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Christmas Markets in Prague, Czech Republic || European Christmas Market Tour 2024 Part 1 — Transcript

by The Traveling ZAM · 3,182 words · 488 segments · language en · Watch on YouTube

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0:00[Music]
0:03The most wonderful time of the year has
0:05returned and with it my journey to
0:07Europe's Christmas markets. This time
0:10through the heart of Eastern Europe. I
0:12set out to explore how different
0:14cultures celebrate the season, visiting
0:16five markets across five countries in
0:18just a few weeks. My adventure began in
0:21the enchanting fairy tale city of
0:23Prague, where the magic of Christmas
0:25truly comes to life. And here's how it
0:27went.
0:31Good morning, guys, and welcome to
0:33Christmas in Prague.
0:35[Music]
0:39I have just arrived in Europe, and I'm
0:41starting my second annual Christmas
0:43market tour. Last year I focused on a
0:46lot of Western European countries and
0:48this year I'm going to do another two or
0:50three week tour here, but I'm going to
0:52focus on some more Eastern European
0:55countries, checking out how they
0:56celebrate some of the Christmas markets
0:58in these cute town squares. And I'm
1:00starting here in Prague. This is my
1:02first Christmas market this year. And
1:04then after this, I'm going to head to
1:06Poland and then up to Lithuania,
1:08Latafia, and Estonia. And I'm super
1:11excited. It was one of my favorite trips
1:13I did last year was checking out the
1:14Christmas markets in Europe. I think
1:15it's just one of the most beautiful
1:17times of the year when all of these old
1:19town market squares just get lit up with
1:22all these beautiful Christmas trees and
1:24Christmas markets and you have these
1:26amazing food stands that just have
1:27incredible smells. And then you have a
1:29lot of really cool artisan craft markets
1:32just filling these market squares with
1:34this warm glow and hot wine and just a
1:37very fun atmosphere to explore. And
1:39similar to some of the markets I did
1:41last year, there's tons of these little
1:43market squares throughout the city. So,
1:45we're going to walk around, see all of
1:47the different market squares and how
1:49they celebrate, how they're decorated
1:51for Christmas, checking out some of the
1:52food and some of the vibes of the
1:55markets here. So, I'm starting right on
1:57Oldtown, but I'm right next to the
1:58Charles Bridge here, and that connects
2:01the Old Town to the Lesser Town. So,
2:03let's start by walking across the
2:04Charles Bridge, which is one of the most
2:06iconic pedestrian bridges here with all
2:08of these Gothic statues that line the
2:10bridge. Head over to Lesser Town. Most
2:12of the markets are going to be in the
2:14old town here, but let's start by
2:16heading over to the Lesser Town. And I
2:18think there's one or two small markets
2:19over on that side of Prague. So, yeah,
2:22let's head over to Charles Bridge.
2:26[Music]
2:37[Music]
2:51So, that was a quick walk across the
2:53Charles Bridge here, and you're just
2:55lined with all of these Gothic statues.
2:57views and it's just one of the most
2:59iconic things here in Prague. And you
3:01have these beautiful views looking up at
3:03the Prague Castle above and views of the
3:05river. And we've come all the way across
3:07to the Lesser Town and right beneath the
3:10Charles Bridge here is one of our first
3:11Christmas markets we'll check out is the
3:13Nam Campe Market which is literally
3:16right at the end of the bridge and you
3:17can go right down these stairs and check
3:19out this little town square here and it
3:21has a Christmas tree and some food
3:23stalls. So, let's head down there and
3:25check out our first Christmas market
3:26here in Brock.
3:28[Music]
3:44[Music]
3:52[Music]
3:55I've just come down from Charles Bridge
3:57to the Na Campe Market down here. And
4:00it's a very small market. It seems to be
4:02mostly just food. There's a couple like
4:04mold wine stands. And then there's this
4:06place where they're grilling some meat.
4:08And you can get some potatoes and
4:10vegetables there. And they also have the
4:12traditional chimney cakes, which is this
4:15dough that they twirl around over the
4:17fire on this little spet. And it looks
4:20really good with some like cinnamon
4:21sugar. So, I think I'm going to pick up
4:23one of those. But there's not like any
4:25shops down here. It's just food. And
4:26then they have like this wooden nativity
4:28and a small little Christmas tree. But
4:30it's beautiful. Right beneath the
4:32Charles Bridge. And you can see the
4:33Prague Castle up off in the distance
4:35there. There's a few like cute cozy
4:37cafes right around the square. So yeah,
4:40let's go try one of those chimney cakes.
