Frosty Day

There hasn't been any snow to stick on the ground in Prague, but there was a day of frost.  So many plants had frost on them and it looked quite beautiful.  Leos and I walked to the center to get some Korean food.  We were lucky to get a table because we didn't have a reservation and it was quite crowded.  The food tasted great and it was a pretty good deal because I got another Slevomat voucher.  We walked a bit more around the center and then headed back home.  We got off at a stop past our usual one to walk even more.  I am happy we did that because I got to see a lot more plants under the frost.  I really wanted to see a flower under the frost and I finally saw a mini rose.  It was quite beautiful. 

                                                                    delicious Korean food

                                                         even a spider web had frost on it

Christmas

This year was the first time Leos and I had to make Christmas dinner.  I got my mom's recipe for her potato salad and Leos decided to make fried salmon.  I made open sandwiches with the potato salad and they turned out great.  After our food prep was done, Leos and I went on a nice walk through Petrin that led to the castle.  I saw that people were entering St. Vitus quite quickly, so I had a suspicion that it had free entry.  There was a sign mentioning that you needed a ticket, but that wasn't the case.  It was free to enter.  It was a pleasant surprise. It was nice to see the huge Christmas trees inside the cathedral.  We got really lucky with timing because when we exited people couldn't enter anymore.  The cathedral closed at 4pm and we arrived just before that.  We then walked to Zlata Ulicka, which is always free to enter after hours.  We headed back home because EVERYTHING was closed.  We enjoyed our Christmas meal and opened our presents.  It was a very nice Christmas eve.  Then on Christmas day, we went to Trebic to visit Leos's parents.  We were welcomed with food, cookies, and presents.  Then his sister and her kids came to the house.  It was a nice and relaxing Christmas.  The only unfortunate thing is that there wasn't any snow.  Merry Christmas everyone.  Hope you had a wonderful time with your family and friends. 

                                                                first time I made potato salad

                                                                first time I made chlebicky 

                                          people lining up, but the cathedral already closed.....

                                                                    Zlata Ulicka

                                                         
                                                            

                                                        chelbicky Leos's mother prepared 

                                                        cookies Leos's mother made

                                                                    cookies she bought

                                                                                no snow

Staromestska Christmas Market

Earlier in the week I met up with Lucie at the Christmas market in Namesti Miru.  When I met with her, a stand I wanted to try was closed.  Since Leos and I were close to Namesti Miru, I decided to see if the stand was open.  It was!  I was able to get the hot apricot drink they had.  Oh my goodness!  It was absolutely delicious!!!  I was so happy to make the small detour to try it out.  Then Leos and I walked to the Christmas market in Old Town Square.  It was so crowded!!! My students and friends warned me how crowded it was, but I didn't think it was going to be as bad as it was.  It was truly shocking.  Walking from Mustek to Old Town Square made us walk through a narrow part and it was completely packed with people.  It was so hard to walk through.  When we got to the market there were so many people and all the prices were quite high in comparison to the other markets around the city.  We took a selfie next to the huge Christmas tree, listened to a concert and left the area.  It was too hectic.  We then made our way to Kunsthalle, so Leos could see the exhibition.  Two days later I returned to Namesti Miru with Laura and of course went to the same stand.  I tried their hot plum, but preferred their hot apricot, so I bought a huge bottle of it.  Its definitely the best hot beverage I've had at a Christmas market.