There is nothing like being immersed in medieval splendour to remind one that people have been doing Christmassy things for a very long time.
In Prague’s Old Town Square, the first of my stops to investigate Central European Christmas markets, I am surrounded by the town hall, the site of two famous instances of throwing politicians out the window (1419 and 1618); the wonderful astronomical clock (built in 1410); the baroque Church of St. Nicholas (1704); and the Gothic spires of the Church of Our Lady Before Týn (1380).
