Big reunion in Prague for our multi-continental and multinational family this summer. Petr arriving from Perth with Kiah and Marcel – while Noah/Liam already almost local, hanging out with babi and deda for weeks.

We spent the first week in an Airbnb apartment because the apartment where I grew up is a bit small for 10 people and a dog (3 rooms and 1 bath). This was fun, yet strange, because I felt like a tourist in my own city. An apartment in the oldest part of a town, which is completely overtaken by tourists as the locals get out to their cabins. It was really nice to be in the middle of everything though – but eating at reasonable prices was not easy :-). Given it was 7 years since Max’s last time in Prague, he was excited, though.

We were rethinking this whole “live in the center” idea the first night when our boxy A/C with a plastic pipe out of the open window was barely keeping up with the 38C heat – but hey, we were sleeping in a 13th-century building where the historians would not allow an AC system on the roof – so enjoy the historical heat. We also realized that Prague truly is a heaven for the partygoers, and the sound resonates up to the 3rd floor so well – it felt like all these people were in our living room. Be careful what you wish for 🙂

While in Prague, we did a mix of touristy things through the gorgeous small streets without tourists, eating and drinking in small cafes where students work mostly and Czech youth would be in – but also ate in some newer places. My favorite:

• Savor drink & cafe in Retezova – great breakfast, tasty, creative, hidden in a small street – our favorite morning hang out. The tiramisu coffee – it’s a desert, not a coffee but looks awesome.
• Coffee & waffles in Valentinska – very similar vibe, all waffles but cute and reasonable breakfast in the center.
• Dobra cajovna on Vaclavske for quiet place to enjoy hundreds of teas – quite amazing menu.
• Havelska koruna – if you are Czech, this is where you get your needed hit – the traditional food you don’t cook at home – knedlo/zelo, spinach, sisky s makem, buchticky se sodo, fruit dumplings… the operations is fast and strange (don’t lose the ticket you get on entry as that is your way out) and if you don’t speak Czech, just look at the pictures, wing it – it’s worth it – it even feels like a school cantina with the attitude, speed and choices (except the beer!).
• Lokal Dlouhaa – packed, reservation needed
• Cukrarna Skala
• U Telleru – at Vinohrady but pretty good to make a trip over there.
• Cukrar Skala – my favorite cukrarna – all sweets
• Skautsky institut – two locations in the most in-demand places but you won’t find it unless you know it. Low key, simple but unique (especially the one on Staromestske namesti), quite the find! The setting here is in the inside patios with multiple floors – it’s like an oasis from the 50s. Try the one by Kampa as well.
  
  We didn’t do all the new places justice at all, so many – Prague has really turned into a culinary heaven, and I can’t wait to go back and browse them all 🙂 If you are looking for local advice, I really enjoyed the ideas from this IG account and scribbled (visited too!) some for next time! It wouldn’t be Czech time if I didn’t stuff myself with poppyseed everything, especially kolache every single day. I even managed to turn Max on it, so now we are both partially high (according to the US laws), as the amount of poppyseed we consumed was in kilos. We, of course, brought a kilo of it home too 🙂

Max was turning 18 in Prague, so naturally he was looking forward to his cousins taking him out – you can drink here, of course. That didn’t turn out so well, as the world-renowned Czech pickpocketing industry decided to give him a gift too. Stalin is a park above the river with great views, named after the huge statue of Stalin built in the 50s and blown up with dynamite in the 60s when even the Warsaw Pact countries realized it wasn’t the best image, but the name stayed. It is the place for open nightclubs now, so Max was on his way. Until he stopped in a little shop for beer, left his new iPhone out of sight, and – oops – phone was gone. He spent 3 hours at the police station with his cousin’s Czech girlfriend and got home at 2 am, absolutely bummed. Well, we Czechs know how to welcome foreigners.

We did lots of family dinners, ate too much Czech food, went to the zoo twice (our favorite), shopped, discovered new and old places, met with friends, and overall loved the weather, city, and everything about it.