4:42[Music]
4:49[Music]
5:07So that was Nae Square and the little
5:10market there. Honestly, pretty tiny and
5:12again, it was only food, but a good
5:14little place for a snack or so. So
5:17anyways, we're going to head back across
5:18the Charles Bridge here and head towards
5:21the Oldtown Square, which is right in
5:23the center of Prague. And that's going
5:24to be one of the main Christmas markets
5:27here in the city and one of the biggest.
5:30And you're right amongst all of the
5:31beautiful Gothic architecture there. So
5:33yeah, let's head across the bridge.
5:37[Applause]
5:42[Music]
6:01[Applause]
6:04I have just made it to the Oldtown
6:06Square of Prague, which is right in the
6:08center of the capital here, and it's
6:11just one of the main squares of Prague.
6:13You have the Oldtown Hall Tower right
6:16here, which has the bell tower and the
6:18astronomical clock beneath it. Then you
6:20have the Our Lady of Tin Church, which
6:23has these two Gothic spires above it.
6:26And it's just this very beautiful
6:28picturesque park here. And all
6:30throughout the town square, you have
6:32tons of different food stands. You have
6:35a stage where they do like different
6:37musical performances throughout the day.
6:39You have a lot of these shops and this
6:42is just a very vibrant, very big place.
6:44You also have a massive real Christmas
6:46tree with beautiful ornaments on it. And
6:49then there's this little bridge that you
6:50can go up and over and get an overview
6:53of the Christmas market from up there.
6:56So yeah, let's kind of walk around the
6:58old town square here. Check out some of
7:00the markets. And you just have this
7:01incredible smell of all of the food
7:03that's being cooked and the mold wine
7:05and the spices all throughout the market
7:07here. So yeah, let's walk around. Check
7:09it out.
7:11[Music]
7:25Heat. Heat.
7:28[Music]
8:02I cannot believe how busy this place is
8:04on a Monday morning. It is just packed
8:07with people here in the town square, but
8:09so beautiful, so elegant. There's this
8:11really beautiful Christmas music
8:12playing. In the background, you have all
8:14of these food stalls and then a lot of
8:17really interesting crafts and chocolates
8:19and then this giant Christmas tree. But
8:21then right in the middle is this little
8:23bridge that goes up and over some of the
8:25food stands here, which will give you
8:27just a slightly elevated view of the
8:29town square and the Christmas market.
8:31So, let's head up over this little
8:32bridge. Heat.
8:37[Music]
8:37[Applause]
8:38[Music]
8:49Heat.
8:52[Music]
9:05So that is the Old Town Square Christmas
9:09Market. It is just a magical feeling
9:11here. Again, there's this music that's
9:13just playing through the air. You have
9:15so many incredible smells from the mold
9:17wine and hot chocolate, waffles,
9:19sausages, so many different food stands,
9:22and it's just a very classy feel here in
9:24the center of the town. Again, you're
9:26just surrounded by all these colorful
9:28old town buildings. And then you have
9:30the church steeples and the town hall
9:32above us. And then right in the center
9:34was that little bridge that you could go
9:36over, get a nice view. There was this
9:38nice wood carved nativity there. And
9:41then there were a lot of these really
9:42unique craft shops and a few of these
9:44like blacksmiths that were creating the
9:46metal crafts there right over this fire.
9:48And it was really cool to watch them. So
9:51yeah, lots of stuff going on. And again,
9:53this will be the main Christmas market.
9:55So, this will probably be where I'll
9:56come back later tonight and just hang
9:58out and it'll just be beautiful as this
10:00town blows in the evening. So, before we
10:03head to another one of the Christmas
10:04markets here in Prague, right on the
10:07edge of the old town square is the town
10:09hall tower, which you can actually go up
10:12for about 300 krona, which is about 12
10:15$13, which I think it'll be really cool
10:17to get a view looking down on the old
10:19town Christmas market here. So, yeah,
10:21let's see if we can head up to the
10:22Oldtown Tower.
10:26[Music]
10:54[Music]
10:59We have just come up the Prague Town
11:02Hall Tower and you have amazing 360°
11:05views looking out all over this
11:07beautiful city. You can see all of these
11:08orange rooftops and church spires. You
11:10can see the Prague Castle and then you
11:12can look right down on the old town
11:14square here and see the little Christmas
11:16tree and the Christmas market. Looks
11:18like a cute little Christmas village
11:19down there.
