Prague Blog: Arriving at the Castle

We only had 2 days total in Prague, so we had to narrow our focus. We knew we wanted to see the famous Prague Castle.

The drive to the castle held many beautiful sites. I was just snapping these from my taxi ride!

We arrived at the castle, chilly, but so very thankful for no rain or snow. It was clear, blue, and cold.

What a fun surprise to see a tiny Christmas market just outside the castle. I found my FAVORITE buy there!!! It was the only place I saw it. But that will be a later post.

The castle was breathtaking. I suppose I've never seen anything like this before, other than in pictures.

Guarding it like a boss...

I just couldn't stop taking pictures. Gothic beauty! It was remarkable.

The Christian imagery was staggering. It was everywhere in this country. How is it that 80% of Czechs claim no religion? This saddened me and motivated me to pray that eyes would be open to the pictures around them that tell the story of redemption.

It was hard to get a good gargoyle picture. They were so blackened over time. But finally I got close enough with the right amount of sunlight to get a few. I wanted this lion for Campbell Clansman, as "Aslan" is our school mascot (Turkish for lion).

Some of these guys dripped water on our heads. Spooky.

Look at that sky! No filters in these!

This was my friend L's favorite nativity in the city. She's an artsy gal.

Next up:  inside the castle.

Prague Blog: Turning in, Turning Up

We turned in for the night, back to our beautiful hotel.

 And after a day of flying, we were both out quickly!

The next morning, we turned up for breakfast, and oh what a treat it was!

Ham, cheeses, fruit, pastries! mmmm!

Prague Blog: Christmas Markets

The markets were just enchanting! From more costumes of Krampus....

...to gingerbread....

...to live stables with nativity animals....

....ornaments...

....and food!

We enjoyed it all!

Merry Christmas

I'll be back to Prague Blog soon, but for now....Merry Christmas! I love recording life on this blog, thank you for reading and being a part of my life, even if we are far apart!

Prague Blog: Ham It Up

Once the sun set in Prague, we had one goal. Get some ham! We found a little pub that had Prague Ham on the menu outside. We both got that, then shared some mashed potatoes and grilled vegetables.

We both miss ham in Turkey! (no pork here)

After dinner, we walked through the town more and just enjoyed all the live trees decorated for Christmas.

We also enjoyed this traditional Czech desserts. It was dough, rolled into a long snake, then put on a roller over a fire.

Oven mitts take the hot roll off the roller, then roll it in sugar and cinnamon. It was so good!

We arrived in Prague on St. Nicolas Day, so all through the streets we saw people dressed in costumes. They always traveled in threes...one St. Nick, one angel, and one devil.

This guy was dressed as Krampas, the alter ego of St. Nick. He was part animal, part man. His stilts (with goat's feet) made him look like he belonged in Narnia!

Conversations, memorabilia, and costumes from the crusades are alive and well in the CR!

These 4 guys were such a riot. They all dressed as Krampus. I sent my daughter a picture of them that night, telling her I'd met 4 cute guys all dressed as the devil. She said taken out of context, that it could sound really weird!

We got to the end of the street and got to see the statue of St. Wenceslas. Soon our toes and fingers were freezing, so we headed back.

It was a beautiful night, and I am especially glad I got to see the traditional costumes!