Someone once asked me: “Do you think it’s a good idea to vacation in the Czech Republic during the winter?” Without any hesitation, I said “yes! There is so much to do all year long especially during the winter!” I talked to that person for a little while longer and then we parted ways. I never actually found out if she even went to Czech that winter or if she just got cold feet and gave up on that whole “crazy” idea. If I were to meet her again I would give her a week-long schedule of things to-do, whether she liked it or not. This is what would the “Nazi” list look like:
CZ: Jednou se me nekdo zeptal, jestli pry je dobry napad stravit v Cechach zimmni prazdniny. Bez rozmysleni jsem vyhrkla “No samozrejmne! V Cechach se da delat tolik veci po cely rok, natoz v zime!” Jeste jsme si spolu chvilku povidaly, a pak ta osoba nekam zmizela, aniz bych se kdy dozvedela, jestli vubec do te krasne ceske zimni krajiny zavitala. Kdybych mela sanci vratit cas a ta dotycna osoba by se me zeptala tu samou otazku znovu, beze slov bych ji podala striktni rozvrh aktivit na cely mesic. Vypadalo by to asi takto:
DAY 1:
Arrive on December 5th. Make yourself acquainted with the new environment (i.e. your hotel room, near-by restaurants, good coffee shop and bathrooms); learn Czech overnight (c’mon you have about 8 long hours! You can do it!)
DAY 2: (Dec.6)
It is Saint Nicholas Day!! You are free until 5 pm – do some sightseeing, befriend some locals through your just-learned Czech language abilities. At exactly 5pm take a walk from the Wenceslas Square, through the Old Town Square, across the Charles bridge, up to the Prague Castle. Did you see the holy trinity of St. Nicholas, the devil and the angel? If not, start your walk over. Keep walking until you see one. If that means that you are going to be walking all night, too bad, your mission needs to be completed and marked off of your to-do list.
DAY 3 (Dec. 6 through Dec 23th)
It’s skiing and snowboarding time! Go visit the Top 3 skiing resorts in the Czech Republic: Harachov, Pec pod Snezkou and Spindleruv Mlyn. Your main task? Find yourself a nice Czech family so that you can spend a traditional Czech Christmas Eve with them!
Christmas day and on
Stay with your “host family” as long as they let you – and keep eating those Czech Christmas cookies! Also, don’t forget to ask them to take you to the traditional Czech Christmas Mass on Christmas Eve! Once you feel like you wore out your welcome and your family is giving you the get-the-hell out look, then do not despair, pack your bags and go to…. Slovak TATRAS! Yes, more snow! One of the top skiing/snowboarding places in Slovakia is Chopok, I strongly recommend to go there from my own experience.
Main Task: find yourself a new host family, a Slovak one this time, with whom you can spend a traditional Slovak New Year’s celebration!
DAY ????
Main task: Go home!!
http://www.expats.cz/prague/article/czech-tourism/ski-czech-republic/
Here is the Czech Christmas Mass I was talking about:
If you liked this post buy me a coffee! (Suggested:$3 a latte $8 for a pound) Thanks!
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Nice post. I found your blog by mistake clicking trough pages 🙂 really nice. Funny is that I’m from Romania but i live/work here in Brno. 🙂
This is the kind of writing that brings me back again and again (but see my reply to the Czech Christmas cookies)
To CatalinM: thank you! By the way, did you know that Romania has about 80,000 Czechs/Slovaks? (I just learned this interesting fact and finally I have someone to share it with 🙂
To Mike: Thank you Mike! I am sure it’s nothing compared to your upcoming “Vacation in Czech” story 😉
PS: CatalinM, did you know there is a website for expats living in Brno? I will find out the name for you if you are interested.
Tanja thx, but i work in ibm and i have many people around (and many romanians).I did not know that are so many Czech/Slovaks there , never met one 🙂
Ahoj Tanjo, I actually went to Banat Romania this past summer with my family to help with a summer camp for the Czech children living in Romania. It was great!! That are very kind hearted people there. I have a lot of great pics.
what would you reccomend to someone currently on vacation in czech republic having one of the worst times in her life. i came here with my husband for the holidays so he could visit his family. and he wouldnt tell me anything so i walked into this blind. i feel like i am starving because i barely like any of the food his mother makes. i cant understand anything anyone says and my husband is just ignoring me and not translating anything or helping me learn. i cant even watch tv. on top of that i am in the sticks with nothing around me. and i do not know how to drive a standard car. i have only been here for 3 days out of the month i am supposed to. and i already want to go home. and now my husband asks me if we can extend our trip another 2 weeks. please help me find something to do before i go insane. i am in desperate need of entertainment.
We will be traveling from Munich to the Czech Republic in January. Could you suggest any nice places to visit in Germany and the Czech Republic that would be open during winter? We are planning to skip Prague this time since we have been there many times before. We would like to explore other cities.
Hi!
You definitely have to visit either Pec pod Snezkou or Harrachov – 2 most popular ski centers.They are so cute!
Nancy,
Sorry to hear that. Hopefully you find the courage to talk to your husband how do you feel.
Maybe you could plan some nice road trip for you two. Bouzov castle is open to public tomorrow and maybe Macocha and Punkva caves if you’re in Moravia.
Download Foursqaue app and find yourself a restaurant you would like or place to go.
To: Stf
Olomouc city is beautiful, Punkva caves near Blansko, Roznov Pod Radhostem and typical Wallach cottages.