Ahoj everyone!
Today, Malaysians go to the polls so I wanted to just keep this light and easy because Heaven knows, its heated enough out there! 😛 I thought I’d share a little about what’s been going on and why I had a little cryptic message on my blog 2 weeks ago and just why things have been up and down here at MWS central with the regular blog schedule all over the place.
First off, I had a freak accident that resulted in my car being quite badly damaged. No one was hurt and I don’t want to dwell on details but suffice to say that it was and still is a horrible time, the car is still at the service centre for repairs and there’s a lot on my plate to have to deal with a lot of crap. I tell you, people will try to wriggle their way out of paying money if they could! I’m trying to make sure that doesn’t happen. Its what’s my time is mostly taken up with now which I hope explains why blogging wasn’t top priority for me in the past couple of weeks. I’ll get better at managing time, promise (too much backlog to catch up with, but I hope this explains the why)
Freak accident aside, I was also away on a vacation to a city I’d been wanting to visit forever, ever since I can remember. I was in Prague, Czech Republic and I had the best time of my life! 😀
I don’t know when I got the idea that I had to visit Prague. It might have something to do with the fact that in school, I had a pen-pal from Czechoslovakia as it then was. We corresponded a while, and I remember her telling me about how beautiful her city was. We lost touch a few years later, but the worm of an idea of visiting the country wriggled its way into my head and stayed there.
Oldest working astronomical clock in the world ~ Prague, Old Town Square
Its taken quite a few years for it to happen, but happen it did! I would love to tell you a little more about what I did there, what I saw and just how much food I ate (OMG! The meats!) but I can’t do it in one sitting. There’s just so much, and I don’t know how interested anyone is in knowing what to do there or visit there. This isn’t a travel blog after all, even if I love my travel very much but I might split it up over a few weeks – just let me know when it bores you, or you can tell me what you want to know too 🙂
Prague Castle by night as seen from across the river
Suffice to say that I love the city. Its beautiful and romantic. There aren’t many cities in the world where you get a beautiful castle overlooking a river or a fairytale atmosphere in the old parts of the town. I had a great time getting lost in the little cobblestoned streets, turning round a corner and going “Oh! I was just here a few minutes ago!” I loved the history and how well preserved everything is because Hitler apparently loved the city so much, he wanted to preserve as much of his retirement home as he could.
Grilled Pork Knuckle ~ 305CZK (approx RM47)
I enjoyed the food a lot even if it was mostly just meats the size of my face and beers in tankards bigger than my usual capacity. I had been warned ahead of time to “leave at home your notion of greens” and truly, greens aren’t the Czech’s top 10 foods.
Eggenberg beer 0.5l light and dark at Eggenberg brewery ~ Ceský Krumlov
If you’ve never eaten a “trdelnik” I highly recommend it, especially from a little bakery called Krust, just off the Old Town Square. There are other stalls selling it but the best I had came from this bakery even if its a tiny bit pricier than other places at 60CZK (approx RM4). I had one almost every day. Yes, I’m now fatter than when I left – don’t judge 😛
Ahoj Trdelnik! You made me fat (but I forgive you because you’re so good!)
I also went out of the city to 2 other nearby towns of Kutná Hora and Ceský Krumlov – the former has a most interesting church decorated with bones of over 40,000 humans. Yes, humans. Wanna see pictures? 😀 The latter is a UNESCO Heritage Site and to me, a fairytale town where I sat by the river in the cool sun, having a lunch feast while watching ducks and with a view of the castle. Quite a perfect afternoon 😀
So this has been what’s happening with me. It was the worst of times and it was the best of times. You don’t want to see pictures of the worst of times, so I’ll just leave you with the pretty ones 🙂
I went without having much of an idea of what to do, where to go, what to see (due to my trauma) but it all turned out for the best, and I even had time to slip in some shopping 😉 Special shoutouts go out to Charlotte at Lipglossiping and A, a lovely reader who lives in Prague (who I had the chance to meet!) for helping me with my many questions. That, free wifi and a pretty affordable data mobile phone package helped me get around and I had a great time.
I’ll tell you more soon (Or you can ask me questions and we can take it from there 🙂 )
Have you been to Prague? Is it in your list of must-visit cities in the world?
