embracing czech holidays in tábor

december weekends in europe are one of my (new) favorite things. there’s always something going on somewhere that accomplishes my usual goal of doing something festive. so when i heard about a killer one-day-only vanoční trh (christmas market) in tábor, a smaller south bohemian town situated on the rail line between  české budějovice and prague, it was decided.

i had no prior reason to go to tábor as i just assumed it was another small bohemian town. it’s actually got an important load of history behind it. the name of the town translates to ‘camp’ and is famous as the medieval hussite stronghold of bohemia, lead by jan žižka. if you spend any decent amount of time in the czech republic, you will certainly notice many streets and areas named for this guy.

i really wasn’t expecting much, but tábor really impressed me! it’s got a fantastic downtown boulevard and an absolutely lovely square with some really unique architecture that was being held hostage by the christmas festivities. what a big market! loads of people milling around admiring pottery, scarfing down grilled smoked “cheese patties”, or buying some jmelí (mistletoe) for their houses. i never grew up with mistletoe in the house around the holidays but it’s big here!
i spent a lot of time dancing around to the funky folk musicians or a brass quintet in the square and i swear, i learned so many czech christmas carols that day! smiling faces, happy kids, and general good feeling abounded.

for a little sustenance, i discovered u dvou koček that had our favorite bryndzové halušky as a weekend special. or what i like to call, slovak macaroni and cheese (you heard it politically incorrectly coined here first, folks!). i liked this version even better than the halušky i’ve had in slovakia– delicious and not too rich.

tábor’s old town is a delight to wander. so many sweet alleys to discover and the weather pleasantly cooperated. if i had to write a tagline to this adventure, i’d call it: “tábor: who knew?” the town is most definitely worth a couple of hours, especially if something fun is happening.

when in czech republic, don’t forget to look up! there is much to discover on the ornamented gables or a picture that describes what the former purpose of a building is. alex found a relief showing various baked goods, no doubt broadcasting that the building was a former bakery.

have you ever been completely surprised by a place?

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happy travel tuesday! each week the co-hosts and i spotlight our favorite travel post from the week before. this week, i am featuring ellen’s post about a roadtrip through the dreamy mojave desert. such swoonworthy photos of the desert and mountains will get anyone in the mood to plan their next southwest getaway. minus the tarantulas, of course!

if you’re a blogger, now’s the time to link up your travel post with us & meet some new travelers like yourself! here’s how it works: share a post about travel, link back to co-hosts bonnie, courtney, yalanda, & myself (cynthia) using the button below. add your link & hop around.

{TIPS} one post per person (save others for future tuesdays!). share the love on social media with the #traveltuesday hashtag. only properly linked posts will be featured! the last tuesday of the month will be an (optional) themed prompt.