After a long, overnight bus ride from Budapest to Prague, we Czeched into our hotel, had a bite to eat, rested and cleaned up a bit then hit the town running...er - biking. My cousin is going to be a bike tour guide for the summer in Paris - ah, the charmed life.
Anyway, she decided to Czech (tee hee hee...never gets old!) out the competition, and possibly pick up some pointers from a seasoned guide. Unfortunately, our guide left a lot to be desired. He had only lived in the city for a year or so, didn't have much of a sense of humor, wasn't the greatest of story tellers, didn't have a lot of information in general and we stumped him on a few easy questions. Where's Samantha Brown to guide you when you need her?
Oh well...I learned that I can still ride a bike (yes, there was some major doubt to the age ol' saying "it's just like riding a bike" - the last time I rode one was when I was 19 and I crashed into a bush and got stuck), and we got to cover a lot of the city in a short period of time.
Views around the Vlatava...
Mala Strana...
*Yep. Pissing Men. (outside the Kafka Museum) Apparently you can text a number and tell it what you want them to write out with their, um, pee.*
Day 2 in Praha was spent in and around the Castle and meandering through Old Town.
We crossed the Charles Bridge...
*Making a wish on St John of Nepomuk*
...then climbed up to the Strahov Monestary where we were afforded amazing views...
Oops...how did that get in there?! I meant views of the city!
We headed back to the castle to explore a bit, only to find that the one church I actually wanted to tour, St Vitus, was not only mostly covered in scaffolding, but it was also closed. Figures.
Apparently a tourist must in Prague is viewing the Astronomical Clock located in Old Town (Staré Město) as it chimes the hour. I know the clock is old, and is some great marvel, but I was left feeling a bit "eh, ok. let's move on.". It was cool to experience nonetheless (and scratch it off my must-see list), and the surrounding square is quite charming.
*Hotel Rott - our home in Praha*
My last day in Prague was rather chilly, so I didn't venture too far from St Wenceslas Square. My cousin had flown to Amsterdam that morning, so I was left to my own devices. I wandered in and out of shops in Old Town and had yummy glühwein to keep me warm.
Growing up in Germany as an Air Force brat, I had always wanted to travel to Prague. Of course, at the time it was a city in a communist state under the USSR, so my parents wouldn't allow it. I'm so thankful I was given the opportunity to travel there now, and love my husband even more for "playing Momma" while I was gone! The Golden City is definitely somewhere I would like to return with Kris someday - there were, afterall, lots of shops I didn't make it into!
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