Its been on my list for the longest time and I was very happy to finally book my tickets and cross it off. I would love to return some day. If I lived in Europe, I probably would. But as I don’t, it’ll just have to be a quick stopover next time 😉
Paris B
heehee that pic with the two beers looks familiar 😛 sad to hear about your car, but glad you had a good time in Prague! (PS: whoa that pork knuckle is huge!)
wait, you remembered my souvenir right? 😉
Darn! I was gunning for “My beers are bigger than my head!” LOL! 😀 Yes the car thing sucks but I had no choice but to go away since everything had been booked ahead of time. Souvenir? Erm… *twiddles thumbs*
On the shitty part: Hot damn. Your car looked like someone actually fell on it! Hope everything goes smoothly with the car repairs and everything. Just glad you weren’t hurt.
On the holiday part: HOT DAMN. Love the photos! So glad you enjoyed Prague. It’s definitely on my must-see-before-die holiday destinations 😀
Thank you Tine 🙂 The car thing is still being battled on a day to day basis although the claws are coming out. Prague is a gorgeous gorgeous place. Definitely a must visit!
Your poor car! But I’m glad you had a lovely time. Prague looks fun! Haven’t been (should really settle down to buy a McMansion) but one day…
Thank you Sam 🙂 Prague was an amazing place. There was so much to see, my head was swivelling all over the place! I’m sure you’ll get there some day once you get the McMansion settled 😉
So sorry about your car. What a horrible accident.
Yes i’ve been to Prague in 2009. Still as beautiful as i can remember, though I didn’t really enjoy the food since I’m not a meat eater ( i’m more seafood eater, that’s why i love beaches very much ). Definitely was my #1 in my must visit list. Now that my mission was accomplished, my top #1 surely is Cannes ! or Santorini …? Hard to decide.
Thank you Lucy 🙂 Isn’t Prague just amazing with its old world charm and beautiful architecture?! I was beyond stunned by its beauty. After a week of eating meats and more meats (I just have to try everything local!) I was very happy to come home and have rice and congee and be vegetarian for a while LOL! Now that I’ve achieved that goal in my life, I’m not sure where’s next. I’d love to go to Greece! 😀
Oh Paris–I’m so sorry about the accident. I know how scary and truly traumatizing it can be (remember when I totaled my car back in Sept? eek!) :/ I’m just really glad it wasn’t worse and that you are okay! Cars can be fixed but you are our one and only Paris!! 😀
I’m glad you got to go to Prague though–it was a well-deserved treat after such a horrible experience. Those trdelniks look yummy! At first, I was pronouncing it “turtleneck” when reading your post. Then I thought “oh, it’s actually shaped like a turtleneck too!” 😛 haha! Ahh I can’t wait to do some traveling–Prague looks absolutely beautiful!
Thank you so much Becca <3 Yes I do remember your nasty accident but I also remember you were in the car? That must have been even more traumatizing! I'm lucky I wasn't in the car at the time or I might have been flattened too LOL! 😀 I had to go coz everything had been booked and as luck would have it, the accident happened just 2 days before I had to leave. You can imagine, I was quite a wreck even when I got there but its one of those things. If you want to dwell on it, it'd eat you up inside so I just had to chase away the blues, while at the same time, emailing people here to find out what was happening 😀
LOL at your interpretation of trdelnik 😀 It actually came from the word trdlo which is a wooden (or now metal) stake which the pastry is wrapped around and then cooked over a fire. I'll share more photos in time to come 😀
Stand your ground with the claims! Hope things get sorted out real soon.
Yes, Prague is on my must-visit list … and has been for the past three years. The boyfriend and I agreed that it’s one of those cities that we should go together and we’ve been taking turns to be busy so Prague has eluded us. We’re planning to celebrate Christmas 2013 there and hopefully that happens. I might freeze to death but Prague in winter will certainly be an experience. So glad you loved your trip there and you starting a travel blog would certainly be a fantastic idea.
