Saturday’s Farm Market

On Sunday morning we get up early because we wanted to go to rediscover Prague and specially our neighborhood, which we are already in love.

Breakfast is the best meal of the day, for me. And Jan likes to go to the bakery for fresh bread on the weekends, something I appreciate a lot. So, breakfasts are even better on the weekend.

He came back from the bakery telling that he discovers a market in the square!

With a spectacular day we went for it. It was our first weekend alone in Prague since I arrived 3 weeks ago. Jan was speaking to the farmers and this market is every weekend. 

The market has a really good a surtimiento of Czech food. You can fine food to eat at the moment as soap “polevka”, dry meat, vegetables “zelanina a ovove”, desserts and even fish.

This is the dry fish you can fine in the marked and even there were fresh fish, salmon and tuna, and sea food like prawns.

These apples are delicious! Next weekend we will definitely come back!

It was a fantastic Saturday morning; it seems we were in spring not in winter, even the snow was melting.

Location: Jiřího z Poděbrad Square

On: Saturdays morning

Altamira - Praha 1

On Friday afternoon I went to buy a note book. Why? And why is this so important? Because on Monday, finally, I’m going to start a Czech Course!

In Prague someone can absolutely survive with English. The people everywhere speak languages but I want to feel more integrated and comfortable and to learn Czech is the first step.

But in this story the most important is the Notebook and the place where I went, specially, to look for it. The shop is Altamira where you can find anything for arts and craft. It’s a small shop in the city center full of things everywhere on the walls. I discovered it when I was here in Prague for my Erasmus four years ago. I always look for an occasion to come back again. It’s definitely a corner that I will mark in a map of Prague.

Location: Skořepka 1, Praha 1

If you turn the street there is its twin shop with technical material.

Location: Jilská 2, Praha 1

Karlín - Praha 8

Today afternoon I walked around Karlín neighborhood. It’s basically a business area at the north of the city. I walked even further until Florence and Náměstí Republiky almost next to the old town.

From here you can see the National Monument on Vitkov Hill.

 This are the train rails near Florence.

The tram in Náměstí Republiky and the Municipal House of the city of Prague in the background.

Vinohrady – Praha 3

My neighborhood is Vinohrady by the Náměstí Jiřího z Poděbrad (George of Poděbrady Square) next to the Žižkov Television Tower. Vinohrady means “vineyards” because the district was once covered in vineyards.

This is what I can see through my living room window.

This is the Jiřího z Poděbrad Square with the Church of the Most Sacred Heart of Our Lord and the Žižkov Television Tower in the background.

Týn - Jižní Čechy

Snow, snow and snow! Today again we woke up and all around the town was covered by a wonderful white layer of snow. We went for a cold walk.

In the background we have the Jan’s Basic School, Základní Škola Malá Strana Týn, and his sister school and his mother school too.

The Vltava River was frozen, at list the edge of it. The Vltava is the longest river in Czech Republic; it starts in the mountains of Šumava just in the border with German. Then the River passes through Český Krumlov, České Budějovice, TÝN NAD VLTAVOU(this picture) and Prague, merging with Elbe at Melnik.

Beautiful white town, isn’t?

We started feeding some ducks…

…four small and cute ducks…

…but suddenly all the family of ducks and friends decided to joy us!

At the end we were afraid of them, we gave them the last pieces of bread we had and we run away!

This is a restaurant next to the old bridge that always I pass I should stop, I don’t know what it attract me, but it does. Maybe it’s something happens to me with many things of Czech Republic, the things are not new, they are broken, the time pass, it’s an old country, it’s not perfect, it has charm and history. Every corner is telling you a story. Something I miss from my city, Barcelona.

We walked until the old bridge which I’m in love, where you can enjoy the view of the river and the skyline of the old town.

//ISC1// Auntie's Cheese Cake

I sometimes cook, basically when I have time or for a special occasion.

This time I baked a Cheese Cake, the best one in my opinion, the recipe of my Aunt.

My aunt Angelines cooks really well, with her secret ingredient, as my cousin says "carinyu", with love.

She sent me her recipe and I tired. It was my first time and it was a success.

Ingredients:

- 150g of Cookies (Maria Dorada, Spanish brand)

(I used a Czech one's I found in the supermarket)

- 80g of Butter

- 350g of fresh Cheese (type Philadelphia)

- 150g of Sugar

- 200ml of Cream Milk

- 20g of Flour

- Lemon zest

- 3 Eggs

Oven: 45 minutes at 170º

Preparation:

First of all, crumble the cookies in small pieces and melt the butter in a bowl. Mix the cookies and the butter creating a homogeny mass. Distribute the mass around the bottom and the walls of the springform pan. This will be the first layer of our cheese cake.

The second step is to make the cheese mass. Whisk the cheese, the sugar, the cream milk, the flour, the lemon zest and the 3 egg yolks in a bowl. Keep the 3 eggs white separately.

With a hand-held mixer beat the egg whites until they form stiff peaks. Add carefully and slowly the stiff egg whites with the rest of the cheese mass.

Pour the cake batter into the springform pan and bake it during 45 minutes.

… and last but not least… ENJOY IT!

Snow!

What a present! What a dream! One weeks and 2 days after my arrival I get up and the city is covert with a few layer of snow. How can this city be even more beautiful under the snow?

I took my camera and I went for a walk. It’s cold, it’s really cold. I’m not used to this kind of weather and I think I’m not going to get used to it, never. You know, I’m from a Mediterranean city, this temperature is not for me.

I walk a lot, from my new home to the city center and to the river. Finally, I decided to take a tram to come back, the number 17. I prefer to see the snowy city though the window of the tram, finally warm, the river, the castle adobe it, the people, the birds and the snow. This is really beautiful, I cannot believe the views.

This first week it has been quite busy. Packing and moving. And it seems that with the snow, also, the peace came back to our place. I’m still in a clown, in a dream, I don’t know if I’m in a dream or if this is now my life.