Czech’s celebrate Christmas on the 24th of December but they have public holidays from the 24th until the 26th. So what happens if you want to grab a beer and lunch in the city center on Christmas? I’t not an easy task.
I set out at 15:30 with my boyfriend Isaac and headed for our regular spot, Nagano 98. It was closed, and so were several places that we tried calling. We took tram 14 into the center, passing KFC near Novy Smichov shopping center which was open and a bunch of typical Czech pubs that were not. We got off at Lazarska and found a lot of small open fast food places. We decided to grab baguettes at Bageterie Boulevard near Narodni Trida. We got something from their quick menu which has small 39 czk baguettes. They closed at 16:00 on Christmas and the doors were already being locked when we left.
We decided to walk through the maze of streets between Narodni Trida and Narodni Divadlo, hoping to find something that was open. Most places had all their light off and their doors barred. Some had signs explaining their holiday schedules while others were just closed. Some expensive tourist places were still open and we walked into several smaller places but were turned right around because they were all just about to close. After being kicked out a few place, sometimes politely and other times not, we walked into Bar U Matěje. We walked in cautiously, looking around in worry that someone will tell us to leave. But we finally found a place that was properly open and it was filled with expats.
We got a couple of beers, their draft options were Pilsner, Gambrinus and Master, a dark beer. They also had a few Christmas specials, Cupito for 39 czk, a special punch for 59 czk and 2 x vodka + redbull for just under 100. The place was quite busy since it was one of the few open but the waitress was quick and friendly.
On our way out we realized that Isaac had forgotten his bag at Bageterie Boulevard but they were already closing when we left and we rushed back to a very closed restaurant. We went to the police station around the corner and although they were very friendly and gave us a ride in their car, they couldn’t do much else and advised us to wait until the next morning before cancelling all the credit cards. Since looking online proved that no one had tried using the cards, we took their advice. Luckily the bag and everything in it was recovered the next day, giving Bageterie an extra start in our books.
