Popped over to Prague for the Weekend

I was lucky enough recently to pop off to Prague for a birthday weekend. I expected the city to be very Gothic and a bit like something out of a cross between Harry Potter and Van Helsing. I wasn't wrong about the Van Helsing bit anyway.

Prague is like a little magical kingdom hidden away in the middle of Europe. Often known as 'Vampire World' its cobbled streets and huge cathedral it really is a little haven, offering old and wonderful treats. I knew that the Czechs are big on their beer but nothing could have prepared me for how much I drank and how much I actually liked it! I practically lived off of Kozel a dark beer which is a bit like Guinness but with bubbles and Staropramen (a light beer). Being the indecisive human that I am I found that my favorite beer was a mix of both dark and light beer known as Granat which gave me the best of both worlds.

Kozel

We didn't get on a single piece of public transport the whole time we were in Prague, which meant there was a lot of walking - 12 miles a day to be exact- and to compensate a lot of eating. Because of the cold carbs are a daily staple in the city and trying to avoid them is near enough impossible. But after the first taste of a dumpling I realised that I had nothing to fear the dumplings were not only delicious but also not as stodgy as I had anticipated.

There are so many places to eat in Prague we were completed spoiled for choice, most lunches though were spent having potatoes and cabbage with various sausages from the markets. Paired with a pint of course. One afternoon however we decided to have an treat and went to Cafe Savoy, with its beautifully decorated high ceilings, grand chandeliers and huge cakes it is the perfect spot. It is renowned for its breakfast, but sadly we couldn't book for that and so had to go for lunch instead - still amazing. If you are lucky enough to go to the Case Savoy remember to book! You can do that here even though we didn't book we managed to get a table with a twenty minute wait. We sat at the back by a window with a view of the whole cafe,  I chose to have the sausage and lentil sup which was absolutely to die for! Dan had the baked ham brioche bread with Gruyere cheese and poached egg, which was so filling and so tasty he was very impressed. The coffee is amazing not to strong and so smooth!! Something that I picked up on my time in Prague is that they don't make their coffees strong unless you ask them too, which I was very happy about as I'm quite new to the coffee scene.

Staropramen

Prior to the Cafe we went to the Staropramen brewery despite it being slightly odd and not what either of us expected but with a free beer there's little to complain about.

Our best meal however has to be at U Kroka, a little of out the city it's the perfect little place for a quiet dinner. Once again I'd recommend booking especially if it is the weekend as it can get super busy. U Kroka bookings. We shared a range of sausage to start from various regions, some smokey and some spicy.

I had beef goulash and dumplings which was possibly the nicest thing i have ever eaten in my little life! (apologies for the poor picture). The restaurant itself was once a school canteen and before that was a pub that was closed down by the Soviet Union, it also tells the history of Prague with Princess's and Price's who fought for the city.

One thing that we were lucky taught before we went to Prague was never to order individual starters as the mains are so rich and often heavy you'll be left far too full and uncomfortable to enjoy the rest of your evening.

If you do have the time to go to Prague I would totally recommend it, it is a beautiful city and perfect for a weekend away- four-five days are just the right amount to see and do everything that is available.

Pelagoes, Crete

I've been rather absent recently sunning myself in Crete. But have no fear, I was keeping my eye out for some tasty treats throughout the two weeks that I was away. Amongst the site seeing and snoozing on the beach, I did my fair bit of eating!

Our holiday rep let us into a few sneaky treats when she climbed up into the hills to visit us (luckily we had a car and I only had to walk up that hill once, an experience I will be forever scarred from!)
Her recommended restaurant was one that the owner of our villa owned, and she was certainly right to recommend it to us!

Pelagoes, was a small restaurant hide in the back roads of the town. With it’s over grown garden with hanging lanterns and mis-matched furniture, it was the best spot for one our first nights out. Not only , but the free wine and little bread basket was the perfect welcoming! Our very friendly waiter showed us to our table asking us about our holiday and where we'd been.

We started with a little bit of everything, Fava, Zucchini and Dill fritters, Kefta, Cheese Souvaliki, all freshly made and was so delicious I failed to take a picture! (Very bad blogger I know!) Zucchini did become my staple diet for an evening meal! Our mains where equally as good!

I had grilled octopus, with grilled aubergines and peppers, it was the best octopus that I have ever had! The parental ones both had the fish grill with sword fish, mussels, octopus cuttlefish and rice and grilled vegetables. I had this on our second visit and the fish was perfectly cooked!

The owner of our villa came to see us and gave us free fruit with melon and grapes! Later found out that this was the general thing in Greek restaurants.

Overall the food and staff were friendly and helpful, the atmosphere was equally as lovely with a little guitar man in the corner it was the perfect setting for a family meal or dinner for two.

It was so good we went back again! I would definitely recommend it to anyone staying in or around Agios Nikolaos.