Czech it out! Part II Delicious Meals

Having meals in delicate restaurants aren't expensive. It was quite economy to share among your travel companions. We had two dinners in Prague and that's quite enough for our tongues to experience its traditional meals. 

This is a restaurant near Charles Bridge (which is the opposite end of the Cinnamon Roll bakery). Our Christmas meal was spent here with festive decorations.  

Vegetable soup

Goulash soup 

It is a traditional Hungarian beef soup served with its special bread. The texture of this bread is like Chinese buns. 

Lamb Special (I couldn't remember the actual name)

It is the leg of lamb grilled with special sauce and served with the buns, sausages and pickled cabbage.

Stewed Pork Trotters 

It was perfectly grilled, crispy and was not too oily. 

 Next, was our last supper in Prague. The restaurant is near to Wenceslas Square. I think it's easy to find if you wanted to visit. There was a guy in costume as ancient soldier standing at the entrance, you will definitely be attracted by him!

Wenceslas Square

Tatarak (raw beef)

You must try when you visit Prague! We ordered a 100g raw beef. There is a technique to eat it. You will just need to ask for help from waiters and they will help you to mix everything together. Finally, the garlic is to scrub on the toast and spread the mixed tatarak on it. That was a special experience, it's more that your imagination!  

Grilled fish

Tasted fresh with herbs and lemon, and bits of sourness. 

Apple strudel with vanilla ice cream

Famous Austrian dessert. Diced apple was pickled with sugar and layered on "pancake"-base. The warmness of apple strudel matches best with the coldness of vanilla ice cream. 

Czech it out! Part I Yummilicious Street Snacks

There is a variety of Austrian snacks around every corner of streets in Prague. I reckon it was Christmas time when I visited, therefore there were columns of food booths appeared as Christmas Markets almost everywhere! These are a bunch of traditional snacks I had tasted. 

Lamb sausage 

There are all kinds of meat sausage rolls available and you can add whatever dressings as you like. The above lamb sausage was with tomato ketchup, mayonnaise, mustard and BBQ sauce. That's too much I know! lol There was also a specialty -- pickled cabbage -- a bit sour and sweet.  

Chicken Skewer

It is a barbecued skewer in chicken, capsicum and onion. It was grilled and the capsicum and onion were absorbed with the meaty flavour of chicken~ sooooo yum

Fried Cheese Burger

It is totally unlike with those in McDonalds'. The cheese was fried and I think there was seasonings on the fried powder, so it was a bit chilly. 

Pickled Cabbage Sausage Roll

 The pickled cabbage matched well with the sausage. It was a mixture of tastes, with sour and sweet in the pickled and salty in sausage.

Fried Cheese Pizza

A fried bread with cheese stuffing and sprinkled with cheese and tomato ketchup 

Pickled Cabbage with Bacon and Potato

Tasted more or less like the Pickled Cabbage Roll but it is with potato. The potato was soft and smooth.

Cinnamon Roll

This is a famous snack in Prague. It is a sweet crispy bread sprinkled with sugar and cinnamon. It tastes best when freshly baked. This shop sells Prague's best cinnamon roll, it is next to Charles Bridge.

A Busy Christmas Eve

We landed on Prague at around 8 at night. Obviously, Prague is very popular by Koreans as signs in the airport has Korean subheadings. We were in a hurry to get on the last bus, but we were stuck at the bus stand as we could barely find English translation. I think it isn't quite tourist-friendly. 

Finally checked in to our hotel and hurried to Prague Square for Christmas countdown. We passed by a sausage booth which was the only opened food booth at the late night. I tried the delicious lamb sausage. 

Tram station

lamb sausage

Prague Square Christmas Market

Christmas Eve in Prague was religious, streets were not crowded. I guess most people went to midnight mass to celebrate Jesus' birth. The day ended in a hurry and it was the busiest Christmas Eve I'd ever lived. 

Edinburgh's Day and Night

It was a sunny morning that we had a gentle walk on the Royal Mile. Sunlight shined on the city and appeared as golden pavements.

We visited the Elephant House, which is a cafe where J.K. Rowling wrote her first "Harry Potter" series. I enjoyed the environment there with a slice of White Chocolate Pistachio Cake in company with a hot Mocha. I could literally feel the atmosphere of Rowling bearing Harry Potter here. 

Must-visit attractions: Edinburgh Castle and St. Giles Cathedral. We didn't had enough time so didn't get in the Castle. The Cathedral is not as big but it is unique with its window paintings. 

The Edinburgh Christmas Market is not as big as London's Winter Wonderland, but lots of Scottish local food could be found. We tasted Apple Strudel, German sausages, homemade mushroom with onions, etc. 

Coach Trip on the Scottish Highlands

My friend and I joined a 2-day coach trip by Timberbush Tour to the Scottish Highlands. We booked everything online and just simply show up on the booked date. The tour set off from Edinburgh and passed by Glasgow to fetch some of the tourists, then made our first destination at Stirling Castle.

We stopped at the pretty village of Killin for photos after lunch. Everywhere in Scotland, you could find shops selling tartans knitwear and scarfs, as it is most famous for its tartans textile.

We continued the journey and made the next stop at Glencoe, where the site of the 1692 massacre of the MacDonald Clan. I finally got to see my first glimpse of snow of this year! But seemingly, there is more to come...

As we were getting up the mountain, I could breathe with difficulties when I got off the coach for photos. Our first day ended up on the Highland town of Fort William, where we checked into our hostel and had my first hostel experience. 

Day 2 headed north to the Great Glen, which is a geographical fault line characterized by a chain of impressive lochs. We first arrived at one of the most iconic castles in Scotland, Eilean Donan Castle. It is a small cozy castle which is totally unlike the previous ones I had visited. As the weather was so freaking cold, we were awarded a tiny bottle of Scottish Whisky by our tourist guide after the Castle Visit. 

Our journey continues with a stop for lunch at Loch Ness, where the legendary Loch Ness Monster lies. The pretty lochside village of Fort Augustus covered with a thin layer of snowflakes. I tasted my first try of the Scottish Haggis here. It is a savoury pudding of sheep's pluck. Some people think it is disgusting but I like it from its taste and texture. 

After lunch, we started our return journey and enjoyed a photo stop at Ben Nevis, UK's highest mountain, at 1,344 metres. We had a snow fight and experienced a heavy snow. 

The tour made its final stop at a small town called Pitlochry. We had a coffee break at Victorian Restaurant. It is cozy and warmth with a cup of hot chocolate. We stayed here for an hour and travelled back to Edinburgh. 

This is an unforgettable coach journey and had a nice time with our brilliant guide. I highly recommend the Timberbush Tours as it provides you an extraordinary Highlands experience. It is reputed and widely recommended on online trip adviser. They provide one to three days tour to different part of Scotland. Book now and ready for adventure!