My friends Mary and Joy and I arrived there on Friday at 8:30 a.m. and didn't stop going until we boarded the plane at 7 p.m. on Sunday and we still only saw a fraction of what there is to see there. We had fabulous weather, which was very much appreciated as Prague is definitely a walking city and we did a whole lotta walkin'!
On Friday, we took a bus tour around the city and to Prague Castle--which is actually a huge compound that includes museums, a cathedral and the residence of the Czech chancellor. The tour gave us an overview of the city, but the tour guide was a Russian who did the tour in Russian and in English. The only trouble is that her English was so heavily accented, it was difficult to tell when she was speaking Russian and when she switched to English. We wandered about the Old Town and the New Town marveling that each street we turned down had something wonderful to see.
On Saturday, we got up early and aided by the advice of the concierge at our hotel, Lucie, we took train over to the river and found the Church of the Infant Jesus. A place that houses this statue of the infant Jesus that has supposedly brought good luck to the people of Prague throughout the centuries. To show their devotion to the infant Jesus, people make clothes for him, so he may be the only statue in the world with a complete, ornate wardrobe. Prague is FULL of legends of miracles, ghosts and magic.
We took a funicular up to the hill that overlooks Prague where they have a smaller copy of the Eiiffel Tower that you can climb to get the best view of Prague--and it is spectacular. We walked some more and found the Golden Lane, this narrow little street of colored houses where Kafka once lived. We wound our way back down to the city and Mary took pictures of Prague at night. Soon I'll have copies of her pics, which will be far better than mine! We stood on the Charles Bridge at night and finally got to dinner at 9 p.m. at a traditional Czech restaurant where we found that we like all the Czech people have to offer with the exception of the dumplings.
The next day we hit the historic Jewish Quarter where a number of the synagogues have been turned in to museums. The Jewish people have a rich and tragic history in Prague. And they also have their share of tales of magic and mysticism. From there we took a boat down the river Vlatva.
We went to the brand new Starbucks to get our souvenir Prague Starbucks mugs. It's only been there for two weeks and is currently the only Starbucks in the Czech Republic. It was the busiest Starbucks I've ever seen. There were like 10 kids behind the counter making coffee. When I purchased my mug as well as a Czech Republic travel mug, the guy behind the counter handed the travel mug to me and said, in all seriousness, "May it serve you well." Could he see the caffeine addiction in my face?
Mary, Joy and I agreed that the St. Niklaus Church in the center of town is the creepiest church we've ever been in. Lots of violent images in paintings, sculpture and altars. Not only that, but it was the only church we could remember ever having to pay to get into. Other churches will charge to climb the steeple or to take a guided tour or for a special book, but usually you don't have to pay money just to enter!
One more trip across the St. Charles bridge and a late mid-day meal at a fabulous restaurant our friend and world-traveler Molly Dee recommended. Then it was back to the airport and back to reality--and boy did it hit hard. Rained all day today in Dusseldorf and today was Maddie's first day of swimming lessons which meant fighting traffic into and out of downtown as well as navigating around naked men in the common changing area of the Dusselstrand Indoor pool. double Uggg!
But I still have my pictures, so that I can go back to my happy place Prague. Soon I should have some of Mary's professional shots.
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