The Christmas theme continued in Prague, as we visited three Christmas markets in one day on Christmas Eve.
The first one was a small gathering of stalls on a square called Náměstí Miru near our AirBnB. Nezzie’s cold had gotten worse, so she slept in. This was Christmas Eve morning. While many markets in Prague stay open past Christmas, this one did not. It was the market’s last day.
You could also tell it was mostly attended by locals and included petite Christmas trees decorated by children.
In addition, there were locals interested in the fresh and gilded mistletoe greenery. We didn’t see any of that greenery at the bigger markets.
After that , we went to the huge Christmas market on Wenceslas Square named for the good king in the Christmas carol. His name in Czech is Vaclav, and that’s how he’s known here. He apparently was one of the (few?) good kings who cared about his people, making advances that improved every day lives and secured the country.
Throughout our trip, we have seen reminders of the toll that communists and Nazis had on this continent. Those scars are still felt today. There is a small memorial on Wenceslas Square to two college students – Jan Palach and Jan Zajic – who protested the 1968 Soviet takeover of Czechoslovakia by setting themselves on fire in Wenceslas Square in 1969. People still remember these two with flowers and candles.
However, I wondered if the above tributes were also in mourning for the mass shooting that had occurred in Prague only a few days before. A college student shot and killed 14 people at the university’s Jan Palach Square.
It was a shock to the people of Prague, and they had held a day of mourning the day before I took the above photo.
Just beyond the Jan Palach and Jan Zajic memorial, the Christmas market began. Stalls were lined up on both sides all down the square.
The food at this market was fantastic and cooked over open grills and coals. From the smell of freshly baked pastries, to the roasted ham on a spit, to the bubbling spicy smell of a sweet pepper goulash, you just wanted to taste everything.
There was also a temporary ice rink set up!
Our favorite food from these markets had already been suggested to us by our Dresden friend, Matthias. It’s called trdelnik in Prague, but is known as other things in Hungary and Slovakia. You basically roll pastry dough on sticks and cook them over hot coals. Then you cut them off in segments, roll them in sugar and nuts, and eat them plain or filled with chocolate, ice cream or Nutella.
We snacked on these day and night, walking around Prague.
As we made our way closer to Old Town Square, we started seeing the typical tourist traps. I have to admit, I was tempted by the Czech garnet jewelry and the beautifully carved chess sets, but the prices were a weensy bit high in the tourist areas.
We also saw our home town represented in a store with nesting dolls.
We finally made it to Old Town Square, Prague’s main historical center and site of its biggest Christmas market. First, we saw the astronomical clock, that tracks the positions of the sun and moon, the zodiac, and also tells time.
The crowd in this square was massive and included tourists from around the world.
After battling through the throng, we made our way to the start of our musical tour of Prague, a Christmas concert, and a traditional Czech Christmas Eve dinner. More on that in the next post!
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