A birthday in Prague

Last Friday, Jace and I took the day off to celebrate our birthdays, both Cancers, and take a long weekend trip to Prague. In summary, it was really lovely. Not what I expected, but looking back, I am not sure what I really expected - perhaps more Eastern Block, less tourism... but despite all the tourists and commercialism (can you say KFC, Subway and Hard Rock?), Prague is lovely - great architecture, good food ('Sausage, please?!'), cheap and delicious beer, and a lot of culture and history (can you say goodbye Communism?).

On Friday, we arrived via Swiss Airlines and got a 3 day metro pass for the weekend. It took about 25 minutes to get to our hotel from the airport via bus (119) and line A to Namesti Miru. After a quick brunch (at KFC, I know, we should be shot), we walked into town (the long way) taking in all the sites... eventually ending up at a market in the center of the tourist district.

Before heading to the castle, we pretty much just explored the main tourist area of the city near Staromestska metro station, including the Astronomical Clock (at the hour the apostles do a little dance and a skeleton hits a bell... nothing to write home about, but nice)...

the Old Town Square ...



and the Charles Bridge and surrounding area...





before stopping for some refreshment...

We then walked up to the Prague Castle, entering from the Ke Hradu end, west of the Castle. We paid what felt like an astronomical amount for the audio tour of the castle, including over 25 (sometimes painfully long...) audio clips just about St. Vitus Cathedral and the palace surrounds, but in the end the 1000 koruna was really only about CHF 58 (we paid more than that to see Van Gogh in Basel!). All in all, the audio was worth it - as the Castle and Cathedral are the main tourist sights in Prague - and everyone else knows it! It gets very busy here, so plan accordingly.

Zlatá ulička (or the Golden Lane), east of the cathedral, is also where Franz Kafka's house is - or so I think - and quite a tourist trap. But the little houses are quaint and fun to see tucked into the castle walls.

After walking around the castle, church and monestary, we walked down the other side of the castle by Svatováclavská vinice (St. Wenceslas´ Vineyard), on the east. This was a beautiful section of the city with amazing views and little wine cafes tucked into the hillside. Simply lovely.

After a long day, we went back to the hotel to refresh and get ready for some goulash dinner and a few pints of dark Czech beer before tucking in to prepare for Saturday... more details tomorrow!

Here - something new: A slide show of all the photos from Day 1! Ps. The first pictures is a tree with what looks like budding orchids I saw in Prague - brownie points if anyone knows what this tree is! (ps. I don't have a clue what it is! But I like it...)


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