Family Visit to Prague

After a busy month of events, I'm finally back in Prague.

Whenever I get a long stretch of break at home, the boyfriend and I try to invite some family members over. Since his family lives just an hour's flight away, they visit more often.

This year due to the travel overload, I rarely got to see my family that's been divided in different continents. Most live in the US, while some have stayed or returned to Korea and I happen to be in the middle - Europe. With my moving to the Czech Republic it made sense for them to all gather here.



Even though I talk to them almost daily, it's a treat to be with them in person. My mom couldn't make it this time due to my grandmother falling ill. I'm often reminded of the fact that most people who live near their family don't visit each other until there's an emergency. I'm lucky to have a close relationship with them regardless of that.

Sarah Bernardt made sense for the very first dinner, a French Czech mix of upscale cuisine that's more on the traditional side. We'd have a quiet live piano filled dinner inside a beautiful building. Plus in case they didn't like Czech cuisine, they'd have other menus to choose from.

Dad, sister, and her kid

The 3 course Czech menu that I got

French style 6 course menu

My sister and her husband

Scallops

Foie gras

Sea bass

Duck confit

Crepe suzette, which is created at your table

No sisters all grown up!

I still refuse to believe that I'm an aunt. 

Prague Fishing
One of my favorite childhood memories was outdoor activities with my parents. I recall my dad being particularly fond of fishing, but with only my mom around who doesn't care for the activity he never gets to do it anymore.

I hired a guide that took care of travel, gear, and handling everything from worms to filleting the fish so all we had to do was simply reel in the fish and take photos. We released all but one big fish back home to eat.

Morning mist at the pond

My dad waiting for a catch

He actually got really lucky with the big catches. I just helped reel them in.

Work out of the day!

Too slimy for me to handle

Biggest one that we caught

Us with out catches

He did the fillet

We prepared the fish and fried it, since I read that carps had a strong taste. Everyone was skeptical, but they were pleasantly surprised to find it to be tasty and asked for seconds.

Museums
Because a trip to a European city isn't complete without learning some of its history.
One of the new ones that I've seen is City of Prague Museum which details the history of the city and culture of the inhabitants dating back when it was populated by hunter gatherers until the arrival of Slavs.

It's located in a beautiful building with downstairs being mostly special exhibitions and historical artifacts and upstairs housing some of the more modern antiquities as well as present day exhibitions.

Archaeological findings from the city

Jeweled trinkets found from castles

Exact miniature replica of Prague

The original astronomical tower

Dinners
Because I couldn't accompany my family to all their road trips to different cities, I took them out to some of my favorite places to eat instead.

I showed them the Oblaca and Garden at the Grand Mark Hotel.

Oblaca

At the Zizkov Tower where the restaurant was

The restaurant with its full surround view of Prague

Fried shrimp

Duck sausage

Pork cheek and belly

Creme Brulee

Tiramisu

I chose the Garden at the Grand Mark Hotel because it sits inside the meticulously maintained garden area. The main restaurant is inside with the same menu, but without the view of the garden. There is a 'winter garden' glass dome attached to the building in case of bad weather. The dining area is also connected to the bar, which showcases a live pianist.

The garden

Bar area

"The boyfriend was there too" proof photo

Menu

One of the few places where they do their bread right. Butter, olive oil, and pepper paste

Duck

Veal

The conclusion? My family said this was their favorite dinner so far. They went on much more sightseeing than I did, but agreed Prague and the surrounding cities were beautiful and worth making another trip to. Mission complete!