Prague Christmas Markets
Set in the heart of the city, this is a historic Czech marketplace, where you’ll find the huge Christmas tree. The traders were selling traditional Czech blown glass tree baubles, hand-embroidered tablecloths, handmade gifts and wooden toys in dozens of wooden stalls. The other attraction is of course the mulled wine, Christmas ales and the many wonderful food stalls selling festive food.
Nearby there was a stage where Christmas Carols were being sung, but as the evening progressed the entertainment changed to feature bands and dancers. Everything still had a festive feel and during the day there were events put on for the kids.
The next day we set off to explore and the first area most people head for is the Vltava river. The river is the longest river within the Czech Republic and is crossed by 18 bridges. The most well known is the Charles Bridge which takes you across to Prague Castle. It was built in 1402 and features the statues of 30 saints. It is said that touching the statue of St. John of Nepomuk will make a wish come true. That’s why parts of the statue are polished and look shiny from countless hands that have given it a rub for luck. Starting in 1965, all of the statues were systematically replaced by replicas and the originals are exhibited in the National Museum. Having said that, most of them on the bridge are jet black at the moment and one by one they’re being encased in scaffolding to be given a spruce up. The bridge is very busy by night and day and there are usually several artists and musicians to entertain you along the way. It’s the only pedestrian bridge in the city and once you reach the other side, it’s quite a steep trek up to Prague Castle.
The cobbled streets are lined with interesting shops and eateries so we took our time and stopped for lunch. True to form, the castle has armed sentries and the Saint Vitus Cathedral sits on a square inside the castle walls. We watched the changing of the guard and then the platoon of soldiers disappeared inside the gates. If we hadn’t been distracted, we would have had a look inside the Cathedral which is said to be stunning, but it seemed to be closed to visitors at the time.
Whilst we were on the right side of the river, we decided to wander around a bit more and found ourselves at the Zizkov TV Tower. To be fair, it wasn’t too hard to find as it’s around 700ft tall, but the things we weren’t expecting were the huge ‘Crawling Babies’ sculptures by David Cerny. This artist is well known and well loved in the city and also has a gallery and music venue but we didn’t visit it on this trip.
Our last day was dedicated to the final bits of our Christmas shopping which took us back to the markets in earnest. There are smaller markets dotted around various open spaces in the city and through the centre of the Wenceslas Square boulevard, but we tended to stick in and around the Old Town square. The Astronomical Clock sits just off the side of the main square on the Old Town Hall Tower and always has a crowd standing close. It was first installed in 1410, making it the third-oldest astronomical clock in the world and the oldest clock still operating – it’s also not sky high and it’s easy to see how beautiful it is since it was fully restored recently. Even for people who weren’t looking for it, it would be hard to miss. If you happen to be close by, it strikes on the hour between 9am and 11pm and there’s a procession of the 12 Apostles which is interesting to watch.
One thing that surprised us was the amazing café culture of the city. Chimney cakes in all sorts of colours and flavours were readily available, but there were also many cafes displaying a wonderful selection of pastries and cakes with an extensive coffee listing. I’m sure it would be a wonderful city to visit in the spring or summer so I hope to return!