11:23[Music]
11:49That was awesome going up the Oldtown
11:52Tower there and getting that elevated
11:55view looking right down on the Old Town
11:57Square Christmas Market. Just such a
11:59cute view. And again, not only are you
12:02getting a view looking down on the town
12:03square, but you just have 360° views of
12:06the entire city of Prague, and it's just
12:09really beautiful. And you can see all of
12:10the Gothic spires that just tower up
12:13above the city. Anyways, this is the
12:15major Christmas market here in Prague.
12:17There's a second major one called
12:18Wislas, which is about two or three
12:21blocks south of here, and there's
12:22another little market on the way there.
12:24But before we head south, there's
12:26another minor market in the Republic
12:28Square, which is just two or three
12:29blocks east of here. So, let's head out
12:32to the Republic Square, and then we'll
12:34come back through the main square to
12:35check out Wes later this afternoon.
12:39[Music]
12:50I've just walked about 5 minutes outside
12:53of the old town of Prague here and we
12:55are in the Republic Square which is this
12:57big open plaza here and it looks like
12:59there's two little tiny Christmas
13:01markets on both sides of the plaza and
13:04you have these trams that are going
13:05right through the square. So there's one
13:07right in front of the communism museum
13:10and then there's another one right here.
13:12So, we're going to check out both of
13:13these. It looks like it's mostly food.
13:15There might be a couple like craft
13:17stalls, but yeah, quite a bit smaller,
13:19but let's check out this one in front of
13:21the commis museum.
13:26[Music]
13:37So,
13:39[Music]
13:51I've just checked out this little market
13:53right in front of the museum here, and
13:54it's a cute little market. The stalls
13:57are just so beautifully decorated.
13:58There's only about probably 20 or so
14:01stalls. you just kind of like these two
14:02little rows, but you have lots of
14:04different places where you can buy some
14:05hats and gloves, some Christmas
14:07decorations. There's some ornament
14:09stands and some little like artisan
14:12craft places. And then there's a lot of
14:14different food spots as well. And
14:15notably, since we're outside of the
14:18touristy old town here, prices seem to
14:20be a lot cheaper here. You can get a
14:22glass of hot wine for about 60 krona,
14:25whereas in the old town, it's about 100
14:28krona for the glass of wine. And then
14:29there's some really good food options as
14:31well. And I saw this little bread bowl
14:33that has some goulash in it for about
14:35seven or eight dollar. So yeah, let's
14:37head in here. It's about lunchtime, so
14:40time to get some more of this
14:41traditional Christmas market food here.
14:45[Music]
15:04That was the first little part of the
15:06Republic Square market. And that goulash
15:08was so good. Such a cozy meal on a
15:11chilly day like today. And it had a nice
15:13beef stew to it. They put some chilis in
15:15there, so it was a little spicy. So
15:17yeah, very cool. So again, right on the
15:19other side of Republic Square, there's
15:21another little market that I think is
15:22mostly food. So let's head over and
15:24check out that part of the Republic
15:26Square.
15:27[Music]
15:43That was the other little market here in
15:45the Republic Square. Not too much going
15:47on. There's just a a couple food stalls.
15:50There are a couple craft stalls, but
15:51felt very similar to that one beneath
15:53the Charles Bridge. similar types of
15:55foods and chimney cakes and everything.
15:57And then there's a nice little Christmas
15:59tree and nativity. So anyways, we're
16:01going to head back towards Oldtown
16:04Square here through that down to the
16:06southern part to the Wel Square and
16:09there's another little market along the
16:11way there. So yeah, let's walk back
16:12through.
16:15[Music]
16:29I'm on the road between the Oldtown
16:31Square and Wel Square, which are the two
16:34major Christmas markets here. And right
16:37in between is the Havville's Market,
16:39which is actually a market all year
16:41long. So even when I was here this
16:43summer, they're selling like fresh
16:44fruits and vegetables and some other
16:46like tourist items and some snacks, but
16:48they have a little bit of a Christmas
16:50feel to it during the month leading up
16:52to Christmas. So there might be some
16:53other like Christmas ornaments and
16:54Christmas decorations to it. So yeah,
16:56let's just check out this small little
16:58street market right in between the two
17:00squares.
17:03[Music]
17:18[Applause]
17:27That was the Heb's market. And again,
17:30that's there all year round. And then
17:31you saw a little bit of like the fresh
17:32produce and stuff that they still sell,
17:34but there was definitely a Christmas
17:36spin to it. They had some Christmas
17:38ornaments, some gingerbread cookies.
17:40They were selling hot wine there. And
17:42yeah, just had a little bit of a festive
17:44feel with some nice Christmas lights. So
17:45yeah, just a few blocks from here is the
17:47Welos Square, which is another one of
17:49the major Christmas markets here in
17:51Prague. So let's head and check that
17:52out.