I will, Isabel. I’m standing my ground – I have no choice but to stand since I have no wheels LOL! You have to visit Prague some day and going with a loved one would be amazing! Its a very beautiful, very romantic city. You’ll both love it 😀 I have been told that its beautiful in winter too and there’s a Christmas market so try to catch that one! I’ve always wanted to see a Christmas market. Don’t worry about freezing. So long as you have a good jacket and some good shoes, you’re alright. Besides, you can always hide in one of the many restaurants and thaw out with wonderful food and drink! 😀 I won’t be starting a travel blog (I won’t have enough to talk about hehe…) but I’ll most certainly be sharing my travel tales here from time to time. I hope no one stops reading because of that 😉
The city looks so beautiful! lovely pics! Prague has been on my wish list since few years now..aah may be someday! 🙂
Don’t give up Parita! I had it on my wishlist for years and years and only just made it a reality 😀
Oooh, you were here in Europe! Now that must be exciting idd ^^. Prague looks like such a bueatiful place, I haven’t been there yet but I sure want to go. I’m so sorry to hear about your car accident, it’s a horrible experience and I hope you didn’t suffer from any trauma. Let’s hope everything goes well ^^. But yay for the lovely trip to Prague, it looks like you had a great time! 🙂
Yes yes I was Teri! I wasn’t near enough to Belgium or I would have told you and Sunny about it 😀 😀 Oh you have to visit Prague, Teri. You’re so near you could just go for a weekend and enjoy the city! Its quite different from Belgium (but I’ve only been to Brussels so I probably am not the best person to judge 😀 ) Thank you for your commiserations. I’m working on kicking butt about the accident. Not gonna give up coz its going to cost A LOT to get it repaired 🙁
Hi Paris!
I am so sorry to hear about the freak accident. I hope things will be sorted out for u soon. I’m glad u had the chance to visit Prague amidst the trauma. I haven’t been to Prague before but have been dreaming to visit there one day. It is in my list of must-visit cities. The castle looks beautiful at night! Oh, and I will definitely try ‘trdelnik’! Thanks for sharing the nice pics.
Thank you much Rin 🙂 I had no choice but to leave because there was just 2 days between what happened and my trip and I would stand to lose so much more money. Prague is a gorgeous city and do make plans to visit. It took me years! 😀
Sorry to hear about your car. Hope it gets settled soon.
Thanks for sharing those beautiful pictures of your travels. Would love to see more! Looks like a great place to visit in the future, love the architecture.
Thank you Lena, I hope so too 🙂 I will definitely share more photos as I go along. Maybe have a little travel section weekly or fortnightly? 😀 Its beautiful so if you’re ever going to Europe, do contemplate a stopover. Worth every penny!
OH NO!!! I’m so sorry about your car! How frightening! I’m so glad you are ok!
Prague! How COOL. It looks like a great place to visit! I’m glad you had time for such a nice trip! You deserved it for sure after that.
Thank you Trakee!! *hugs*
Hello Paris. Sorry to hear of the misfortune that happened to your car. Yes, it can take a seriously long time to sort things out. I hope you will be able to sort things out soon…in the meantime, take care and try to hang in there.
Prague! Ahh so exotic. I have heard of Prague from some of my bosses who sang praises – scenery, culture, weather…no one said a thing about those gigantic beer mugs and pork platters though 😛 Glad you had a good time there, couldn’t have been better timing despite the trauma.
Thanks for sharing the lovely photos! I love the Prague Castle night view. So majestic and magnificent from the photo. Imagine the sight in real life! Ahaha, love the trdelnik pose. You look awesome 🙂
Hope all goes well for you. Sorry I cannot help much. But if you need some corny jokes, I will surely have some all the time 😉 Take care sweetheart, all the storms will soon be over. *Hugs*
Thank you so much for your kind words Jennifer (and for your email which I’ll get to in just a bit!) I’m hanging in there and kicking butt while at it 😀 Haha Prague is a feast for the eyes and for the belly! I always indulge in local food wherever I go and honestly, the local food in the Czech Republic is very substantial! 😀 Please feel free to share all the corny jokes you want, I can always do with a smile 😀
Wow – it does look like someone fell on your car (sorry, I watch too many cop shows :P). I can imagine it’s hard to blog about skincare and beauty with that on your mind. Some people can be in such denial when it comes to pony-ing up money for vehicular accidents that they caused, sigh.
You don’t know how accurate you are Synical 🙂 Not a body though – or it would have been worse 😛 I’ll have to use beauty as my refuge of sanity now. Thank you and yes, I’m fighting the injustice! 🙂
Hey Paris, so sorry to hear about the car. I know I’ve said it but I’m saying it again: I’m glad you’re safe, and I hope whoever is responsible for this pays for the repair!
So you went to Prague! I remember seeing on Twitter about you not knowing how much to tip. Well, we don’t really tip here in Europe! It is not expected. If you leave a little something they’ll be happy. Not sure how it works in Czech, but here in Belgium the waiters are not badly-paid at all so tips are extra. I haven’t been to Prague. My boyfriend went last year for a conference and he really loved it. Maybe we’ll go together at some point. Doesn’t a trip change everything? I’m glad you made something good out of something bad!
