New Years Eve

There was much anticipation leading up to New Years Eve here in Prague, for two reasons. Firstly, we were really looking forward to seeing in the new year with Nik, Lina and Tom and secondly, for the crazy firework demonstrations which go on all over the city. Fireworks are legal here and come Christmas/New Years you can find these little beauties in the front window of every shop. Little ones which just make a loud noise, single crackers and big boxes with just one fuse to light the whole lot at once! If you can think of it, then you can probably find it here. Jon and Nik were, of course, very excited by all of this and as soon as Nik arrived in Prague they were down buying out the nearest store of their fireworks supply.

Fireworks

New Years Eve day we decided to do some sight seeing. Up to Prague Castle, Mala Strana, Charles Bridge and the Jewish Quarter. It was a very cold but clear day, and needless to say, I have never seen so many tourists in one place! Walking through the Castle grounds was like pushing your way to the front of a crowd at a music festival - lots of pushing, shoving and getting lost. It was great to be able to show Nik Prague Castle though, and St Vitus Cathedral never fails to get an "ooooh" and an "ahhhh" from visitors.

Prague Castle and St Vitus Cathedral

St Vitus Cathedral 

Feeling very hungry by this time, we decided to check out a place called 'Yes Burger' for lunch. We had read about this particular burger place and Lina and Tom had been wanting to try it ever since their first time in Prague (back in August!). I am not really sure what to say here to be honest and I think the best way for me to express this lunch is to show pictures.

Nik's was the 'Golem' burger, the huge one on the end...he finished it too

So, feeling extremely full and ready for a nap, we headed home to get ready for the night ahead. We decided that we should have a special 'family' dinner and all get dressed up. We called it Family Pie Night, as I had made a pie for dinner. We all put on our best clothes and drank Moet, which Nik had bought for us from Dubai. It was a wonderful dinner and probably a little strange, but thats the way we like it.
We whiled away the hours before heading out for the celebrations by playing card games and drinking sweet Italian wine, courtesy of Lina and Tom. They also bought these special biscuits from Italy which you dip into the wine before eating. They were amazing and the perfect dessert.

Sweet Italian dessert wine with biscotti - Yum!

When we eventually headed into the city centre we were blown away by the ridiculousness of the celebrations. Sure, there were firefighters, police and medical emergency crews everywhere, but not surprisingly, in Prague, this doesn't make one feel safe. People were setting of fireworks everywhere. There were no regulations or rules, no designated launching area and certainly no person trained in pyrotechnics to be seen! At the stroke of midnight things really became insane. It seemed as though most people had been saving their crackers for this moment. The noise was deafening, the smoke in the air was so thick you couldn't breath properly and fireworks were actually going off in crowds of people! We decided it was probably time to leave, and after setting off one last firework, we headed for the tram.

Fireworks in Wenceslas Square

Exploding just above the building! 

All in all it was the weirdest New Years Eve I have ever had, and certainly the most dangerous. No one lost any appendages and we all made it back to the apartment safely, even if we didn't arrive back together! For me, this is one of those things which I can say I have done, and (thankfully) I don't have to do again.