17:54[Music]
18:20I have just made it to Weloth Square
18:24which is this very long open boulevard.
18:26Boulevard shopping avenue that has a lot
18:28more modern shops. So immediately it
18:31loses the old town charm that we had in
18:33the oldtown square there cuz you have
18:35these more modern shopping buildings
18:37around here. But it is the second of the
18:39major Christmas markets here in Prague.
18:42And you have a giant Christmas tree
18:44right in the middle. And then this
18:45boulevard is just lined with lots of
18:47shops and you have a lot of different
18:49food stalls again. And then further down
18:51the square, I think there's going to be
18:53a little ice skating rink. So there's an
18:55activity you can do here. So yeah, let's
18:57walk up and down Welass Square and check
19:00out some of the Christmas market vibes
19:01here.
19:03[Music]
19:34I have just walked the length of the Wel
19:37Sllo Christmas Market and it probably
19:39takes up about half of Welsh Square cuz
19:41it still goes quite a ways up to the
19:44museum up there. So, there's quite a few
19:46stalls, but it's pretty spread out along
19:48the square here. And it's a lot of the
19:50similar stalls to what we got in the
19:52Oldtown Square. And then, yeah, big
19:54massive Christmas tree. And then it ends
19:56at the little skating rink here. And it
19:58is a very small skating rink. I was
20:00expecting a much bigger one here cuz you
20:02have this huge space. So, I'm kind of
20:04disappointed with how small this is. And
20:06there's not too many people out here
20:08today, but it's just a Monday afternoon,
20:10so maybe on other days it' be a little
20:11bit busier with some more ice skaters.
20:13But yeah, lots of open food stands and
20:15they have a lot of these open areas
20:17under these umbrellas where you can be
20:19drinking your hot wine, listening to
20:21Christmas music, having some of the
20:23street food here. And then again, all
20:25along here, you have a lot of these
20:27shops. So, it's a good place to go
20:29Christmas shopping with a lot of
20:30different clothing shops along the Welos
20:33Square. So, anyways, that's my last
20:36Christmas market stop here in Prague.
20:38And there were two major Christmas
20:40markets and then three of these more
20:42minor markets. But yeah, very cool,
20:44beautiful place. I mean, Prague is just
20:46one of the most beautiful cities in
20:48Europe. So to be able to walk around the
20:50oldtown streets here and the shops just
20:53be covered in Christmas decorations and
20:55then opening up to like these squares
20:57that have these marvelous Christmas
20:59displays has just been so fun. And
21:01especially in the old town square there,
21:03there was just music filling the air. It
21:05is just magical. You're surrounded by
21:06the old town hall, the two Gothic church
21:09spires. You have these horserawn
21:11carriages carrying people around. It is
21:13just completely magical in there. And
21:15that's where I'm going to spend the rest
21:16of my afternoon and evening is going
21:18back to the old town square because that
21:20is definitely one of the best places to
21:22hang out here for the Christmas markets
21:24in Prague. Going to get a cup of hot
21:26wine, warm up my hands a little bit, and
21:28just enjoy the magical atmosphere of
21:30that place as it gets dark and the
21:32lights start to turn on. And it's only
21:34about 3:45 and it's already almost
21:36starting to get dark here. So yeah,
21:38that's how I'm going to enjoy my
21:39evening. But hopefully this gives you an
21:41idea of some of the top things that you
21:43can do here in Prague during the
21:45Christmas season, checking out some of
21:47the Christmas markets. And one thing
21:49that actually was surprising, this is my
21:50first Christmas market this year, but
21:53one thing that's surprising me here is
21:55they really lack like a lot of rides. I
21:57found that in a lot of the Christmas
21:59markets last year, there were either
22:01ferris wheels or little rides for kids
22:03or just a little bit more entertainment
22:06and it seemed to be lacking a little bit
22:07of that. But what it made up for is just
22:09a lot of class. A lot of the Christmas
22:11markets here were very classy, very well
22:14done artisan crafts with some of the
22:16blacksmith makers and these beautiful
22:18ornaments. And it's just a very Yeah.
22:20Well done, classy market. And again,
22:22especially in the Oldtown Square where
22:23you're surrounded by such beautiful
22:25historic architecture is just really
22:28amazing. So yeah, anyways, that's it for
22:30Prague. I'm going to head off to Poland
22:32tomorrow and then keep working my way
22:35further and further into Eastern Europe
22:37to show you a lot of the Christmas
22:38markets here. So yeah, hope you guys
22:40enjoyed Prague. I'll see you guys next
22:42time in Poland.
22:46[Music]

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