Monday in Prague!
Hooray for sleeping in a big, comfy bed! Louise and I had
fun being roommies. We got along great and enjoyed spending time together.
She’s so much fun! We all decided to meet for breakfast at 8:30 and be ready to
leave for the day at 9:30, and it actually worked out that way—go us! I
actually got up to the lounge early so I could blog and do my Trip Advisor
reporting before everyone else got up there. The others trickled in at various
times for coffee and breakfast. Steve and I are apparently the early birds of
the bunch, so we were both up there and alert for a while before time to leave.
And guess who we met… some more Americans! =) I have to say that when I travel,
Americans are the ones who are willing to make friends and talk to others more
than most. You know how much I love meeting people and chatting them up. It’s
what I do when I travel! We met a nice couple from Utah on a tour with some
friends, and another older couple from CA on vacation before they go visit
their daughter in… DC!
And now, onward we go to… the Prague Castle! We decided to
take a cab and get there quickly (since it was uphill and across the river),
then walk our way back to the hotel throughout the day. People always talk
about how the Praha (Prague) Castle is such a highlight of the city, but
honestly I wasn’t all that impressed. The most impressive thing about it was
definitely the cathedral on the castle grounds. It’s incredibly big, ornate,
and impressive. There was a choral group there that I think just decided to
start singing in the church. They may have been on tour from somewhere and were
just sightseeing, but I’m glad they decided to stop at the castle the same day
as us and give us a free concert! Their voices were lovely, and the acoustics
in the cathedral are lent to that kind of music, as opposed to organ music. I
got goose bumps and nearly started crying right there! It was beautiful.
We also saw several of the other buildings and important
sights around the castle, such as the defenestration window—where they used to
throw people out! I think that might have actually been my favorite thing to
see at the castle. =) We also walked through the vineyards and a VERY
interesting museum of the “Story of Praha Castle.” There we could read about
people who had lived in the castle or been important political leaders in
Prague during the 4th-12th centuries. Pretty cool! We
even got to see some crown jewels and other artifacts. I, of course, wanted to
read everything, but you just can’t do that with other people. That’s why I
like traveling along. Not that I don’t appreciate my traveling companions, I
just feel bad for slowing them down. I picked up my pace, though, of
course—there’s so much more to see!
When we did at last finish up the castle grounds, we worked
our way through the “Lesser Town” (as opposed to “Old Town” Prague) and found a
place for lunch. This time I branched out beyond goulash and went for DUCK! It
came with red cabbage (one of my favorite side dishes!) and potato pancakes
(which kind of came looking like a sausage patty, but it was definitely
potato). It was a winner! Everyone else’s looked good, too, but I was one happy
duck. ;) hahaha.
After lunch we walked over the Charles Bridge, which crosses
the Vltava River and connects the two parts of Prague. It’s supposedly one of
the most romantic places in Europe, but this particular Monday, it was also one
of the most crowded! We got lots of good pictures, though, and there were lots
of vendors to choose from who were selling jewelry and other handcrafts,
drawing caricatures, and performers playing instruments—I love that kind of
things around cities like Prague and others around the world! At the end of the
bridge, “guarding” the way through the gate to get to Old Town Prague, was a
knight—sword and armor and all! He was really there for photo-ops… and of
course Louise and I were right on board with that! She and I both got our
pictures with the guy: one threatening him with the sword and one acting all
chummy. =) I like it when people know how to have fun! I wonder if they’re
actually paid by anyone or just work off tips. Either way, it looked like he
was having fun!
Winding through the cobblestone streets of Old Town, we
stumbled upon our Trdelnik pastry shop and stopped to smell it. Mmmmmm… Since
Brian had been to Prague fairly recently and had seen the sights, and since
Steve had a Top 10 Prague Eyewitness
Travel book, we ladies let them play tour guides for a while and we just
took it all in! We all seemed to gravitate toward the astronomical clock,
probably because it’s the biggest and probably most famous thing in Prague, and
it IS quite interesting. There’s also a cathedral close to the main square that
looks like Melefecent’s castle from Sleeping
Beauty. Jen and I really liked that one! We also went to Wenceslas Square,
which is another famous square in the Old Town. It used to be a place for horse
auctions in medieval times, but was renamed for the famous king in 1848. He now
sits atop a horse for all eternity in front of the Czech National Museum. Quite
a nice little place. I had unknowingly stumbled upon this place on my two-hour
trek to find the Hilton Prague, actually, but I appreciated it more this time
than I did the first. =)
Moving along… the next item of interest was a statue left
from Communist times. It’s one of the only statues from the era still standing,
and it’s a statue of a Czech man kissing a Communist soldier. Weird. But
whatever. I just said it was interesting, I didn’t say it was a highlight. ;)
And up next we had a surprise for Louise… We stopped for
coffee and tea at the Art Deco Restaurant and Café Imperial! Louise had just
recently finished a book based at the hotel Imperial in Prague in the 1940s for
her book club, so of course we needed to stop there and have a little snack
while we were in the neighborhood! It really was a special thing because this
place is art deco at its… finest? Haha. I actually thought it was really
amazing looking. Just like we were back in a ‘20s or ‘30s movie featuring Fred
Astaire and Ginger Rogers. Everything was tile mosaic, flashy, shiny, gold, and
fancy! Louise was tickled, and we just couldn’t stop laughing with her when she
asked the hostess if she could have a bunch of the napkins to take home and use
when her book club comes to discuss the book! Too funny. Life is so much fun!
And then… we were pooped! Back to the Hilton we went. It was
already 5:00 by the time we got there, so we all kind of did our own thing and
got comfortable and rested, then ended up in the executive lounge talking for
the rest of the night. I think that actually might have been my favorite part
of the whole weekend—just talking with my friends till the lounge closed down
at 11! The Hilton folks have snacks and drinks available all day long, so we
never even had to leave for supper or anything. It was great! We laughed about
pictures and things we’d seen and done and just basically enjoyed each other’s
company all evening. Traveling alone has its perks, beyond a doubt, but I am
very grateful for the invite to tag along with the Stuckerts to Prague. I can’t
think of a better way to end my European excursion!
The next morning, we got all ready and were on a plane bound
to Frankfurt that afternoon! We got a bit delayed in Frankfurt, but once we
were off the ground things went fairly smoothly!
Again, thank you for joining me on the journey! Next stop… I’ll
let you know when I get there. =)
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