Family Visits

There is something special about being able to show the people you love what you have been doing and where you have been living while you're abroad. A few weeks ago Jon's parents came and visited us in Prague for a little over a week. It was a week full of laughs, sightseeing, eating out and just enjoying being with each other. We saw so many things that we hadn't seen previously as well as some of the old favourites like St Vitus Cathedral and Charles Bridge. We played the 'tour guides' (if you can call us that) and took Jon's parents to our favourite places to eat, drink coffee and, of course, shop!

Jon's parents

On the first night they were here we decided to take a walk through the city to show off where we have been living. The weather, although not cold by Prague standards, was freezing for Jon's parents! We managed to find a restaurant to retreat in and they had their first Czech meal. Goulash for Jon's Dad, who said it bought back memories of his Mothers cooking - all good memories we were assured.

One of Jon's parents favourite things to do is go out for coffee and cake and I made it my personal mission before they came to sample as many places as I could. We visited one of the most important Art Noveau building in Prague, the Municipal House, for fancy coffee and cake. Waiters pushing trolleys full of delicious cakes wander the tables wearing full 'butler' attire ready to serve you up a huge slice of apricot cheesecake, sponge, apple strudel or anything else you want!
Among the token Starbucks and Costa Coffee visits we also went to a few of my favourite coffee shops including Friends Coffee House with its super relaxed atmosphere, Mama Coffee with its hippie vibe and Cafe Louvre which is the poshest cafe in Prague (previously visited by the likes of Franz Kafka and Albert Einstein).

We ate out every night which was such a treat for Jon and I! We ate mostly Czech meals which suited Jon's parents fine as they both enjoy European cuisine. We also managed to find a few places in Prague which serve Gluten free food which was great for Jon's Mum. One place in particular, Na Zlaté Křižovatce is an entirely gluten free restaurant, even the beer was gluten free! The food was some of the best we've had in Prague and it was affordable too in a beautiful restaurant. We all gave it 10/10!

We didn't eat and drink coffee the whole time Jon's parents were here either, we managed to squeeze in some sightseeing too. It was Easter Monday when they arrived and as such, all of the Easter Markets were still set up with all the Spring decorations out too. Jon's Mum in particular loved the markets and brought lots of little trinkets to take home as gifts for people.
Old Town Square was a favourite, with the gothic Tyn Church, St Nicholas Church and the Town Hall with the Astronomical Clock, we made many return visits here.
We decided to do a tour of Prague Castle too which was pretty interesting. I'm not sure it was any better than just walking through the castle complex, but it was definitely nice to be able to go all the way into the St Vitus Cathedral and also into the old part of the Castle as well as Golden Lane. Golden Lane is a part of the Castle complex which originally served as quarters for the guards as well as a number of other small craftsmen and women. The lane was full of small colourful houses set into the northern wall of the castle. Each little house had been set up as a replica of various craftsmen and women, such as a blacksmith, a herbalist and seamstress. It was so quaint and I fell in love with it, I asked Jon if we could see how much the rent would be for one of the houses :)
It was my birthday on the weekend that they were in Prague and therefore I was in charge of choosing the outing for the day! I decided we should go to a Tropical Butterfly exhibition which was being held at the Botanical Gardens of Prague. It was absolutely beautiful being in a greenhouse full of butterflies and the weather was perfect for wandering through the gardens in the afternoon. We stopped and had a drink at a little Vinoteka (a little winebar) which was in the middle of the vineyard overlooking the Vltava River and Troja Chateau, a baroque palace in the north-west part of Prague. The Chateau has beautiful manicured gardens and an amazing baroque staircase out the front.

The tropical rainforest for the butterflies

A butterfly newly out of it's cocoon

In the Botanical Gardens

St Karel Church; overlooks the St Karel Vineyard

Troja Chateau

We also visited the Jewish Quarter (Josefov) which was formally the Jewish ghetto and we learned a lot about Jewish persecution in the Czech Republic. It was an open tour card, so once you paid for your ticket, you could visit the six different places at your leisure. This included mostly synagogues, the Jewish Town Hall, the Jewish Ceremonial Hall and the Old Jewish Cemetery. It was an interesting tour and there was lots of information available to read as well which made it a worth while trip.

After all of the food, sightseeing and coffee drinking, the nicest part was just having Jon's parents here with us in Prague. It was very sad to say goodbye and extremely hard to go back to work but alas, we are now back in routine and all of this feels like it happened months ago, not weeks.
So now we are eagerly awaiting out next visitors to Prague! My Mum and Dad as well as Jon's sister, her fiance and his brother all in July! We might need to rest before then :)

Jon's Mum and I under the blossoms at Strahov Monastery