Prague

When E and I first met, or re-met, I excitedly told her about The Book and where my journey with it had got me to. At that point, it was the not-too-distant idea of a thing. It was on the way. It was happening. The sands were slowly turning. I promised her that when things developed, we would visit Prague, where the novel starts out. My precious little hero, Georg Gottlieb, was born and raised in Prague before falling into the hands of the Hlinka Guardsmen and the start of his adventure.
Writing in the height of the pandemic, I wasn’t able to visit Prague. Instead, I found myself dragging my mousepad around long stretches of the Old Town to the Charles Bridge. I mapped distances using Google to ensure my understanding made sense. I might have been writing 80 years after the book was set but some things never change – cobbles included.

This month, we were able to see through that promise. We flew to Prague and spent a beautiful four days exploring the start point for something I have written and am immensely proud of.

We got the earliest flight out we could, meaning an acceptable drinking time of 5am. There’s something about a pint of Guinness when you’ve still got sleep in your eyes that really hits home. I read I’ll Be Gone In The Dark on the plane. E had a nap.

We landed, were embarrassingly shifted into the non-EU line for security and before we knew it, were buying our first pack of cheap cigarettes. We got a taxi to the Old Town and started our adventures. The first stop was for food.

I thoroughly recommend Lokal. They have a few spots in Prague but all offer traditional Czech food along with large Pilsners. We had a trio of sausage to start (sausage should always be a starter) followed by fried cheese and beef tartare. E famously has eyes bigger than her belly so I did what I could to finish up. Everything on the plate was so good and we were well looked after.

Heading up into the New Town, we found a novel bar, Beer Point, selling craft beers with the joyous turn of pouring them yourselves. They had 14 taps and the process worked by loading a pre-paid card and working your way around. It was an easy way to wile away a couple of hours while we planned the rest of our trip. E was in charge of food choices. I chose points of historical interest. We’re fun at parties.

Having gorged ourselves in Lokal, we grabbed some snacks to take back to our hotel on the other side of the river. There, we setup a little platform to watch Don’t Worry Darling on Netflix. Early to bed, early to rise.

After our hotel breakfast, we trekked back to the Old Town, picked up a coffee and visited the Speculum Alchemiae – Alchemy Museum. Here, we were able to explore the secret basements where the alchemist traded from. If I didn’t already have the love, power and money I needed then I could have been tempted by an elixir.

Keeping it classy, we followed this with a visit to the Sex Machines Museum. Three titillating floors of historic, modern and perverse objects that some like up ’em. It was particularly eye-opening.

We had my favourite meal of the trip in Kantyna, a cantina with its own butchers shop. We had pork loin with potato pancakes, brisket with vegetables and a couple of steins. It was only when I then ordered a pastrami sandwich and a cheeseburger that I questioned my methods. Portions were incredible and the meat was unreal.

We went to a bar for a bottle of wine and then discovered that my old friend Craig was not only living in Prague but managing a bar. We dropped in on him for a pint and I have a blank of around five hours. We were perched on the end of the bar, and were given so many shots by the staff. Then we made some Irish friends and it descended from there.
When I came to, we were stood in the cold embrace of the Charles Bridge gone midnight. We somehow unlocked an electric scooter and I steered us back to the hotel. Say what you want about Drunk Paul, he’s got the skills of a homing pigeon.

I woke up the following morning screaming. Worst hangover in quite some time. The kind that builds and debilitates over the course of the day. When on a city break, there’s no time to feel sorry for yourself. We got breakfast and went on an extensive tour of the Jewish Quarter.

This was key to the trip for me. I’m immensely proud of my heritage and my Jewish half (bottom half for anyone wondering). We were able to explore the Pinkas Synagogue, Old Jewish Cemetery and more as part of the self-guided tour and paid out for the audio guide which was fascinating.
Note: This audioguide is an app, downloaded to your phone. Take your own headphones.

After the solemnity and beauty of the Jewish Quarter, we found ourselves in need of carbs and where better than the 50s American diner across the street, James Dean.
I had an ice cream White Russian that made me question why all White Russians aren’t ice cream based. We ordered some chips and mac n cheese. A clear departure from our efforts to get into the local delicacies. It was needed.

We then had an incredible slice of cheesecake and a crepe in Au Gourmand, one of the most beautiful cafes in Prague. Our intentions were to have a lovely meal out but we retreated to our bed, pretending we would have a nap that would invigorate us for the evening. It did not.
That nap lasted for about nine hours, and quite possibly saved my life.

We treated ourselves to breakfast at Cafe Savoy, a spot so swanky that I assumed I would be refused service (like that time at Harry’s Bar in Venice) but it was quite the opposite. The team there couldn’t do enough for us. I had a delicious Eggs Royale. The make pastries from scratch and there’s a viewing window where you can see down into the kitchens. It’s incredible.

We then went to explore the city again – our final full day. Because I’m a romantic, I wanted to take E to the church where Operation Anthropoid came to a head, with the deaths of several Czech rebels fighting against what the Nazis had done to occupied Prague. When I didn’t immediately burst into flame upon entering the church, we headed down to the crypt where there are memorials to those fallen soldiers. Despite our jovial approach, this was a moment for solemnity. Those soldiers paid the ultimate price fighting for what they truly had to.

We happened across the Dancing Building, which we Girl Maths’d our way into for free. They charge you to go out on the viewing platform but it’s free if you buy a drink. So, we bought a drink (which we would have done anyway) and got the views for free. It was fine. Full of Instagram wannabes taking photos in corners as if they have some secret access. It’s not even that high.

One of our favourite spots, in Prague 5, was Manifesto Market. We spent the afternoon there, considering different beers and cocktails and willing ourselves to hunger because everything there looked so good. As it was mid-week, it was nice and quiet but I can imagine it getting pretty raucous at the right hours.

On our way back to the hotel, we went to Nightmare Bar, which is a must for horror fans. Everything is decked out in theming and costumes from your favourite scary movies. The cocktails are all named after famous murder weapons from films, there are characters on the walls. It’s a full on experience and we had a lot of fun.

All that day drinking took its toll so we ordered room service and watched a film. Heading out with both a bang and a whimper.

I loved my time in Prague. It was a lovely button on the last year and a chance to celebrate the hero of my book.