Czech Republic | three little birds travel

I’m going to ask you to do something very important, but a bit touristy, on your next trip.

Take pictures of your food!!

Sure, it’s a tad bit embarrassing to whip out your phone or camera and snap away at your dish, but how else are you going to remember how you gained all those well-deserved pounds?! When I came back from a two week trip to Italy, I ONLY posted pictures of the food I ate. Almost 1/3 of those pics were of gelato! ….no judging!

In celebration of all the well-deserved pounds I’ve maybe gained, I’m starting off a new section of my blog, Travel Bites, with the most amazing thing I ate in Prague, Czech Republic.

Introducing….the Trdelnik!

Cinnamon & Sugar Trdelnik

I found this tasty treat all around Prague and it’s absolutely delicious. It’s a perfect pick-me-up for when you’ve been walking all day and just want to sit on a park bench and relax. They come in different varieties, but my favorite was the cinnamon & sugar one.

Important: Make sure you buy them FRESH! They are much better when they come right off the hot stick.

Trdelnik in the making!

Fresh Trdelnik from a bakery next to the Charles Bridge

If you’re curious to know how they actually prepare these treats, you can click on this Trdelnik YouTube Video I found.

Feeling extra ambitious and a visit to Prague isn’t in your near future? You can try and make these at home! I found a great recipe from Pauline’s Cookbook that you can try. Let me know how it goes!

To see a collection of my favorite Travel Bites, check out my Eat, Drink, Travel Pinterest board.

There’s three things that December means to most Chicagoans: it’s absolutely freezing outside, there’s already snow on the ground (white or dirty black, both count here) and most of us are getting ready for full hibernation mode! Despite all this, I’d like to think that most of us are also really excited for the upcoming holidays (I know I am!). My multi-colored lights are lit and looped around my balcony, my Christmas scented candles are filling up my cozy condo with delicious scents of “Christmas Cookie” and “Gingerbread” and my little pup, Lilo, may or may not have her holiday sweater on (I promise that she picked it out herself)!

This is also the time that I get super excited about putting up my Christmas tree! It’s definitely nothing grand, standing at only 3ft tall, but it’s pre-lit and fake…so it’s efficient and doesn’t cause an automatic allergic reaction, which I consider a huge plus (Merry Christmas to me!). Another reason I love setting up my tree is I can finally display all my travel ornaments I’ve collected over the years, which leads me to a great piece of travel advice I will offer you…Pick one souvenir and stick with it!

The biggest question I get asked when people hear how often I travel is, “How can you afford all this?” It’s very simple, I don’t overspend. I budget where I can, and that includes all the tempting souvenirs that make your eyes glaze over when you’re walking through narrow streets or waiting in those endless lines at must-see museums. Don’t get me wrong, this was a hard lesson for me to learn too so don’t think I was exempt from falling prey to the beautifully displayed shop windows or the elderly man trying to sell me “locally-made” goods…we’ve all been there! But today is a new day for you! Pick something along your travels that means something to you and stick with it. For me it’s ornaments, but for you it could be collectable spoons, or shoes, or magnets, or a million other things. My sister buys Emily Bronte’s ‘Wuthering Height’s’ book from every country in their native language. She’s a huge book lover and it’s one of her favorites, so it makes sense. She also buys ornaments, but since she’s my sister she gets a pass on two souvenirs!

Below are some of my favorite ornaments that are displayed on this years Christmas tree. Some are cheesy (Princess Sisi, Vienna-Austria), some were a splurge (Golden Pineapple, Oahu-Hawaii) and some were free (Wooden spoon from Budapest – free with purchase of paprika spice). There also seems to be a running theme of alcohol related ones, but no judging! Enjoy all the pics and HAPPY HOLIDAYS!