Czechs are a nation with a positive attitude to food. As is the case with any nation with a long-standing cultural tradition, the Czech Republic has its own specific range of dishes, including numerous Christmas specialities, served mainly during Advent.
Sweet dishes
Christmas in the Czech Republic is a time for sweet goodies. At this time of year you’ll get to taste delicious sweets you’ll never forget. Some of the most popular Christmas sweet dishes are:
- vánočka – a sweetbread made from 9 strands of plaited white dough and containing raisins
- vanilla rolls – small biscuits rolled in vanilla sugar
- decorated Czech gingerbread – flat pieces of gingerbread cut into various shapes and decorated with icing
- ‘vosí hnízda’ (wasps nests) – biscuits made with nut-filled dough and rum
A few tips:
You can sample Czech honey gingerbread and watch it being made at the Mining Museum (www.museum-pribram.cz) in Příbram (www.pribram-city.cz), at the open-air branch in nearby Březové Hory.
Did you know...?
Baking Christmas sweets is one of the best kept traditions in the Czech Republic. It is normal for women to try to outdo each other by baking more types than all the others (they can literally bake tens of different kinds!).
Winter beverages
On cold winter days the best thing to warm the insides is a cup of hot mead, punch or mulled wine.
Traditional hospitality
The best Christmas feasts are always at home around the family dinner table, but you can also take a seat at any Czech restaurant to enjoy some yuletide fare. Several dishes form the core of a Czech Christmas and you shouldn’t pass up a chance to try them:
- fried Christmas carp
- potato salad to accompany the carp
- wine sausage – made with pork, beef and white wine
- fish soup – made with carp
A few tips
If you want to try all of these dishes and experience something really special, look no further than the festively decorated medieval tavern in Dětenice (www.krcmadetenice.cz) in the Czech Paradise Region.
Here you will have an authentic medieval dining experience: eating with your fingers at wide tables while seated on straw, dancers performing on the tables, sword fighting, beggars, fakirs, conjurers and other historical figures, live period music, medieval specialities grilled over an open fire.
