All Things Spring

After having lived in Prague for a few months now, I can now appreciate how lucky I am to live in the Ujezd district of Prague 5. I live only a few steps away from the prettiest area of Prague, which is Petrin Hill. Popular in the warm months, Petrin Hill is the perfect spot in Prague if you want exercise, mixed with the best view of the city. About a month ago, the cherry blossom trees at the base of the hill opened up and are now in full bloom. I have walked every trail possible around Petrin, but my wandering always leads me back to what has become my single favorite spot in Prague. My roommates laugh at me because some mornings I will hike up to my favorite spot and eat a bowl of cereal at the top. That may sound ridiculous, but it’s relaxing in the mornings before tourists flood the hill and the view is the best in the morning when the sun is coming up. The most popular area of Petrin Hill is at the very top of the hill, which can either be reached by a relatively steep trail (my favorite option) or a trolley that will take you near the top. The top is full of people, pop-up beer gardens, and even a replica of the Eiffel Tower that you can climb up. The top gives you an aerial view of the city and it’s only a short, but beautiful walk to the Prague Castle.
 Right across from Petrin Hill, Angelato serves up some
of the most delicious gelato! You can also see the cherry
blossom trees in the background.
 
 My morning bowl of cereal in my favorite Petrin Hill spot
 
 During the month of April, Petrin Hill beer
gardens served green beer!
 
 I took my Mom up Petrin Hill!

The most popular part of Spring is the famous Easter Market in Prague. I am not exaggerating when I say I went every single day in April. It takes place in the Old Town Square and adds so much excitement to the city. It has endless street food options, hand painted Easter eggs, and even a petting zoo. There’s also a stage in the middle of the market that almost always has live music. The decorations at the market were the best part. They had elaborate ribbons and eggs hanging from all of the stands and trees. At night, all of the stands and churches light up and it’s equally as beautiful as during the day.

I loved going to the Easter market because I felt like I had to try every food at least once. I tried everything from gnocchi, Prague ham, kebabs, to sausage. For the dessert options I had crepes, trdelnik, strawberries on a stick, waffles on a stick, and even doughnuts on a stick. All of the stands were big fans of food on a stick.

 Doughnuts on a stick
 
 Waffles on a stick
 
 All of the different flavors of waffles you can get.
 
 Chocolate covered strawberries on a stick
 Trdelnik

The Easter Markets just ended and the energy in the square is already noticeably different. Thankfully there isn’t much time until the next Prague festival, so I’m looking forward to the next round of street food and traditions!

 The Easter Market at night
 
 The Easter Market during the day with my parents!
 
 There is an old Prague tradition where on Easter, boys
will chase the girls around hitting them with these sticks
   
 There were so many stands selling these hand painted Easter eggs!

Lillian H. is the Spring 2017 MOJO Blogger in Prague, Czech Republic. She is currently a Junior studying Communications at University of Georgia

Lillian Huckabee in Prague, Czech Republic, and is currently studying at University of Georgia.