Advent markets end in a number of places before the holidays, and you’re full of welders. You don’t want to go to the forest because it just rained and there is mud everywhere. And you have already seen three cribs this year. We have five secret tips for you, where else to go for a Christmas walk. They have their charm even after the holidays.
You can also play the special Christmas episode of the podcast HERE:
Few people can sit through their free days with fairy tales and a full table. Most of us try to intersperse moments with family with walks, to nearby and distant places. “Every year on Christmas Day, my family and I gather at Matěje’s Hanspaulka in Prague and go for a walk together,” Eva Všetíčková, editor of Receptář magazine, describes her tradition. There are many places where you will not meet another hundred people and at the same time enjoy the festive atmosphere. In and out of cities. These are our tips.
To the top
It is good to look ahead to the new year, but sometimes to the previous one as well. And it’s even better from a height. Find a nice hill nearby and go for a run. Or find a favorite tourist destination nearby. Especially during holidays, there may not be anyone there, and most places are waiting for hikers as well as skiers. Sněžka, Ještěd, Radhošť, but also smaller pilgrimage sites with calvaries, chapels or just a nice lookout tower. If it’s not windy, plan a trip. In winter, you can also see better and further on a clear day than at other times of the year.
Castles and chateaux
Many of us still subconsciously honor the castle season, so we wouldn’t even think of going to noble residences during the holidays. However, both state and private castles and chateaux often open their gates in this period and organize special tours, markets or even concerts. And not only on Advent, but also at the beginning of January. Check out the program near you and don’t forget to reserve your ticket. It is surprisingly crowded.
Behind the light
With light parks, the sack has almost been torn apart in recent years. But why not? When it gets dark almost after lunch, it’s nice to go somewhere where the street lamps aren’t the only lights. You can find one of your own in most larger cities, in Prague, for example, in Žluty Lázně or Letňany, in Ostrava in the Dolní Vítkovice area, in Brno right at Špilberk, at the castle in Ratměřice or in Český Krumlov and Pardubice.
To the gardens
The classic ones, but above all the zoological and botanical ones. You may feel that they are boring during the colder part of the year. But many animals, on the other hand, prefer colder weather, and many of them try to offer something extra to visitors during the winter. In Prague, for example, you will find your own light installations, in Pilsen they are preparing a New Year’s Eve trail, and in Ostrava you can save on the entrance fee.
Meet at the cemetery
Now you may be patting yourself on the forehead that you lit a candle before Christmas. Or on Christmas Day. But when was the last time you really walked around the cemetery. They listened. And they observed the strange world in the world around them. Cemeteries can be sad when you’ve recently lost a loved one. But try to remember him in a more cheerful spirit during a similar walk. Or go straight to some completely “foreign” cemetery. In the silence and peace that prevails even in the most neglected cemetery around the village church, the walk is usually very pleasant. And not only at the end of the year.
