which comprised different municipalities, eventually merged into one large city.

Prague served as the capital of the newly-formed country of Czechoslovakia after World War I. In 1939, it was occupied by Nazi Germany, which lead to the killing of most of the Jewish population. During allied bombings, many structures were damaged, including the Old Tow Hall, and Czechoslovakia as a whole rose against Nazism in 1945, shortly before the end of the war. The country became part of the Soviet Union until the Velvet Revolution in 1989, a moment in which peaceful protests ended up the Communist State. In 1992, the historical centre of Prague was declared World Heritage, and at the end of that same year, Czechoslovakia split in two countries (the Czech Republic and Slovakia) in a process called the Velvet Divorce, a stark contrast to the dissolution of Yugoslavia in the Balkan Wars, which seemed to peak at that time.

The hotel was a minute or so away from the square Náměstí Republiky, with tram stops, an underground entrance and a Christmas market. To the side stands the beautiful classical concert venue known as the Municipal house Obecní dům. Almost next to it we found the first gothic building we would see in the city – the Powder Tower Prašná brána. It is one of the original gates to the walled city, and construction dates back as far as 1475. Whether it was ever actually used to store gunpowder or not has been disputed. We crossed it and found ourselves in the main shopping street, named Celetná, flanked by traditional houses transformed into tourist shops and joints.

We reached Staroměstské náměstí, the Old Town Square, the neurological centre of the Old Town Staré Město pražské. There stands the Gothic Church of Our Lady before Týn Chrám Matky Boží před Týnem. I am used to churches having… squares in front, but this one is literally encased within other buildings, one of which is an art gallery. It was already too late to visit, unfortunately, but we could snoop through the glass doors. There has been a church in the square since the 11th century, though the present building, erected in Jagiellonian Gothic, was only finished around 1450. Its most striking characteristic is the design of the two towers on the west façade, which feature what I can only describe as pinnacles on pinnacles. I am fascinated by those pointy towers.

At this moment it was 15:55 so we hurried to the side of the Prague Old Town Hall Staroměstská radnice. There stands the bell tower, and on its wall, the famous Prague Astronomical Clock Pražský orloj, extremely hard to read and understand. Each hour, a Death figure rings a bell, the apostles walk around, and a bell strikes as many times as the 24-hour-clock’s hour.

After the 16 tolls, we entered the Old Town Hall Staroměstská radnice, which was a bit underwhelming (it turns out that only the guided visit gives you access to the cool areas). There is a beautiful but tiny room full of frescoes, and the ascent to the clock tower – something that for a bit extra can be done on a lift. From the top of the tower we had a lovely view of the square below, the Christmas market and Our Lady before Týn against the night sky.

Back on the ground, we snooped the gift shop, then tried our luck at the church of Saint Nicholas in the Old Town Kostel svatého Mikuláše (this got confusing during the planning stage because there are actually two Saint Nicholas churches in town). Today, this Baroque monastery-and-church is used for worship and concerts. It was unfortunately closed.

We had a run at the Christmas market, which sold snacks, drinks, sweets, decorations, souvenirs and Christmas baubles. I actually got myself a beautiful one. My parents decided to head back to the hotel for a break then, but my sibling and I were still good to go. We resolved to snoop around the market some more. It was cold but not aggressively so – it was dry and there was no wind whatsoever, so it was not that bad.

Since I had not prepared anything beforehand, I had no idea where we could go or what we could do. We explored along Celetná, where we found a chocolate and candy shop that lead to the chocolate museum Choco-Story: Prague Chocolate Museum (at first I thought it was a branch from Chocolate Nation in Antwerp, but it is a different shop – though apparently a franchise?). I fell in love with some blueberry tartlets, but I had like zero stomach-room for them. There were also a couple of guys making candy from scratch.

We looked at a couple of shops and then my eyes fell on a Horus Guard from Stargate. My sibling was game to go in and meet him – and that is how we ended up in the Steel Art Museum, which is apparently another franchise. And not only did they have a Horus Guard, there was also an Anubis Captain. The Steel Art Museum has two completely interactive floors, with different sections and 120 items. Everything in the museum is hand-sculpted using metal scraps. There are full cars from luxury lines which you can sit on, in, whatever you want. The only issue is that steel can be a bit slippery. There is a replica of the Throne of Swords from Game of Thrones, Optimus Prime and Bumblebee from Transformers, along the aforementioned Stargate soldiers on what I guess was the fantasy and sci-fi section. But then there were… dinosaurs, some more cartoonish, some more accurate, like a Ceratopsian (styracosaurus, probably). Unfortunately for me, steel is also heavy, so I could not take it home…

We proceeded to the upper floor, full of pop figures, Alien references, and even Marvel’s Avengers. We saw motorbikes, Ninja Turtles, Minions, and characters from films we did not recognise. Despite not knowing everything, we had a blast climbing – or trying to – on anything we could.

We headed back to the hotel, and looked around Náměstí Republiky and the Christmas market there. At first we thought it was just a few stands selling food and drinks. Later we would realise there was another part on the other side of the square. We also peeked into the shopping centre Palladium Prague, because it meant we could walk a few minutes in the warmth instead of the cold street.

We regrouped at my parents’ room, and after an hour or so, we headed out to find the restaurant we had booked for dinner – and that one of my parents wanted to try. Výtopna Railway Restaurant is located in Václavské nám or Wenceslas Square, which was currently half fenced off for renovation.

Wenceslaus I Václav I is known for the Christmas Carol Good King Wenceslas, but he was not actually a king. He was the son of the Duke of Bohemia, and lived in the 10th century. When he came to power, he used Christianity as a way to establish his position, which would eventually have him reach sainthood, and when he was later assassinated, martyrdom. The Christmas Carol tells the story of Wenceslas and his page witnessing a poor man gathering wood in winter, and going to his house to bring him a good dinner.

On the way to the square, we passed by Jindřišská věž, another gothic bell tower which has a restaurant and an observation deck. It would have been cool to eat there since the restaurant was at the top. I however did not propose it because it would probably be booked out and I did not want to cause any strife – good thing, too, because it turned out to be pretty expensive.

We found Výtopna Railway Restaurant to the side of the Václavské nám square, in a commercial gallery. Entrance was an absolute chaos. The restaurant is located on a first floor and the stairs were absolutely flooded. They did not take walk-ins as they were fully booked, so there was a queue of people waiting to see if something opened. However, the reservation-checking and seating system was slow, creating a jam. There was a group behind us who decided that, since they had a reservation (too), they could cut the whole line. We let them through, because the stairs were not a place to have a discussion and they were not open to reasoning.

The whole point of Výtopna Railway Restaurant is that food comes to you riding on little trains. They have 900 metres of small tracks and twenty or so tiny trains that bring your order to you. It’s really cute. The “motto” of the restaurant is “meat & beer on rails”. I don’t drink beer, but I really wanted to try the goulash. Unfortunately, I was still very full from lunch. Instead, I opted for a salad with goat cheese (salát s kozím sýrem): green salad with grilled goat cheese, sour apples, walnuts, honey dressing and focaccia bread. It was all right, and the trains moved fast! You had 15 seconds to take your food from the wagons – and any pictures you wanted. So I let the family grab the food while I photographed everything.

We undid our way from the restaurant to the hotel, where I took a very long shower and got into bed. I did not sleep much though.