Thank you so much Sunny *hugs* I am making sure someone pays, that’s for sure! Its an astronomical amount and it wasn’t even my fault! >.< Yes I was in Prague 😀 As I mentioned to Teri, I wasn't anywhere near Belgium or I'd have popped over to say hello to the two of you lovelies! 😀 In Prague, tipping is expected (almost) and in some places, they just added on 10% to the bill or expected you to tip at least 10%. I was told that you had the option not to, but when in Rome, or in this case Prague, do as the Czechs do 😉 Do try to plan a visit. You're so near, you could do a weekend getaway! 😀
Ive been to Czech and its great! I also had one friend from there and generally received warm welcome, very nice people 🙂
So sorry for your car! I know what you mean about trying not to pay… Its tricky, isnt it?
Thank you Catherine and I’m making sure the culprits don’t get away! I think the Czech people were nice too! Not a nasty word said to me (although I couldn’t understand it either LOL!) 😀
Take care Paris B!! Be safe ya!! Prague is also in my travel list!! I don’t think will make my trip in this few years but definitely I ll make my trip there one day! I ll be eagerly waiting for you to share the moments in Prague:)
Thank you so much Michelle 😀 It took me many years to get to Prague but I got there in the end and so will you! 😀 I’ll be sure to share my travel tales soon
Sorry to hear about your car, but happy to see your great travel pics!
Hope you are well! Still waiting for the full results tonight, UBAH!
Thank you Monstro! 😀
Paris I’m sorry to hear about the accident. I’m glad you weren’t hurt, but for the car accidents are my worst nightmare. I’ve had a fair share (and I’ve never been hurt thankfully) and the thing is that I’m super careful driving but things just happen.
Regarding your trip, wow I’m really happy about hearing that 🙂 Its so beautiful. Your photo with the pork knuckle made me laugh and reminded me of a (work) trip I did once to Poland where the size of the food, especially the duck, they put in front of me were absolutely massive. I asked them if the locals actually really eat those portions. The answer was: yes, but with the help of some vodka 😉
Hi Sofia, thank you 🙂 I do have to thank my lucky stars that neither I nor anyone else was hurt in this one. We can be careful but we just don’t know how others will behave right? I’m glad you’ve been unhurt too – stay safe! Gosh, are food portions in Poland as large too! I think that’s why everyone was drinking so much beer – they had to wash everything down! 😀
Paris… I am going to say something which doesn’t sound that pleasure to the ear. But still… I am glad it was just the car. My worst imaginations, when you said you were going through some bad events in life, were many other more wildly ridiculous and worse nightmares… I really have an apt for imagining the worst. I’m glad it was just the car, because I feel that what is really going to upset (really upset topsy turvy, not just tantrum upset) my life would be those living love ones around me and the relationship. And I can really feel your annoyance with the car, because I also had a tree boulder falling on my very first car too! And it was really quite a young car, less than 3 years old! I was so angry with my estate management – it dented my roof heavily as well as the sides. The windows didn’t break, but it’s really horridly mangled enough. I was really quite upset, bcos of all the other older vehicles around me, why the boulder had to fall only on my car?? My car is still so young and suppose to remain pure and pretty ok? I had the town council cover for management but under their designated repair office. I was really upset cos since I didn’t want to file under my own insurance – I couldn’t go to my car company’s repair office. The repair makes it look ok externally, same as what it used to, but I can’t help wondering how I mind be short-changed compared to if I had brought it to the car company’s. I was upset, but what could I do? Either that, or they won’t cover up the cost…
Hi PeiQing, I know what you’re saying and I totally get you, not to worry 🙂 It was the first thing my parents said too when I told them. I suppose if we were to believe in things like destiny and that “things will happen” then it is much better that it happened to be something material and not a bodily injury 🙂 I am so sorry to hear about what happened to your car. It is almost exactly what I’m going through right now and I’m sure you had a rough time too. On the bright side, think of it as a bridge you crossed. Perhaps soon you will be able to sell and trade in the car for a new one 🙂
Prague is on my list of city’s to visit, I love the way it looks and just the churches and buildings are worth it. Love the food you are showing… and yes you were so close to Holland 🙂
Ah Wojis, you are so near to Prague, you should visit! I was so jealous of the Europeans I met who told me they took only 2 hours flying time to reach the city. It took me over 16 hours! LOL! 😀