Praha/Prague-the story of a pearl in an oyster
This is fun! I exclaimed dramatically...
Startled-my boys exchanged a look.
I pounded the chapati dough with renewed vigour-when I knew I had them out of rigour.
Wasn’t I a glum, reluctant domestic Goddess?
“The year has almost winded and here I am-still at it in this urban fortress.”
I whined the refrain...
The boys exhaled- this is sounding like my wife/mom.
This turf was familiar.
We don’t need to play seer.
Hark!
It was my lucky day after all- hubby rarely in sync with my pounding mood swings; sang his refrain too.
“I am getting tired too-we need a holiday- somewhere in the snow!”
Our son sprung into action- the Google knight clambered on his trusty (cell phone) steed
and galloped away to the Christmas Markets to be freed.
London?...naah too predictable...done and dusted.
Paris? Naah -the yellows have it crusted.
Switzerland! They exclaimed in unison.
Naah I said, we need a deviation.
I literally stumbled on the ancient cobbles of Prague.
How about the Czech Republic? I blurted.
You plan-declared Hubbyji in a resigned munificence.
Ten days later, all aboard- to Praha!
We bundled into our car and drove from the airport to the oldest, tiniest, prettiest town -Cesky Krumlov. It is a breathtakingly medieval jewel nestling in the hills
with a hauntingly beautiful castle and temperatures plummeting to chill.
“Here lies the mill owner who eloped with the daughter of the nobles- the Rosenbergs” : pointed our pretty Cesky Guide.
Welcome to Cesky Krumlov- where the dead roam as freely as the living.
Here is the window she jumped off from- where the ogre had imprisoned her- she went on.
A ghoul stared out at us from the still visage of the exquisitely carved window.
A wispy shadow teased our trails as we traversed the quaint market square-
The cold wind cut through our coats and pierced the icicles of our minds...
In Cesky Krumlov we slowly shifted gears- our walls began to crumble.
Was it the town or the ghoul which whispered ‘ down with it-let it all go’?
Hectic Mumbai and urban fortresses regressed and repressed in the dungeon for now.
We held hands and clasped our mulled wines-
It’s earthy, cinnamony, warmth chased the clots in our clammy veins.
The little rocky, crookedly twisted shops beguiled us with their wares:
Wolf akin socks, egg nog marshmallows, littlest mugs of deliciously thick hot chocolate, winding scarves and xmassy gloves, Bavarian sausages, whole knees of little porkies roasting on spits- this is where we want to be- we smiled into our selves as we shopped and gorged.
But where’s the snow-chorused the boys- just as Krumlov grew on us and charmed us with it’s virgin vibes.
We drove up 200kms to roll in the snow.
Every second spent at fair neighbour Austria's Hoechfit Ski Resort was worth it’s weight in gold.
The drive itself spectacularly pristine white-till your eyes could travel!
The conifers conspired symmetrically as the wind caressed their white needles.
We drove back to Cesky Krumlov with a wintry memory, which will forever warm the cockles of our urban hearts.
Christmas day beckoned us to the old square- the children sung the hymns, the old cathedral’s charming service, the townsfolk in their Sunday best, with all the shops shut and the cold stamping it’s foot down on the ancient cobbles- it was the Godliest and the ‘inwardlooking' introspective Christmas we ever had! We were seated to a grand Christmas dinner in our historic #HotelRuze- a beautiful 12C palace!
The ghouls settled around us amicably.
They knew we were charmed- but Prague beckoned us.
We bid them a happy farewell.
The drive to Prague by our friendly, handsome driver was equally riveting .
My boy books judiciously with the trusty Google as his aide- our #HotelJosef was a modern, thoughtful building in a city of buildings steeped in Gothic and Baroque History.
We lumbered ever so excitedly in a big hotel room- so unlikely in Europe.
Soon we were clambering over the cobbles of the huge #Oldtownsquareprague.
It is inarguably one of the biggest and the quaintest square in Europe- the busy Christmas Market had it crowded With happy locals and tourists alike milling about the huge Christmas tree festooned with the thinnest and the finest Bohemia crystal balls! It was real pine tree, felled from the nearby forests #Libernac
It towered over the festive square but it couldn’t dim the beautiful clock tower- one of the finest and the most charming one far and wide.
We explored the beautifully laidback, megacityprague# so unurbanly urban.
It’s numerous Palaces, enormous and gigantic castle and castle grounds, modern malls, Luxury Streets
Pariska# the elite street with high end luxury brands,
The delightful #m #- the shopholics dream come true street lined with the finest High Street brands- I was enchanted there.
The famed Bohemia crystals shone effusively through their polished thrones- we lazed through the #Moser Glass factory on our way to Karlovy Vary.
Karlovy Vary is straight out of a vivid, picture book- as cliched as it sounds this Spa Town is spell bounding .
The town has hot geysers, famed for their therapeutic, alchemy- you never get old here- no wonder it is dotted with the rich and famous
All bedecked with mink coats and pearls and diamonds these dowagers and matriachs walked the streets as if they owned them- their haughty sneers seemed to chill the snow itself cascading from the beautiful hill lined town...
We drank from the hot springs- so no BOTOX for me forever- I reckon.
BOTOX or no- Karlovy Vary etched an unwavering youth in our middle aged brains.
Shopping done to our wallets content we ambled over to #Folkgarden- an absolutely must do Prague dinner, with fulsome beauties and handsome dykes and some energetic #MoravianFolkDancemoves.
The singer sang of his lost love, the haunting melody and his feel
We didn’t need words.
My eyes welled up with a mysterious ache, his notes twisting the strings of my heart into a knotty tale of an old had been.
Soon we were pulled along rhythmic footwork of the irresistible folk beats and with my two left feet, I’d like to think, I was the dancing queen.
The other night we were hyptonised by a Mentalist- #blacktheatrePrague had us enthralled as we witnessed the age old levitation trick.
The wily wizard read our minds, our phone passwords, our favourite destinations and our innermost fears into a fascinating insightful sheen.
We came out of the experience slightly dazed- drunk and high on the endless PragueBeers#, #mulledwines, and Prague itself- the beguiling temptress.
Prague cannot be experienced with two car junkies without a ride in the VintagecarsPrague#
We did just that and felt like old Gentry- the chivalrous driver draped my cold, knocking knees with the softest and downiest sheep skin rug- and off we were- we requested an off beaten ride and he delivered marvellously.
We chuffed up winding cobbles leading up to the castle and it’s humongous grounds and gardens
Past the #JewishQuarters, the oldest Synagogue in the world, to a bridge across the #Vtalavariver to come fave to face with the iconic #Charles Bridge!
That ride was something.
We bid a chilly farewell to our cheery driver-
We haven’t been to single museum-I chimed...let’s be honest, I whined.
NO interjected my boy...no museums please.
How about The Technical Museum, it has thousands of automotives?
The boys looked a bit sceptical, but gave in nevertheless.
When we walked in to the grand hall, even I (one who can’t tell a sedan from a hatchback) dropped my jaw.
It was crammed full with every form of transport known to man and more.
The men wouldn’t budge, until I started my favourite chore.
I whined-now enough of this, I am sore!
A deal is a deal, after the museum it was to be retail therapy.
Can a girl be happier than that- on Wencelas Square with wide streets lined with beguiling wares in Prague? It’s a different high.
Czech Republic wasn’t just another Holiday destination...
It enticed us, and came away with us, a bit of itself in each of us.
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